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As Maine reopens, requirements to receive unemployment checks change

The Maine Department of Labor reinstated the work search requirement on May 23.

AUGUSTA, Maine — Requirements to receive unemployment money from the state of Maine have reverted to pre-pandemic standards.

On Sunday, May 23, the Maine Department of Labor reinstated the work search requirement, essentially requiring people who receive unemployment benefits to prove that they are indeed looking for work. 

People need to complete at least one work search-related activity each week. Those include:

  • Interviewing for a job that you're qualified for
  • Applying for a job you're qualified for and would accept
  • Going to a job fair
  • Working part-time
  • Contacting employers about an opening

If you know you're going back to your original job within six weeks, you may qualify for a waiver.

If you're looking for a job, click here.

The change comes as Maine reopens, lifting the mask mandate and physical distancing requirements, which forced many businesses to lay off and furlough workers, or in some cases, shut down temporarily or for good.

To be eligible for unemployment, people must meet certain requirements:

  • You lost your job through no fault of your own
  • You must be actively seeking work
  • You must be able and available to work
  • You must have enough work history and earnings in the past five quarters to be "Monetarily eligible". This means you earned at least $1,700/quarter in at least two of the last five quarters, and a total of at least $5,600 in four out of the last five quarters

There are three different types of unemployment benefits.

  • state unemployment insurance: this program can send you money for up to 26 weeks. 
  • Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation -- that's for people who have exhausted their state benefits. This program provides up to 53 extra weeks of money -- but the program ends on September 4.
  • Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA. Congress created this program in 2020 to cover those who are not covered by the other two programs.

There's also the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program. It gives anyone who gets unemployment an extra $300 a week. That program also ends on September 4.

The amount of money you get is based on how much you earned before losing your job, according to a Department of Labor spokesperson.

The state calculates the amount by dividing the average of a person’s wages in the two highest quarters of their base period by 22. The minimum wages needed to qualify for state unemployment is $1,778.68 in two quarters and $5,336.04 in the base period. The minimum state UI weekly benefit amount is currently $80, and the maximum is $462. The minimum weekly benefit amount under the federal PUA program is $172 and the maximum $462.

Essentially, a person who earned $10,000 per quarter, and was otherwise eligible for unemployment benefits, would receive $454 per week.

You can also get an extra $10 per dependent per week.

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