Extended unemployment, final CARES program, becomes available to Utahns

The Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program is now available for Utahns. This is the fifth and final CARES Act program to be implemented in the state. PEUC will allow eligible individuals who have exhausted their benefits to receive up to 13 weeks of additional unemployment benefits.

Eligible individuals are those who were receiving unemployment benefits, but reached their maximum eligible weeks, losing those benefits while remaining unemployed.

“We are proud to have created and made available the final program of the CARES Act,” said Kevin Burt, Unemployment Insurance Division director for the Department of Workforce Services. “Our staff has worked diligently to get these critical new programs implemented in the midst of processing record-breaking claim volumes. Utah continues to stand out nationally for our unemployment insurance response throughout the pandemic as we get benefits to those in need.”

Those who have already exhausted their benefits and have stopped filing weekly claims should visit jobs.utah.gov/ui/home/initialclaims and select “File New or Reopen Claim” to complete a claims application. The system will then determine if the individual is eligible for an extension. Individuals may be eligible for retroactive extended benefits back to March 29, 2020. This is a federally funded and regulated program. Benefits paid will not be taken from Utah’s unemployment insurance trust fund.