Biden administration releases new guidelines making previously denied applicants eligible for up to 79 weeks of unemployment. //end headline wrapper ?>Unemployment Insurance Claims Office. Photo by Bytemarks (CC-BY).
Tens of thousands of people in Wisconsin whose applications for COVID-19 pandemic unemployment benefits were denied could be eligible for up to 79 weeks of unemployment payments.
There are three main categories of newly eligible workers:
Those who declined to return to work at a site that wasn’t complying with COVID-19 safety standards, such as requiring face masks and physical distancing.
Those working for an educational institution who became unemployed or partially unemployed after COVID-19 scrambled workers’ schedules.
Citizens decry delays. DWD officials say outdated computer system causes massive problems. //end headline wrapper ?>Get a daily rundown of the top stories on Urban Milwaukee
The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families is hearing that counties need increased funding to address rising caseloads and costs for counties related to parental drug abuse. Danielle Kaeding/WPR
Democratic Gov.
Tony Evers signed an executive order Wednesday officially calling the state Legislature into special session to take up the task of modernizing Wisconsin’s unemployment system. It’s set to take place Jan. 19 starting at noon, according to the order.
Evers announced plans for the special session in his third State of the State address Tuesday night, saying administrations going back more than a decade knew the unemployment system couldn’t handle an economic crisis but “they never took the time to fix it.”