Question:
Good afternoon, I separated from the Air Force 10JAN2020 and had a job lined up. Due to my extensive medical records, the VA's appointments made it so that my job wouldn't hire me until I got those out of the way (I was having 3-5 a week for several weeks). As that wrapped up, the Coronavirus hit the US. I went to my closest Career Center to inquire about UCX, to which they had me sit down and fill out a bunch of forms. After weeks of issues trying to collect a payment, I was told that they've never heard of UCX. How do I know if I'm on UCX? How do I sign up if I'm currently not on it? The quarantine has closed the Career Center's office and it's impossible to reach anyone; any information you have would be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance for your time and attention.
Jim's Reply:
The UCX benefit is complex enough as it is and the restrictions that come with the pandemic have upset a lot of routines...including the UCX process. This will describe what your options are https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/unemployment-compensation-ex-service-members-ucx.html
- PS from StatesideLegaL: Many State offices are struggling to stay on top of the volume of demand for unemployment compensation benefit. The US Department of Labor has posted current information about unemployment compensation and UCX on their website here., including the contact info for each State's office A DOL fact sheet published 4-4-20 states: "The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the publication of Unemployment Insurance Guidance Letter 15-20 (UIPL) providing guidance to states for Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC). Under FPUC, states will administer an additional $600 weekly payment to certain eligible individuals who are receiving other benefits...This program allows states to provide an additional $600 per week benefit to individuals who are collecting regular Unemployment Compensation (including Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) and Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX)."