WISCONSIN – Various economic benefits, available to residents through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, will officially end this Saturday (Sept. 4). These benefit payments were created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The benefits, administered through the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD), include an additional $300 per week in unemployment benefits as well as additional weeks of unemployment benefits for individuals who have exhausted their regular unemployment benefits.
In addition, the DWD will end payments for these programs:
- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). PUA has provided unemployment benefits to individuals who were not eligible for regular unemployment benefits and who were unable to work as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation (MEUC). MEUC has provided an additional $100 per week to individuals who were receiving regular unemployment benefits, and who earned at least $5,000 in net self-employment earnings in the tax year before the initial claim for unemployment benefits.
Individuals with claims pending for weeks prior to Sept. 5, will be paid for each week they are found eligible. DWD expects to issue retroactive payments through February 2022. For questions about an individual’s unemployment benefits, contact the DWD.