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The CARES Act gave workers an extra $600 per week, but expired at July’s end. President Trump’s executive order calling for a new $400 weekly benefit was signed last month.
Gov. Murphy then applied for the FEMA Lost Wages Supplemental Assistance Program, the expanded benefit, requesting funding for the weeks of Aug. 1, 8 and 15.
If approved, New Jersey residents will receive $300 rather than $400 because the state was already paying workers at least $100 each week — the federal government covers the rest.
Forty states have been approved for the benefit — but FEMA has yet to comment on New Jersey specifics.
“We’ve been going back and forth,” said Matt Platkin, Murphy’s chief counsel, at a briefing Monday, NJ.com reports. “They’ve just asked some clarifying questions but nothing that will ultimately delay the distribution of benefits.”
If approved, residents might not start seeing payments until October since the funds cannot be dispersed as a portion of the traditional unemployment system. States are also restricted from using their own unemployment trust funds for payment processing.
However, residents receiving benefits of less than $100 each week, or those whose unemployment was unrelated to the pandemic, will not be eligible for the new payments.
The benefit is expected to run until Dec. 27, though the funds are anticipated to run out much sooner. Meanwhile, the payments cease if Congress passes a new benefit.
“The supplemental lost wages assistance program must terminate immediately if legislation providing supplementary unemployment benefits (e.g., an extension to the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program) is enacted,” FEMA said.
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