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Tennessee Unemployment Benefits Extension – 20 More Weeks?

Update – Feb 7, 2011 – Legislation to add extra weeks for 99ers

Democratic Reps. Barbara Lee (Calif.) and Bobby Scott (Va.) are reintroducing legislation this week to provide additional weeks of unemployment insurance benefits for “99ers,”

Main article

Part of Obama’s 2009 stimulus package was extra funding for states to extend the length of unemployment benefits if necessary.  Most states have a fixed number of weeks available for benefits but can increase the number of weeks if the economic climate is bad enough.  This is usually measured by the unemployment rate.

The unemployment rate in Tennesse was 9.9% for April 2009 which is up from 6.0% in April of last year.  This is the highest unemployment rate in 25 years.  Tennesse has qualified for $141 million to pay for extended benefits as well as upgrades to the benefit infrastructure.

What unemployment benefits are available now?

Currently Tennessee will pay benefits for 26 weeks which is the normal payout period.  There is another 33 weeks which is available because of the 2009 stimulus package for a total of 59 weeks.


Unemployed workers can get up to $275 per week in benefits plus a bonus $25 a week from the federal government for a total of $300 per week.

Will the unemployment benefits be extended by another 20 weeks?

[edit – please note that this bill has been passed]

Currently there is a bill called HB 2324 which if passed will increase benefits by up to 20 weeks.  If the claimant has any children the bill will also add on $15 per week per child up to 3 kids.  This bill has not been made law yet but you can check on the status of the bill here.  At the moment (May 22) it says that it is scheduled for the Finance, Means and Ways committe for May 27.  This bill was first introduced on Feb 26 so it is taking a long time.

Once the bill is passed by the FMW committee then it will go to the house and senate and lastly the governor.

There is a very good chance that unemployment benefits will be extended by 20 weeks however the slow machine of politics means that it might take a while.

693 replies on “Tennessee Unemployment Benefits Extension – 20 More Weeks?”

read june 3 article The Tennessean, Tennesseans will have to wait for benefits. will take up to two weeks for the computers to be ready. Then the letters will be sent out, complete online application, and then a paper check will be mailed out average $2300. may be end of the month before we get anything.

Decided to check again today to see if I could at least see my benefits online. Still getting the “Our records indicate that you are not eligible to use the system” message.

Dwayne are you getting that same message also? Just wanted to check to make sure that I am not the only one getting that blasted message. 🙁

Lynn H. from Hixson

Thanks honeychile10, I’m curious why some folks have mentioned that they can see their benefits and some of us cannot. It might possibly be based on the tier level that someone was on before the benefits stopped. Who knows…

@Lynn, yes that is the same message I’m getting and have been since the 28th. I previously showed a 0.00 balance till right after the senate voted on it, then it dropped. I believe it has something to do with the way they are building the application, because some have shown the above, then been able to get back on, only to be taken off again. Sounds like a computer running a test, re-instating then be taken off again after the program runs.

Dwayne

@dewayne, had not thought about the testing, that makes sense. Thanks.

@honeychile10, thanks for the links. One thing I will caution. The second comment from the person that talks about the state drawing interest off of the federal money. This is the problem when poster’s don’t post links to where they find information, I’m not saying he isn’t being truthful, but I cannot find anywhere where it talks about interest associated with these trust funds, unless, the state has to borrow money from the feds to keep it’s UI going, in which, under some circumstances, the state will have to pay interest on the federal loans. He may be correct, but, if he had posted a source, it would be more believable. I would think, if it extends into July(which I don’t think it will), will be because the new state budget doesn’t kick in till July 1. Why it would wait that long, with federal funds already there, is beyond me. This is the problem with speculating. I will keep searching, when I can, to see if I can find out if the State draws any type of interest off of the federal money deposited into the trust fund. If anyone can find a link, please post it here, I would definitely be interested.

Dwayne

Dwayne,, i agree with you..it will be any day now…im sure they are perfoming maintence tests to work the bugs out…i was in tier 4 on 4-16 and exhausted 4 on 5-30….i have access to ui.tn webpage but still shows my tier 4 info….zero..please everyone=be patient,,,,,i know this sucks for ALL,,,,,,,,,,,,,,respectfully=me

I called unemployment again this morning and was told that IT was still working on the system. The lady said they still cannot enter or retroactive info into the system until IT creates a program. Honestly I don’t see what is taking so dang long. It didn’t take this long last summer when I lost my benefits. She said to keep checking their website periodically because that would be the best way to find out any new information. Personally, I think we are getting the runaround because they are stalling for some reason.

Just called unemployment office again! They are clueless and rude! Anyway, the lady said that there would be an update posted friday for us……

lol I agree with the clueless part but the lady I spoke with today was very very nice. I’m sure they have been cussed a few times. I can kind of understand the rudeness because I have worked behind a phone before. The people taking our calls are just as clueless as we are. They can only give out information they have received and if they haven’t been told what to tell us, they can only try to pacify us. I don’t blame this on the people answering the phones, but on the governor, politicians, and higher ups in the Department of Labor. I can’t wait until election time!

@Kendra, if these folks are truly being rude, and what I mean by truly, I didn’t hear the conversation, so if you wasn’t rude first and they were rude to you, you need to find out who the person is and report them to the state, even to the point of calling your state rep depending on the level of rudeness. Their salaries are being paid by taxes collected from TN citizens, yes, we are paying taxes on the unemployment benefits. I understand their call volume is off the chart, but that is because they are releasing very little information. This is the way the federal govt treated the Military back in ’92, when they kicked out over 200,000 of us during the drawdown of forces. Very little information was released to us, so most of us not truly understanding the program, left the military(a little separation bonus was given, but it was threatened if we didn’t take the bonus and get out, if they didn’t meet their drawdown goals, we could be kicked out without any separation money). If I had it all to do over, I would have stayed in and I could have, as all goals were not only meet, but, exceeded.

So, if these govt workers are being rude, pursue it. I can handle being told “were waiting on IT, but other that that, I don’t know anything,” but being rude is not in their job description.

Just my .02

Almost forgot, the US Treasury has the unemployment trust fund for each state, and, under normal circumstances, the trust fund(which they are three separate accounts in one trust fund) does draw interest, but, nothing was said about the federal funds that are added drawing interest. The reason I’m not posting links, I couldn’t find this dealing with TN, but from two other states and I don’t want any confusion, if anything is not exactly the same for TN.

Dwayne

Here is a link that explains a little about the unemployment trust fund, but, it is from 2004 and does not cover the assistance that has been approved by the Federal Govt, just keep that in mind when you read it. Hopefully it can help understanding the generalities of how unemployment is governed.

http://nelp.3cdn.net/03f85efcaa9c423b78_gjm6bnku9.pdf

Dwayne

She was rude from the moment she answered the phone, then I asked if there was someone else I could speak with, she informed me there wasnt. I was so taken back by the whole thing, I didnt ask for her name. I wish I had of though. Because if she is not happy in her position then im sure there are plenty of us who would happily take her spot. Ive ran call centers, used to set them up for companies, rudeness was never ever tolarated. I understand they are overwhelmed, but thats never an excuse….this whole thing sucks. We are all in the same boat, and this is one of the only places where we get any tidbit of info and any kind of understanding.

Just for FYI, next time ask specifically for a supervisor or manager, when you get one of them on the phone, let them know your next call is going to be to Nashville and then to your state rep and let them know how this office is rude to people who are just trying to get answers. I know for a fact, that some of these offices are facing cut backs due to the financial condition of the state. There is no excuse for being rude, at the least, the worker should have realized that and said something to the affect of, “sorry with all the negative calls I’ve had today, it’s not been a good day.” If a police officer or paramedic is rude, you better believe they’re people beating down the door to make complaints against them. Sometimes govt workers feel they are untouchable because of their jobs. I promise you, if someone starts cussing them on the phone, they will at the least, get a supervisor in on that call or hang up, which I fully agree with too. Rudeness applies both ways.

Dwayne

If you cross the North Korean border illegally you get 12 years hard labor.
If you cross the Iranian border illegally you are detained indefinitely.
If you cross the Afghan border illegally, you get shot.
If you cross the Saudi Arabian border illegally you will be jailed.
If you cross the Chinese border illegally you may never be heard from again.
If you cross the Venezuelan border illegally you will be branded a spy and your fate will be sealed.
If you cross the Cuban border illegally you will be thrown into political prison to rot.
If you cross the U.S. . Border illegally you get:

1 – a job,
2 – a drivers license,
3 – social security card,
4 – welfare,
5 – food stamps,
6 – credit cards
7 – subsidized rent or a loan to buy a house,
8 – free education,
9 – free health care,
10 – a lobbyist in Washington
11 – billions of dollars worth of public documents printed in your language
12 – and the right to carry your country’s flag while you protest that you don’t get enough respect

I just wanted to make sure I had a firm grasp on the situation…

Everyone,

Remember, the computer system we have is from the early 1980s and our IT division has to modify a multitude of COBOL programs to get it working. That being said, I believe we are in the final stages of testing and I think it should be up in the next few days.

The program that allows folks to transition from EUC Tier 4 into EB is now working.

To take care of the folks that had their EB stopped, there will be a website for everyone to go to that will create the certifications for the retroactive benefit payments all at once. Once you are caught up, you will certify like you normally do.

As for the way the funding for EB works, the money resides in Washington. As the state takes EB certifications, we are allowed to draw down the funds to pay the benefits. The state does not get to keep the interest on EUC or EB. Interest earned on the state’s UI Trust Fund (the fund that pays the initial unemployment benefits) goes back into the trust fund.

As for rudeness when you get into contact with someone, that is never acceptable. Especially in these economic times, being unemployed creates a tremendous amount of stress . While we know we aren’t going to make people happy by telling them that programs aren’t yet ready, there is no good excuse for us to be rude. We know there are a lot of scared and frustrated people and we need to be especially sensitive.

I promise you that the management of our Agency does look into the matter when folks complain about rudeness.

@John, Thank You very much for coming and explaining this to everybody. I believe you have just lowered everyone blood pressure by 20 points and given everyone some hope that, while not perfect, our system does work. Rumors and speculation are never good and usually only do more harm to a high pressure situation.

Three thumbs up for your help!! 🙂

Dwayne

John! Thank you for giving us something to go on. How wonderful of you to take the time to do that, it was very thoughtful and helps me breathe a little easier.

John i thank you as Dewayne stated my blood pressure has dropped tremendously thanx for taking the time out!

Why is it saying that he signed the bill on june 8. I thought he signed it last week. It was on news last night June 8 and on internet.

John thank you so much! I checked this morning and I now have a balance where it had been $00 yesterday. The system will still not allow me to certify and is still giving me the message that I have exhausted my benefits, but I suppose the rest will come in the next week or so. Thank you again John, for giving all of us a little bit of information. I know it certainly has made me feel a little better.

You can now go to the Tennessee Department of Labor website and apply for your EB back to April 16. Just click on the link in the top left hand corner of the home page.

OMG….I went on the Department of Labor page and filled out my back week for EB. It is only 12 weeks, but that okay. I really going to have to find a job ASAP. I called unemployment and they said that it should process tonight and I should hopefully see a direct deposit in my account tomorrow or the next day. He also told me that if people are unable to login they should try and certify. And if you are not allowed to certify or go on the department of labor website start the EB then something should be mailed to you this week early next week….I hope this helped a little

which homepage,,,there is atleast 20 if you google Tennessee Department of Labor…if your talking about where i can view my benefits,,it just takes me right back to the beggining=ui.tn.gov..i dont see anything about retro…please post a link

Just noticed something positive on the TNDLWD webpage. The available trust fund has jumped from 306+ million to 366+ million. Don’t know if it happened today or in the last couple of days, looks like the feds deposited their money in the fund. I would say that is a very positive sign.

Dwayne

i never transitioned into eb, but exausted tier 4 on 5/30…my account balance has showed zero until today…so hopefully soon you guys who were cut off eb will see something soon…like stated by john, i guess we are first……

Ihave direct deposit but Ithought it said a paper check would be mailed for your back eb

@Robert, thanks, yea, we’ll hear something within the next few days. It’s hard to be patient, but, we really need to be.

Dwayne

I clicked submit yesterday and I get the same message today that I did yesterday after clicking submit to check back in one business day…. Was there anything else I needed to do because after one business day there has been no change?

@frannie, the same thing hapoened to me. I called them, they said that there was IT issues again and may be the 1st of the week before we get our checks. They said IT was working on it…….i know patience is a virtue, but mine is wearing thin.

I spoke this (Fri) morning with a TDES rep & she said if claimant had direct deposit previously the retro payment would be auto-applied to either your account or payment card. Hopefully it will be applied SOON. GOD Bless you all.

Believe me- I know we ALL are in dire straits having waited for so long…but now that we KNOW it’s coming, let’s count our blessings & try to be patient. With light bills, housing expenses, GAS, etc…we all probably have these issues (likely). Trust GOD & know that He Holds us ALL in His Capable Hands. Relax & know these things…He has ALWAYS Worked things out, hasn’t He? Rest in Him-He Will take care of His own.

Hi Guys,
Happy Friday everyone. I know its been an exhausting past couple of weeks for us all but I’m hopeful the worst is behind us. Just like everyone else I got the same message after applying for eb yesterday and called and spoke with a rep and she confirmed they were having technical issues last night, the checks were not printing. She did say they were working on it and hopefully payments will post at the latest on Monday, after the system resets itself Sunday night. However when dealing with computers it’s hard to say……. they are way to unpredictable. At any rate I think by this time next week we will all be breathing a little easier.

the site where you applied for eb. is now saying my claim has been accepted. hope that means money will soon follow.

It’s 12:44 am on Friday and I just check mine and it is saying accepted as well…… so we are one step closer.

Jane, it is for anyone who has yet to draw their eb or was cut off in April while drawing their eb and still had a balance.

The system now says its is unavailable until Sunday at 8:00 am. They must be either testing or processing.

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