Federal document submission deadline looming for some receiving UI benefits

Posted

Thousands of unique unemployment insurance claimants in the state have a May 5 deadline for submitting a federal documentation requirement as outlined in the Continued Assistance Act or risk losing their benefits.

The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program provides weekly assistance for self-employed workers, freelancers, independent contractors and part-time workers, but a substantial number have not completed the documentation requirement task, according to Heather Biance, media relations specialist, with the state Department of Employment and Workforce.

Those workers are not ordinarily eligible for unemployment insurance but have been in the pandemic if they can show they are unemployed, unable to work or unavailable to work as a direct result of COVID-19.

If PUA claimants do not comply with the requirement, the state agency is federally required to stop unemployment benefits and establish an overpayment.

"That means they would have to pay back any UI benefits received in 2021 to the agency," Biance said.

She added the documents needed are those a person would have readily available, such as: W-2 forms, business license, state or federal tax returns for a business or a letter from a company offering a job.

Claimants are urged to upload documents to their online portal as soon as possible to avoid their benefits being turned off.

More information can be found at DEW's homepage, www.dew.sc.gov, and under the "How Do I" tab.