Maine Dept. of Labor to Begin Accepting Applications for Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation Program

April 27, 2021

AUGUSTA - The Maine Department of Labor will begin accepting applications for the new Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation Program (MEUC) on April 29, 2021.

The MEUC program was created by the Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020 and provides a $100 supplemental benefit to certain individuals who had both employment and self-employment prior to becoming unemployed during the pandemic. The program is payable for weeks ending January 2, 2021 through September 4, 2021.

The program is intended for claimants who had at least $5,000 in net self-employment income, however qualified for state unemployment insurance benefits resulting in their self-employment income not being included in their benefit calculation. Individuals receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) are not eligible for MEUC benefits because their self-employment income has already been taken into consideration.

Payments to eligible claimants will be retroactive. If eligible, claimants would receive MEUC for each week January 2 through September 4, 2021 for which they received unemployment benefits.

An individual must be eligible to receive at least one dollar ($1) of underlying unemployment benefits for the claimed week to receive the full $100 MEUC for that week.

How individuals can apply:

Those who may be eligible for the program will be notified with instructions on how to apply through the mail and in their account correspondence.

They can then:

• Log into their account at https://www.maine.gov/reemployme
• Select MEUC Application then Apply for MEUC
• Complete application and click on Upload Proof on MEUC Proof of Earnings page.

Individuals who apply for MEUC are required to submit documentation showing their self-employment income in order for MDOL to determine eligibility. This documentation must be submitted to the Department by November 3, 2021.

The documentation must show net self-employment income of at least $5,000 during the most recent taxable year in which you filed your unemployment claim.

Acceptable documentation of self-employment income could include, but is not limited to:

income tax return for the most recent taxable year ending prior to their application for unemployment compensation

• pay-check stubs
• bank receipts
• business records
• ledgers
• signed contracts
• invoices
• billing statements

More information and FAQS will be added to our website: https://www.maine.gov/unemployment