Tennessee will soon provide an additional $300 per week in federal assistance to workers who are unemployed due to the coronavirus pandemic this month.
The extra funds will make up only half of what was being paid prior to August and it is still unclear when the funds will be distributed to unemployed Tennesseans who qualify for the jobless benefits. But state officials promised Monday they are working diligently to get the payment system in place and hope it will be quicker than when the first round of additional $600 weekly federal supplemental aid was offered to those losing their jobs during the pandemic.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development is still building the new program to pay the Lost Wage Benefits that President Trump agreed to provide through the disaster relief program offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). About half of the states have gotten approval for the initial FEMA payments, and it is unclear how long they will last before the $44 billion allocated for the relief is used up.
"Work on the latest federal unemployment program started during the application process and that proactive move will speed up the implementation of LWA (Lost Wage Assistance) in Tennessee," said Chris Cannon, assistant commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. "At this time, there is no definitive start date as to when the state will begin dispersing the additional weekly benefit."
Last week, John P. Pallasch, assistant secretary for employment and training at the U.S. Department of Labor, said it could take some states up to six weeks to figure out how to get a program up and running in some states.
The extra federal supplement, once authorized for each claimant, will pay the extra $300 a week in benefits retroactive to Aug. 1. Trump announced the FEMA assistance after Congress did not come up with any extra pandemic relief assistance for jobless Americans prior to adjourning for the rest of the summer in early August.
The FEMA payments will not be made to those getting less than $100 a week in state unemployment benefits, which are primarily part-time workers who didn't earn enough to get more than $100 a week in jobless benefits.
Tennessee's maximum weekly unemployment benefit paid to unemployed persons is $275 — the fourth lowest benefit level among the 50 states.
(READ MORE: Cut in federal unemployment benefits hits thousands of Tennesseans as pandemic persists)
When combined with the new federal supplement, the maximum possible benefit in Tennessee will be $575 per week, before federal withholding taxes. During April through July, such persons qualified for up to $875 a week in unemployment benefits in Tennessee from both state and federal assistance programs.
Last week, with only some delayed federal assistance payments still being made in Tennessee, the typical unemployed Tennessee was paid nearly $400 less in benefits than what he or she got the previous week.
Unemployment in Tennessee dropped last month to 9.5%, down from 15.5% peak in April. But the jobless rate in July was still nearly three times higher than a year ago across Tennessee.
Cannon said eligible claimants currently receiving benefits do not need to take any action to get the FEMA assistance because the state will automatically add Lost Wage Assistance payment to their weekly benefit payment.
Montana is the only state so far to choose the $400 option for the Lost Wage Assistance program by adding $100 in state funds to the federal supplement, according to FEMA.
South Dakota's governor, Kristi Noem, announced last week that her state would forgo the federal funds, saying they were not needed because South Dakota had recovered 80% of its job losses.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340.
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Tennessee to pay $300 more a week in jobless benefits; aid only half of previous payment - Chattanooga Times Free Press
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