The first wave of coronavirus relief enacted on March 18 offers immediate help for working families impacted by the pandemic through emergency paid sick leave and expanded jobless benefits.
The $2.2 trillion federal stimulus bill, signed into law on March 27 will provide $1,200 for most Americans and add $600 a week to unemployment benefits on top of state jobless benefits.
Direct payments
Under the federal stimulus bill, most individuals will get direct payments of $1,200 and $2,400 for couples, plus $500 per child. For individuals with adjusted gross income more than $75,000. The amount would then be reduced by $5 for every additional $100 of adjusted gross income. Those making more than $99,000 won’t get anything. Those income levels are doubled for couples.
Income is based on a person’s 2019 or 2018 tax returns.
Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin said on May 25 that payments would start going out within three weeks of the The bill went into effect on March 27, so that would mean April 17.
The payments will come from the IRS and will be deposited directly into individual’s bank accounts if they have already authorized to get tax refunds that way over the past two years. Otherwise, the checks will be mailed.
Unemployment benefits
Under Gov. Roy Cooper’s March 17 executive order, the N.C. Employment Security Division has expanded eligibility and benefits to individuals impacted by the coronavirus.
The order specifically addresses:
• Individuals who are separated from employment;
• Individuals who have had their work hours reduced;
• Individuals who are prevented from working due to a coronavirus-related medical condition or who are under direct quarantine orders.
In addition, the order authorizes the N.C. Department of Commerce to ease or waive some requirements to receive financial assistance, including:
• The one-week waiting period for benefits;
• The able to work and available to work requirements;
• The work search requirements;
• The actively seeking work requirements; and
• The “lack of work” requirement.
For more details on expanded benefits and various categories of eligibility, go to des.nc.gov/need-help/covid-19-information. File for unemployment benefits at des.nc.gov. If you don’t have access to a computer, you may file over the phone by calling 888-737-0259.
The first payments for unemployment claims connected to the coronavirus will start going out this week, Cooper said.
More help for the unemployed is on the way thanks to the stimulus bill. In general, workers who have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus will get an extra $600 a week on top of their state benefits up to four months. And there’s talk in Washington about extending those benefits.
Currently, N.C. jobless benefits are capped at $350 per week for a maximum of 12 weeks.
Paid sick leave
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act enacted March 18 also mandates that employers offer two weeks of paid sick leave to people who are subject to isolation or quarantine, or have symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Working parents who are forced to stay at home to care for children whose schools are closed are also eligible.
The mandated sick leave pays 100 percent of the beneficiary’s salary, up to $511 per day. It also provides up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave at 67 percent of normal salary, up to $200 per day.
Self-employed citizens will get a tax credit equivalent to the amount of sick leave benefits.
Most workers at companies with fewer than 500 employees qualify for two weeks of emergency paid sick leave. Employers receive tax credits to offset the cost of providing leave. Employers can call 919-707-1150 for more information.
Companies with fewer than 50 employees can opt out of providing sick leave if doing so would put the business at risk of closing.
Beware of scams
The FBI is warning people to watch for scams targeting recipients of federal stimulus payments tied to the coronavirus outbreak.
Under the federal stimulus bill, most Americans will be receiving $1,200 payments.
Watch for phone calls, emails and texts asking for personal information needed to receive the money.
Fraud can be reported to the FBI at ic3.gov.