MONTGOMERY – (March 3, 2021) Alabama has elected to participate in the Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation (MEUC) program. This program is part of the Continued Assistance Act (CAA) which provides extension provisions to CARES Act programs that expired December 26, 2020.

The program pays an additional $100 per week in supplemental benefits to individuals receiving certain unemployment benefits who received at least $5,000 of self-employment income in the most recent taxable year ending prior to the individual’s application for regular compensation, while also earning regular wages from an employer.

MEUC is not available to PUA claimants.

These benefits are currently available for the weeks of: January 02, 2021 – March 13, 2021. Most claimants will receive their payments in a lump sum.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

• Claimants must have net self-employment income of $5,000 in the tax year prior to the year the unemployment claim was filed.

• Claimants must provide proof of self-employment income. Those who applied for unemployment in 2020 will provide documentation of self-employment income for the 2019 tax year. Those who applied for unemployment in 2021 will provide documentation of self-employment income for the 2020 tax year. Failure to provide proof of self-employment income will result in a disqualification of MEUC benefits. Acceptable proof is a 1099 tax form or a Schedule C from the applicable tax year.

• Claimants must be eligible for at least $1 of an underlying benefit for each week and will be required to supply documentation before they’re deemed eligible. Qualifying underlying benefit programs include regular Unemployment Compensation (UC), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), Extended Benefits (EB), Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA), and Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA). Claimants receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) are not eligible for this program.

Claimants will be individually notified by mail of their potential eligibility for this program including instructions for application. Claimants should also be aware that MEUC benefits will be considered income that could impact eligibility for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

 

###

Members of the media seeking more information should contact Communications Director Tara Hutchison.

“Seasonal adjustment” refers to BLS’s practice of anticipating certain trends in the labor force, such as hiring during the holidays or the surge in the labor force when students graduate in the spring, and removing their effects to the civilian labor force. 

The Current Population (CPS), or the household survey, is conducted by the Census Bureau and identifies members of the work force and measures how many people are working or looking for work.

The establishment survey, which is conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, surveys employers to measure how many jobs are in the economy.  This is also referred to as wage and salary employment.

An Equal Opportunity Employer / Program

Auxiliary aids and services available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

Dial 711 for TTY Accessibility