Order Code RS22915
July 11, 2008
Emergency Unemployment Compensation
Julie M. Whittaker
Specialist in Income Security
Domestic Social Policy Division
Summary
The Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program was created by P.L.
110-252. This new temporary unemployment insurance program provides up to 13
additional weeks of unemployment benefits to certain workers who have exhausted their
rights to regular unemployment compensation (UC) benefits. The program effectively
begins July 6, 2008, and will terminate on March 28, 2009. No EUC benefit will be
paid beyond the week ending July 4, 2009. This report will be updated to reflect
congressional action or programmatic changes. Individuals should contact their state’s
unemployment agency to obtain information on how to apply for and receive EUC
benefits. The U.S. Department of Labor maintains a website with links to each state’s
agency at [http://www.workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/map.asp].
Emergency Unemployment Compensation
On June 30, 2008, the President signed into law the Supplemental Appropriations
Act of 2008, P.L. 110-252. Title IV of this act created a new temporary unemployment
insurance program, the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program.1 This
is the eighth time Congress has created a federal temporary program that has extended
unemployment compensation during an economic slowdown.2 The EUC benefit is 100%
federally funded. State unemployment compensation (UC) agencies will administer the
EUC benefit along with regular UC benefits.
1 For information on the regular unemployment compensation program, see CRS Report
RL33362, Unemployment Insurance: Available Unemployment Benefits and Legislative Activity,
by Julie M. Whittaker.
2 The other programs became effective in 1958, 1961, 1972, 1975, 1982, 1991, and 2002. For
details on these programs, see CRS Report RL34340, Extending Unemployment Compensation
Benefits During Recessions, by Julie M. Whittaker. For a detailed comparison of the most recent
proposals in the 110th Congress to extend unemployment benefits, see CRS Report RL34460,
Current Law and Selected Proposals Extending Unemployment Compensation, by Julie M.
Whittaker.

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How Does an Eligible Individual Receive the EUC Benefit?
Individuals should contact their state’s unemployment agency to obtain specific
information on how to apply for and receive EUC benefits. The U.S. Department of
Labor maintains a website with links to each state’s agency at [http://www.workforce
security.doleta.gov/map.asp].
How Much is an Eligible Individual’s Weekly EUC Benefit?
The amount of the EUC benefit is the equivalent of the eligible individual’s weekly
regular UC benefit and includes any applicable dependents’ allowances.
What is the Duration of an Eligible Individual’s EUC Benefit?
The maximum number of weeks an individual may be eligible for these emergency
extended UC benefits is capped at 13 weeks. Some individuals may be eligible for fewer
weeks of EUC benefits if their regular UC benefit entitlement was less than 26 weeks.
When Does the EUC Benefit Begin and End?
Begins July 6, 2008. States must enter into an agreement with the U.S.
Department of Labor (DOL) to provide the EUC benefit to unemployed individuals in the
state. Once the agreement is signed, the EUC benefit will begin the following week.
All states have signed agreements with DOL and EUC benefits are now available
beginning for weeks of qualifying unemployment on or after July 6, 2008. EUC benefits
for that first week will begin to be disbursed the following week of July 13, 2008.
Terminates March 28, 2009. The EUC benefit is temporary and expires in
March 2009. Those unemployed individuals who had qualified for the EUC benefit
would continue to receive payments for the number of weeks they were deemed eligible.
If an individual exhausts his or her regular unemployment compensation (UC) benefits
after March 28, 2009,3 the individual would not be eligible for any EUC benefit. Those
beneficiaries receiving EUC benefits are “grandfathered” for their remaining weeks of
eligibility. No EUC benefit is payable for any week beginning after July 4, 2009.4
3 March 29, 2009, for New York.
4 July 5, 2009, for New York.

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EUC Eligibility Requirements
First Claimed Regular UC Benefits On or After May 7, 2006. Applicants
must have been eligible for regular UC benefits and have exhausted their rights to regular
UC compensation with respect to a benefit year that expired during or after the week of
May 6, 2007.5 For most states, this would apply to individuals who had filed UC claims
with an effective date of May 7, 2006, or later. For the state of New York this would
apply to original claims filed with an effective date of May 1, 2006, or later.6
Exhausted Regular UC Benefit. The right to regular UC benefits must be
exhausted to be eligible for EUC benefits. Although federal laws and regulations provide
broad guidelines on regular UC benefit coverage and eligibility determination, the
specifics of regular UC benefits are determined by each state. This results in essentially
53 different programs. In particular, states determine UC benefit eligibility, amount, and
duration through state laws and program regulations.
Generally, regular UC eligibility is based on attaining qualified wages and
employment in covered work over a 12-month period (called a base period). Conditional
on earnings amounts and number of quarters worked in the base period, an individual may
qualify for as little as 6 weeks of UC benefits in some states and as many as 26 weeks in
other states. Individuals with higher earnings and multiple quarters of work history will
generally receive higher UC benefits for a longer period of time.7
“20 Weeks” of Full-Time Insured Employment or Equivalent. In addition
to all state requirements for regular UC eligibility, the EUC program requires claimants
to have at least 20 weeks of full-time insured employment or the equivalent in insured
wages in their base period.
States use one, two, or three different methods for determining an “equivalent” to 20
weeks of full-time insured employment. These methods are described in both law
(Section 202(a)(5) of the Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970) and
regulation (20 CFR 615.4(b)). In practice, states that apply any of these three
requirements for receipt of regular UC benefits and do not allow for exceptions to those
requirements do not need to establish that the worker met the 20 weeks of full-time
insured employment requirement for EUC. The three methods are as follows:
5 Arkansas has a unique approach to calculating a benefit year. In Arkansas, the benefit year
begins the first day of the quarter in which an individual files a valid UC claim. Thus, it is
unlikely that many individuals in Arkansas who filed UC claims before July 2006 would be
eligible to receive EUC benefits.
6 Please note the effective date is not necessarily the actual date when an individual filed for UC.
A claim filed on May 10, 2006, may have had an earlier effective date if a state allows retroactive
claims.
7 Individuals in the Massachusetts and Montana UC programs may have regular UC durations
that exceed 26 weeks. Individuals who qualify for more than 26 weeks of regular UC benefits
would be eligible for no more than 13 weeks of EUC benefits.

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! earnings in the base period equal to at least 1.5 times the high-quarter
wages; or
! earnings in the base period of at least 40 times the most recent weekly
benefit amount, and if this alternative is adopted, it shall use the weekly
benefit amount (including dependents’ allowances) payable for a week
of total unemployment (before any reduction because of earnings,
pensions or other requirements) that applied to the most recent week of
regular benefits; or
! earnings in the base period equal to at least 20 weeks of full-time insured
employment, and if this alternative is adopted, the term “full-time” shall
have the meaning provided by the state law.
The base period may be the regular base period or, if applicable in the state, the
period may be the alternative base period or the extended base period if that determined
the regular UC benefit.
The Extended Benefit (EB) Program
The EUC program should not be confused with the similarly named extended benefit
(EB) program.8 The EUC program is temporary and applies to all states. The EB
program is permanently authorized and applies only to certain states on the basis of state
economic conditions specified in law. The EB program is currently active only in Alaska
and Rhode Island.
EB Program is Permanently Authorized. The EB program is permanently
authorized by the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970
(EUCA), P.L. 91-373 (26 U.S.C. 3304, note). The EB program provides for additional
weeks of unemployment benefits, up to a maximum of 13 weeks during periods of high
unemployment and up to a maximum of 20 weeks in certain states with extremely high
unemployment. When economic conditions in a state no longer meet the criteria for
extended benefits, the state triggers off of the EB program. There is no “grandfathering”
of the EB benefit. At the time a state triggers off the EB program, payment of all EB
benefits immediately stop.
EB Program is 50% Federally Financed and 50% State Financed. EB
benefits are funded half (50%) by the federal government through an account for that
purpose in the Unemployment Trust Fund (UTF). States fund half (50%) through their
state accounts in the UTF.9
8 For a detailed description of the EB program, see CRS Report RL33362, Unemployment
Insurance: Available Unemployment Benefits and Legislative Activity, by Julie M. Whittaker.
9 States that do not require a one-week UC waiting period pay 100% of the first week of EB.

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EUC and EB Interactions
Which Benefit is Paid First? The EUC program allows states to determine
which benefit is paid first. Thus, states may choose to pay EUC before EB or vice versa.
States balance the decision of which benefit to pay first by examining the potential
cost savings to the state with the potential loss of unemployment benefits for unemployed
individuals in the state. It may be less costly for the state to choose to pay for the EUC
benefit first as the EUC benefit is 100% federally financed (whereas the EB benefit is
50% state financed).10 However, if the state opts to pay EUC first, individuals in the state
might receive less in total unemployment benefits if the EB program triggers off before
the individuals exhaust their EUC benefits.
Alaska has opted to pay EB before EUC benefits. In contrast, Rhode Island has
opted to pay EUC benefits before EB.
10 Some recipients may find jobs before becoming eligible for EB. In addition, the state may
trigger off of the EB program before some recipients exhaust EUC.

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