Earlier this month DOL advised states that workers affected by the coronavirus are eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.
The agency said that states would be permitted to pay benefits to individuals quarantined with the expectation of returning to work, and to those who leave employment to avoid exposure to coronavirus or to care for a sick family member.
But it's not clear how well, even with the additional $2 billion in federal assistance, the state unemployment system will cushion the blow. Some state unemployment insurance programs have since the last economic downturn in 2007-reduced the number of weeks workers can receive benefits. In addition, 22 states and jurisdictions, including California, New York, Illinois and Texas, are also facing dangerously low reserves.
"Today's numbers reveal that while Congress considers new strategies to help the unemployed, Americans are turning to a jobless safety net that is unable to meet their needs," said Andrew Stettner, senior fellow at The Century Foundation said in an emailed statement.
Policymakers should lift the current 26-week cap on jobless benefits, he said, and "states should be required to roll back cuts that have lingered since the end of the last recession."
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