Claims for Unemployment Compensation, Week Ending November 21 Bookmark and Share

November 25, 2020

For Immediate Release: November 25, 2020

Claims for Unemployment Compensation, Week Ending November 14

AUGUSTA - For the week ending November 21, the Maine Department of Labor recorded about 2,200 initial claims filed for state unemployment insurance, and 2,000 initial claims filed for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). In total, approximately 2,800 people were filing an initial claim or reopening their unemployment claim. The increase in PUA initial claims is due to eligible claimants who were on the state Extended Benefit (EB) program when it ended November 14 moving to the PUA program.

About 11,800 weekly certifications, or continued claims, were filed last week for state unemployment, with another 13,700 weekly certifications filed under PUA. In addition, about 13,500 weekly certifications were filed for the federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program and 2,400 weekly certifications were filed for the state Extended Benefits program. Weekly certifications must be filed by claimants every week in order to continue to receive unemployment benefits.

NOTE: Extended Benefit Program Ending November 14. The state Extended Benefit (EB) program provided up to 13 weeks of unemployment benefits to those who exhausted both their state unemployment insurance and then federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC).

The EB program is only in effect during times of high unemployment. EB is in effect when the average insured unemployment rate for the last 13 weeks is at least 5% and is more than 120% of the average for the last 2 years for the same time period. The insured unemployment rate is based on weekly claims for state unemployment benefits, and is different than the unemployment rate announced each month.

Some individuals who were receiving EB may be eligible for PUA benefits. PUA is available for people affected by COVID-19 and who aren't eligible for or who have exhausted the other available programs. PUA provides benefits for 39 weeks but is reduced by the number of weeks of state unemployment and EB already paid. They should continue to file weekly certifications so that eligibility can be determined.

Reminder that CareerCenter services are available to help people identify and take next their steps. It is a requirement that those receiving unemployment insurance benefits also be registered on the Maine JobLink, which includes a weekly newsletter for job seekers highlighting opportunities and training.

Between March 15 and November 21, the Maine Department of Labor has paid out over $1.68 billion in federal and state unemployment benefits.

The Department has handled approximately 203,000 initial claims for the state unemployment program and 98,700 initial claims for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. There have been over 2.8 million weekly certifications filed.

Claims data is preliminary and subject to revision. Claims data can be found here: https://www.maine.gov/labor/cwri/ui.html

Other Updates:

Fraud Update

The Maine Department of Labor continues its careful review of all claims as it investigates unemployment imposter fraud.

During the week ending November 21, the Department cancelled 806 initial claims and 15 weekly certifications that were determined to be fraudulent.

Unemployment imposter fraud is when a person's Personally Identifiable Information, or PII, is stolen and used illegally to apply for unemployment benefits. Maine is one of many U.S. states working in close collaboration with state and federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies to investigate and prevent it.

The Maine Department of Labor is also warning unemployment claimants and adding extra security measures to protect beneficiaries from fraudulent email "phishing" scams" in which bad actors steal usernames and passwords, use them to log into unemployment accounts, and change the payment information.

The Department was notified by the U.S. Department of Labor of scams happening across the country and is taking proactive action to review and prevent impact on Maine claimants. The Department has also received reports of phishing attempts in Maine.

Claimants log-in information could also be potentially obtained by criminals if someone uses the same log-in information for multiple websites and that log-in information is compromised. The Department strongly recommends that claimants use a password that is unique to their unemployment account and is not used for anything else.

The Department continues to evolve its fraud prevention techniques and is adding extra authentication technology to the ReEmployME system. The Department is temporarily holding several hundred claims while awaiting additional verification from the individuals. Individuals whose claims are on hold will be notified by email to call 1-800-593-7660 for further guidance.

What unemployment claimants should do to protect themselves: - Before filing their next weekly certification, they should go to Benefits Maintenance > Payment Options to verify their current payment information and update as needed. - Click on the link in Benefits Maintenance to verify their email address. This will generate an email with instructions on how to complete the process. - After verifying their email, the Department recommends changing their password to one that is not being used in any other online system. They will need to verify their email account before creating a new password by hitting forgot password on the log-in page. This will also generate an email within which they will need to click on a link. Passwords should not be shared with anyone. - Unsolicited emails about resetting passwords should be immediately deleted. - If unemployment benefit payments for prior weeks filed appear to have been redirected to a bank account that is not theirs, they should contact the Department.

The U.S. Department of Justice has put out an Unemployment Insurance Consumer Fraud Protection Guide - https://www.maine.gov/unemployment/docs/2020/USDOJUIFraudConsumerProtectionGuideFinal.pdf with information on unemployment fraud and what to do if you believe your information has been used to file a fraudulent claim.

The Department encourages anyone who believes that someone else has used their or their employees personal information to file a fraudulent unemployment application to notify the Department immediately using this form: https://www.maine.gov/unemployment/idtheft/

Work Search Related Activities Requirement:

Weekly work search related activity requirements are in effect for all unemployment claimants. The only exception is for individuals in medical quarantine due to potential COVID-19 exposure.

Self-employed individuals need to attest to engaging in activities designed to fully reopen their business.

In response to the circumstances caused by the pandemic, the Department expanded possible work search activities to include opportunities to enhance individual's marketability during these challenging economic times.

Work search activities include:

  • Attending a job fair/virtual job fair hosted by a CareerCenter
  • Participating in CareerCenter virtual reemployment services
  • Participating in a CareerCenter virtual workshop
  • Applying for a job for which you are reasonably qualified
  • Interviewing for a job for which you are reasonably qualified
  • Contacting an employer to inquire as to whether the employer is hiring
  • Participating in professional job-related education or skills development
  • Participating in networking events related to a job or occupation for which you are reasonably qualified
  • Working part-time

For example, some resources through the Maine State Library count as a work search activity. Below are brief descriptions of the services and links to them on the Digital Maine Library.

Learning Express Library: https://libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?db=lel

  • Career Preparation includes: exploring new careers, including health care and green jobs; preparing for career exams, such as nursing assistant or real estate salesperson
  • Computer Skills includes everything from basic computer operation to specific Microsoft software
  • Adult Core Skills are geared at improving math and reading skills

Pronunciator: https://libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?db=pll - Learning a second language can be useful personally and professionally

Petersons Career Prep: https://libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?db=pcp - Resume development
- Career exploration
- Other job-related guidance

All claimants are also required to be registered on the Maine JobLink, a free job search tool, where claimants can upload their resumes and employers can post their job openings: https://joblink.maine.gov/ada/r/

The CareerCenters hold frequent virtual workshops on how to use the Maine JobLink. To register any of the CareerCenter workshops, please visit: http://www.mainecareercenter.com/employment/workshops.shtml

People can also call their local CareerCenter to schedule a 1:1 appointment with a CareerCenter Consultant to explore work search activity options specific to the persons individual needs.

More information, videos, and answers to frequently asked questions on the work search requirement can be found at: https://www.maine.gov/unemployment/faq/worksearch/

If an employer has offered work to an employee and that employee refused the work, the employer should notify the Department. A fact-finding would be held to determine if there was good cause for the refusal of work. If no good cause is determined, then the claimant would no longer be eligible for unemployment benefits.

Employers can report refusals of work here: https://www.maine.gov/unemployment/ucbr/