26 states are ending extra payments, along with pandemic assistance programs, ahead of the expiration date in September.
Many Americans counting on extra unemployment benefits from the American Rescue Plan may see those funds come to an end in the next couple of weeks. The bill, signed into law by President Biden in January, added an extra $300 per week in benefits for unemployed workers through September 6, 2021.
So far, 26 states have announced they will be ending the extra payments early, along with programs that provided payments to gig and freelance workers who wouldn’t ordinarily qualify for assistance. More than half of the mostly GOP-led states are scheduled to stop payments by the end of this week.
Governors who ended the programs early say they did so to help boost job participation. Employers across the country have claimed the extra $300 is incentivizing people to stay home and they have been having trouble even getting people to show up for interviews.
Two organizations in Indiana and Maryland have sued on behalf of workers to force the governors to rescind the order. On June 28, a judge in Indiana ruled that Gov. Eric Holcomb must continue payments from all federal programs through September 6, 2021.
Here are the dates each state is ending the extra federal unemployment assistance programs:
June 12
Alaska, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri
June 19
Alabama, Nebraska, Idaho, Indiana, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Wyoming, West Virginia
June 26
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Utah, South Carolina, South Dakota, Ohio
June 27
Oklahoma, Montana
July 3
Maryland, Tennessee
July 10
Arizona
July 31
Louisiana
In addition to enhanced unemployment payments, the American Rescue Plan is also providing rental assistance, extra food stamp allowances, and 100 percent payment of Cobra health insurance benefits through September 30, 2021. Families with children will also begin receiving additional child tax credit payments beginning in July.
Were you or are you still unemployed? Let us know your thoughts in the comments on these unemployment benefits ending earlier than expected.
