BOSTON – Following a mandate from the U.S. Department of Labor, the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) has begun notifying claimants that their federal unemployment insurance benefits will be reduced by 12.8 percent due to federal budget cuts. Claimants receiving federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits will see reductions in benefits for the week ending May 14, 2013.
The federal Budget Control Act of 2011, known as sequestration, requires across-the-board cuts to all discretionary federal programs. EUC is a discretionary program.
“These benefit reductions will only affect long-term unemployed workers who have been collecting unemployment insurance benefits for more than 26 weeks,” said Department of Unemployment Assistance Director Michelle Amante. “Claimants who are still in their first 26 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits will not be affected.”
In Massachusetts, the first 26 weeks of unemployment assistance are paid for by employer contributions to the state Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund and are not subject to sequestration.
Each EUC claimant will receive a written notice of these changes as well as information on social safety net programs to assist them with impacts on their health or welfare caused by the federally mandated benefit reductions.
