UPDATE: US DOL Guidance indicates Guam workers may be entitled to both PUA and FPUC provided that Guam reaches an agreement with US DOL
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a series of publications offering guidance to the “States” for implementing certain federal unemployment insurance provisions contained in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), including the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) programs. These provisions of the CARES Act provide up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits and a $600 per week federally-funded additional benefit for eligible individuals, which includes individuals who are not typically covered by state unemployment programs, such as self-employed individuals, independent contractors, and gig workers, as well as those who do not have sufficient work history to qualify for state unemployment benefits. Guam does not have an unemployment insurance program. The definition of “State” under the PUA includes “the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.” H.R. 748 § 2102 (emphasis added).
The initial guidance, issued on April 2, 2020, is the first of several Unemployment Insurance Program Letters (UIPL). It states that the PUA will be administered similar to the Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) program and will be available to Guam and the CNMI, provided that they sign agreement with the DOL. With regard to the FPUC, which provides an additional $600 per week to individuals who are collecting regular unemployment compensation, the guidance confirms that the program is available in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, provided the state/territory signs an agreement with the DOL; it does not include Guam or the CNMI.
The second UIPL, issued on April 4, 2020, provides states with guidance for the FPUC program and, specifically, for the administration of the additional $600 federally-funded weekly benefit to eligible individuals through July 31, 2020. Eligible individuals are those receiving unemployment compensation under state programs and extended federal programs. States will decide eligibility for FPUC based on eligibility for the underlying program, meaning that individuals do not have to separately apply for FPUC.
The third UIPL, issued on April 5, 2020, provides states with guidance in implementing the PUA program. including program eligibility for individuals not typically covered by unemployment insurance, including self-employed individuals, independent contractors, gig workers, and persons with insufficient work history who would not qualify for state unemployment benefits, each of whom are unemployed due to COVID-19 related circumstances. The guidance also includes direction as to those who are not eligible for PUA, that is, individuals who have the ability to telework with pay or who are receiving paid sick leave or other paid leave benefits. The benefits under the PUA will equal the minimum weekly benefit amount described in the Stafford Act Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) program, which is the model for the PUA program (CFR 625.6 of Title 20), plus the $600 per week federally funded supplement (similar to that provided to UI recipients under the FPUC). As the DOL states, “Individuals receiving PUA benefits may also receive the $600 weekly benefit amount (WBA) under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program if they are eligible for such compensation for the week claimed.” As such, it appears that Guam workers may be eligible for unemployment benefits under both the PUA and the FPUC, if Guam signs an agreement with US DOL. Guam workers may receive up to $960 weekly if both the PUA and FPUC are applicable to Guam.
The guidance reiterates qualifying COVID-19 related circumstances for PUA eligibility, which can extend for up to 39 weeks of benefits; however, it also provides that many of the qualifying circumstances are likely to be of short-term duration. For example, an individual who has been advised to self-quarantine by a health care provider because of the individual’s exposure to a person who has tested positive for the coronavirus, and is therefore unable to reach his or her place of employment, may be able to return to his or her place of employment within two weeks of the exposure if he or she does not exhibit symptoms of COVID-19 or test positive for the coronavirus. Applicants for PUA must also provide self-certification that they are (1) partially or fully unemployed or (2) unable and unavailable to work because of one of the following circumstances:
the individual has been diagnosed with COVID–19 or is experiencing symptoms of COVID–19 and seeking a medical diagnosis;
a member of the individual’s household has been diagnosed with COVID–19;
the individual is providing care for a family member or a member of the individual’s household who has been diagnosed with COVID–19;
a child or other person in the household for which the individual has primary caregiving responsibility is unable to attend school or another facility that is closed as a direct result of the COVID–19 public health emergency and such school or facility care is required for the individual to work;
the individual is unable to reach the place of employment because of a quarantine imposed as a direct result of the COVID–19 public health emergency;
the individual is unable to reach the place of employment because the individual has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID–19;
the individual was scheduled to commence employment and does not have a job or is unable to reach the job as a direct result of the COVID–19 public health emergency;
the individual has become the breadwinner or major support for a household because the head of the household has died as a direct result of COVID–19;
the individual has to quit his or her job as a direct result of COVID–19;
the individual’s place of employment is closed as a direct result of the COVID–19 public health emergency; or
the individual meets other criteria established by the Secretary of Labor.