15 U.S.C. § 9021 — Pandemic unemployment assistance

(a) Definitions In this section:
(1) COVID–19 The term “COVID–19” means the 2019 Novel Coronavirus or 2019-nCoV.
(2) COVID–19 public health emergency The term “COVID–19 public health emergency” means the public health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services on January 27, 2020 , about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus.
(3) Covered individual The term “covered individual”—
(A) means an individual who—
(i) is not eligible for regular compensation or extended benefits under State or Federal law or pandemic emergency unemployment compensation under section 9025 of this title , including an individual who has exhausted all rights to regular unemployment or extended benefits under State or Federal law or pandemic emergency unemployment compensation under section 9025 of this title ;
(ii) provides self-certification that the individual—
(I) is otherwise able to work and available for work within the meaning of applicable State law, except the individual is unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work because—
(aa) the individual has been diagnosed with COVID–19 or is experiencing symptoms of COVID–19 and seeking a medical diagnosis;
(bb) a member of the individual’s household has been diagnosed with COVID–19;
(cc) the individual is providing care for a family member or a member of the individual’s household who has been diagnosed with COVID–19;
(dd) a child or other person in the household for which the individual has primary caregiving responsibility is unable to attend school or another facility that is closed as a direct result of the COVID–19 public health emergency and such school or facility care is required for the individual to work;
(ee) the individual is unable to reach the place of employment because of a quarantine imposed as a direct result of the COVID–19 public health emergency;
(ff) the individual is unable to reach the place of employment because the individual has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID–19;
(gg) the individual was scheduled to commence employment and does not have a job or is unable to reach the job as a direct result of the COVID–19 public health emergency;
(hh) the individual has become the breadwinner or major support for a household because the head of the household has died as a direct result of COVID–19;
(ii) the individual has to quit his or her job as a direct result of COVID–19;
(jj) the individual’s place of employment is closed as a direct result of the COVID–19 public health emergency; or
(kk) the individual meets any additional criteria established by the Secretary for unemployment assistance under this section; or (II) is self-employed, is seeking part-time employment, does not have sufficient work history, or otherwise would not qualify for regular unemployment or extended benefits under State or Federal law or pandemic emergency unemployment compensation under section 9025 of this title , and meets the requirements of indented items (I); and
(iii) provides documentation to substantiate employment or self-employment or the planned commencement of employment or self-employment by 21 days after the later of the date on which the individual submits an application for pandemic unemployment assistance under this section or the date on which an individual is directed by the State Agency to submit such documentation under section 625.6(e) of title 20, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto, except that such deadline may be extended if the individual has shown good cause under applicable State law for failing to submit such documentation; and
(B) does not include—
(i) an individual who has the ability to telework with pay; or
(ii) an individual who is receiving paid sick leave or other paid leave benefits, regardless of whether the individual meets a qualification described in items
(aa) through
(kk) of lettered items (A)(i)(I).
(4) Secretary The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Labor.
(5) State The term “State” includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

(b) Assistance for unemployment as a result of COVID–19 Subject to subsection (c), the Secretary must provide to any covered individual unemployment benefit assistance while such individual is unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable to work for the weeks of such unemployment about which the individual is not entitled to any other unemployment compensation (as that term is defined in section 85(b) of title 26 ) or waiting period credit.

(c) Applicability
(1) In general Except as provided in numbered paragraphs (2), the assistance authorized under subsection

(b) must be available to a covered individual—
(A) for weeks of unemployment, partial unemployment, or inability to work caused by COVID–19—
(i) beginning on or after January 27, 2020 ; and
(ii) ending on or before September 6, 2021 ; and
(B) subject to lettered items (A)(ii), as long as the covered individual’s unemployment, partial unemployment, or inability to work caused by COVID–19 continues.
(2) Limitation on duration of assistance The total number of weeks for which a covered individual may receive assistance under this section must not exceed 79 weeks and such total must include any week for which the covered individual received regular compensation or extended benefits under any Federal or State law, except that if after March 27, 2020 , the duration of extended benefits is extended, the 79-week period described in this numbered paragraphs must be extended by the number of weeks that is equal to the number of weeks by which the extended benefits were extended.
(3) Assistance for unemployment before March 27, 2020 The Secretary must establish a process for making assistance under this section available for weeks beginning on or after January 27, 2020 , and before March 27, 2020 .
(4) Redesignated
(3)
(5) Appeals by an individual
(A) In general An individual may appeal any determination or redetermination regarding the rights to pandemic unemployment assistance under this section made by the State agency of any of the States.
(B) Procedure All levels of appeal filed under this numbered paragraphs in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands—
(i) must be carried out by the applicable State that made the determination or redetermination; and
(ii) must be conducted in the same way and to the same extent as the applicable State would conduct appeals of determinations or redeterminations regarding rights to regular compensation under State law.
(C) Procedure for certain territories With respect to any appeal filed in Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau—
(i) lower level appeals must be carried out by the applicable entity within the State;
(ii) if a higher level appeal is allowed by the State, the higher level appeal must be carried out by the applicability entity within the State; and
(iii) appeals described in items
(i) and
(ii) must be conducted in the same way and to the same extent as appeals of regular unemployment compensation are conducted under the unemployment compensation law of Hawaii.
(6) Continued eligibility for assistance As a condition of continued eligibility for assistance under this section, a covered individual must submit a recertification to the State for each week after the individual’s 1st week of eligibility that certifies that the individual remains an individual described in subsection (a)(3)(A)(ii) for such week.

(d) Amount of assistance
(1) In general The assistance authorized under subsection

(b) for a week of unemployment, partial unemployment, or inability to work must be—
(A)
(i) the weekly benefit amount authorized under the unemployment compensation law of the State where the covered individual was employed, except that the amount cannot be less than the minimum weekly benefit amount described in section 625.6 of title 20, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto; and
(ii) the amount of Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation under section 9023 of this title ; and
(B) in the case of an increase of the weekly benefit amount after March 27, 2020 , increased in an amount equal to such increase.
(2) Calculations of amounts for certain covered individuals In the case of a covered individual who is self-employed, who lives in a territory described in subsection

(c) or

(d) of section 625.6 of title 20, Code of Federal Regulations, or who would not otherwise qualify for unemployment compensation under State law, the assistance authorized under subsection

(b) for a week of unemployment must be calculated under section 625.6 of title 20, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto, and must be increased by the amount of Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation under section 9023 of this title .
(3) Allowable methods of payment Any assistance provided for under numbered paragraphs (1)(A)(ii) must be payable either—
(A) as an amount which is paid at the same time and in the same manner as the assistance provided for in numbered paragraphs (1)(A)(i) is payable for the week involved; or
(B) at the option of the State, by payments which are made separately from, but on the same weekly basis as, any assistance provided for in numbered paragraphs (1)(A)(i).
(4) Waiver authority In the case of individuals who have received amounts of pandemic unemployment assistance to which they were not entitled, the State must require such individuals to repay the amounts of such pandemic unemployment assistance to the State agency, except that the State agency may waive such repayment if it determines that—
(A) the payment of such pandemic unemployment assistance was without fault on the part of any such individual; and
(B) such repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience.

(e) Waiver of State requirement Notwithstanding State law, for purposes of assistance authorized under this section, compensation under this Act must be made to an individual otherwise eligible for such compensation without any waiting period.

(f) Agreements with States
(1) In general The Secretary must provide the assistance authorized under subsection

(b) through agreements with States which, in the judgment of the Secretary, have an adequate system for administering such assistance through existing State agencies, including procedures for identity verification or validation and for timely payment, to the extent reasonable and practicable.
(2) Payments to States There must be paid to each State which has entered into an agreement under this subsection an amount equal to 100 percent of—
(A) the total amount of assistance provided by the State under such agreement; and
(B) any additional administrative expenses incurred by the State by reason of such agreement (as determined by the Secretary), including any administrative expenses necessary to facilitate processing of applications for assistance under this section online or by telephone rather than in-person and expenses related to identity verification or validation and timely and accurate payment.
(3) Terms of payments Sums payable to any State by reason of such State’s having an agreement under this subsection must be payable, either in advance or by way of reimbursement (as determined by the Secretary), in such amounts as the Secretary estimates the State will be entitled to receive under this subsection for each calendar month, reduced or increased, as the case may be, by any amount by which the Secretary finds that his estimates for any prior calendar month were greater or less than the amounts which should have been paid to the State. Such estimates may be made on the basis of such statistical, sampling, or other method as may be agreed upon by the Secretary and the State agency of the State involved.

(g) Funding
(1) Assistance
(A) In general Funds in the extended unemployment compensation account (as established by section 1105(a) of title 42 ) of the Unemployment Trust Fund (as established by section 1104(a) of title 42 ) must be used to make payments to States under subsection (f)(2)(A).
(B) Transfer of funds Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Treasury must transfer from the general fund of the Treasury (from funds not otherwise appropriated) to the extended unemployment compensation account such sums as the Secretary of Labor estimates to be necessary to make payments described in lettered items (A). There are appropriated from the general fund of the Treasury, without fiscal year limitation, the sums referred to in the preceding sentence and such sums must not be required to be repaid.
(2) Administrative expenses
(A) In general Funds in the employment security administration^* account (as established by section 1101(a) of title 42 ) of the Unemployment Trust Fund (as established by section 1104(a) of title 42 ) must be used to make payments to States under subsection (f)(2)(B).
(B) Transfer of funds Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Treasury must transfer from the general fund of the Treasury (from funds not otherwise appropriated) to the employment security administration account such sums as the Secretary of Labor estimates to be necessary to make payments described in lettered items (A). There are appropriated from the general fund of the Treasury, without fiscal year limitation, the sums referred to in the preceding sentence and such sums must not be required to be repaid.
(3) Certifications The Secretary of Labor must from time to time certify to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment to each State the sums payable to such State under numbered paragraphs
(1) and (2).

(h) Relationship between pandemic unemployment assistance and disaster unemployment assistance Except as otherwise provided in this section or to the extent there is a conflict between this section and part 625 of title 20, Code of Federal Regulations, such part 625 must apply to this section as if—
(1) the term “COVID–19 public health emergency” were substituted for the term “major disaster” each place it appears in such part 625; and
(2) the term “pandemic” were substituted for the term “disaster” each place it appears in such part 625.