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TXTG101-103, US government shutdown unemployment, halted. To be published Saturday at 9 a.m. ET During the government shutdown For more than two weeks now, Imelda Avila-Thomas has been trying in vain to get approved for unemployment compensation to help cover essentials like food and mortgage payments for her family while she is on unpaid leave from her federal government job.
She kept asking questions and was eventually sent a hyperlink to upload the income proof document, which she did earlier this week. But Avila-Thomas, who works for labor department In st anthonysaid the system still considers him ineligible for benefits, adding that it could not verify his salary. She wonders if anyone who helped her has also been discharged.
Avila-Thomas, the mother of a 12-year-old daughter and local union leader, is among the thousands of federal workers trying to navigate the unemployment system — a sharp increase, but still a fraction of the more than 670,000 furloughed workforce, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. The dollar amount and length of benefits vary by state.
About 26,000 federal workers filed initial claims from Sept. 28 to Oct. 18, according to raw data published by the Labor Department. About 3,300 people applied in the week ending just days before the shutdown began on Oct. 1.
Furloughed workers have some factors to consider. For example, if they receive expected back pay when the shutdown ends, they will be required to repay unemployment assistance. For Avila-Thomas, paying the money back later is better than taking out a loan.
Avila-Thomas has worked at the Department of Labor for 16 years. Her husband is a disabled veteran who works for the Department of Veterans Affairs and is still working with a salary, but they have had to cut back on tuition for their daughter, who has dyslexia, and now with one income, they have moved into a food bank.
“This will cover the essential basics,” said Avila-Thomas, whose local authority is the US federal government. Employee This includes Labor Department employees in many states. “And yes, in an ideal world, everyone would have six months of savings. And the reality is, most of our members are getting to the point where they can no longer pay those regular bills.”
She has applied for part-time work and said she is not looking for any help.
Unemployment assistance for federal workers depends on the states.
Unemployment compensation for federal employees depends heavily on state laws and processing.
Specifications vary. Massachusetts has a higher weekly benefit of $1,105 per week for up to 30 weeks. In Mississippi, it is no more than $235 per week for 26 weeks. Nearly half of the states pay less than the maximum of $600 per week, according to U.S. Department of Labor data.
Not everyone gets the maximum weekly rate. Some states offer less than 20 weeks. And the limits may increase in some states when unemployment rates are particularly high.
Around the nation’s capital, the maximum weekly payments are $444 in Washington, DC, $430 in Maryland and $378 in Virginia.
In texasWhere Avila-Thomas lives, the weekly maximum is $605 for up to 26 weeks.
The Labor Department says states typically issue payments within two to three weeks after someone’s claim is approved. And most states also have an initial “waiting week” for which benefits are not paid in advance. The National Employment Law Project says beneficiaries typically receive money for that week later if they finish all allotted weeks.
States are responsible for verifying an applicant’s employment and earnings with their federal employer. But the Labor Department has warned that the shutdown could delay the processing of this information by federal agencies.
According to the National Employment Law Project, many workers have not received the forms typically sent by their employment agencies that are used to verify employment and earnings.
Questions have emerged about states’ varying requirements that people prove they are looking for a job when they receive unemployment checks. The Labor Department has said that a waiver of the requirement could apply to federal workers furloughed under state laws, noting that they face ethical limitations on outside work. And some states have specified that work-search orders will not apply to these workers, allowing them to be excused for several weeks or longer.
But Avila-Thomas in Texas said she hasn’t received any clear answers. Many of his job matches could create conflicts of interest, he said. The Texas Workforce Commission did not immediately respond to a request to clarify the work requirement for those workers.
Those who are still working without pay are ineligible
According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, about 730,000 federal workers have been working without pay, and they typically are not eligible for unemployment benefits. They will get their outstanding salaries after the government reopens. Employees working reduced hours may be eligible for unemployment.
“Excepted” employees who work without pay are typically required to respond to emergencies or ensure national security, such as air traffic controllers and airport security screeners.
trump The administration has said pay will continue for some groups, including FBI special agents and military troops. Paychecks never stopped for some other employees, whose departments, such as the Postal Service, depend on their own revenues or some other funding sources.
There are other wrinkles about how this administration has handled the shutdown.
Earlier in October, the Trump administration had threatened not to guarantee outstanding pay for furloughed federal workers, though it later backtracked. Trump has also sought to fire more than 10,000 federal workers during the shutdown. A judge has put a halt to the layoffs while a lawsuit challenging them continues.
Avila-Thomas said workers like her are ready for the shutdown to end.
“We’re ready to come back,” she said. “I feel like I’ve driven my family crazy with things and projects.” ,
Associated Press data journalist Larry Fain contributed from New York.