KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The latest COVID-19 stimulus bill includes several unemployment provisions.
The bill will extend three federal programs – pandemic unemployment assistance, which provides benefits to those not traditionally eligible for unemployment; federal pandemic unemployment compensation, the additional weekly $300 on top of regular benefits; and the pandemic emergency unemployment compensation, which provides an additional 13 weeks of benefits beyond the traditional 26 weeks.
Kansas Department of Labor deputy secretary Peter Brady said the timing of this bill, unlike the one that came before it, will likely mean there won't be a lapse in benefits to claimants.
Brady said the Continued Assistance Act wasn't signed until the day after programs expired from the CARES Act, causing the delay in payments.
"It also created a delay in the timeline for states to develop and implement the provisions and extensions," Brady said.
The department also had to wait on guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor before implementing programs.
Brady said the timing of Wednesday's vote is good news for claimants.
"That gives us time to work on it," he said. "It gives the U.S. Department of Labor time to develop guidance and get that out."
Brady said his team is working diligently to prepare, but reminded Kansans the legacy IT system still has a vote in the process.
"We are still implementing these extensions on a legacy system that has presented challenges in the past and probably still will in some respects," Brady said.
For Kansans like Wyandotte County resident Renee Thomas-Gullion, it's difficult to put her faith in the department when she's been waiting on payments since October.
"I've called, I've emailed, I've sent in my documents, I don't know what else to do," Thomas-Gullion said.
Thomas-Gullion said the federal extension is needed now more than ever.
"It's not cheap to take care of your children, not have a job, it's financially hard, you know," she said. "I have to choose between paying my phone bill and buying diapers."