2012-590. Notice of a Change in Status of the Payable Periods in the Emergency Unemployment Compensation 2008 (EUC08) Program for Iowa and Oklahoma

AGENCY:

Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

Announcement regarding Notice of a Change in Status of the payable period in the Emergency Unemployment Compensation 2008 (EUC08) program for Iowa and Oklahoma.

Public law 112-78 extended provisions in Public Law 111-92 which amended prior laws to create a Third and Fourth Tier of benefits within the EUC08 program for qualified unemployed workers claiming benefits in high unemployment states. The Department of Labor produces a trigger notice indicating which states qualify for EUC08 benefits within Tiers Three and Four and provides the beginning and ending dates of payable periods for each qualifying state. The trigger notice covering state eligibility for the EUC08 program can be found at: http://ows.doleta.gov/​unemploy/​claims_​arch.asp.

• Based on data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on December 20, 2011, the estimated three month average, seasonally adjusted total unemployment rate for Iowa fell to 5.9%, below the threshold to remain “on” in Tier 3 of the EUC08 program. As a result, the current maximum potential duration for claimants in Iowa in the EUC08 program will decrease from 47 weeks to 34 weeks. The week ending January 14, 2012 will be the last week in which EUC claimants in Iowa can exhaust Tier 2, and establish Tier 3 eligibility. Under the phase-out provisions, claimants can receive any remaining entitlement they have in Tier 3 after January 14, 2012.
• Based on data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on December 20, 2011, the estimated three month average, seasonally adjusted total unemployment rate for Oklahoma rose to 6.0%, meeting the criteria to trigger “on” to Tier 3 in the EUC08 program. Claimants who have exhausted Tier 2 in the EUC08 program may be eligible for up to 13 additional weeks of benefits. The payable period for Oklahoma in Tier 3 of the EUC08 program begins January 8, 2012.

Information for Claimants

The duration of benefits payable in the EUC program, and the terms and conditions under which they are payable, are governed by Public Laws 110-252, 110-449, 111-5, 111-92, 111-118, 111-144, 111-157, 111-205, 111-312, and 112-78, and the operating instructions issued to the states by the U.S. Department of Labor. Persons who believe they may be entitled to additional benefits under the EUC08 program, or who wish to inquire about their rights under the program, should contact their State Workforce Agency.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Scott Gibbons, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Unemployment Insurance, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Frances Perkins Bldg. Room S-4524, Washington, DC 20210, telephone number [phone] (this is not a toll-free number) or by email: [e-mail].

Signed in Washington, DC, this 9th day of January 2012.

Jane Oates,

Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.