45 USC 352 - Benefits

U.S Code last checked for updates: Apr 29, 2024

§ 352.

Benefits

(a)

Days for which benefits payable; determination of amount

(1)

(A)

Payment of Unemployment Benefits.—

(i)

Generally.—

Except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, benefits shall be payable to any qualified employee for each day of unemployment in excess of 4 during any registration period within a period of continuing unemployment.

(ii)

Waiting period for first registration period.—

Benefits shall be payable to any qualified employee for each day of unemployment in excess of 7 during that employee’s first registration period in a period of continuing unemployment if such period of continuing unemployment is the employee’s initial period of continuing unemployment commencing in the benefit year.

(iii)

Strikes.—

(I)

Initial 14-day waiting period.—

If the Board finds that a qualified employee has a period of continuing unemployment that includes days of unemployment due to a stoppage of work because of a strike in the establishment, premises, or enterprise at which such employee was last employed, no benefits shall be payable for such employee’s first 14 days of unemployment due to such stoppage of work.

(II)

Subsequent days of unemployment.—

For subsequent days of unemployment due to the same stoppage of work, benefits shall be payable as provided in clause (i) of this subparagraph.

(III)

Subsequent periods of continuing unemployment.—

If such period of continuing unemployment ends by reason of clause (v) but the stoppage of work continues, the waiting period established in clause (ii) shall apply to the employee’s first registration period in a new period of continuing unemployment based upon the same stoppage of work.

(iv)

Definition of period of continuing unemployment.—

Except as limited by clause (v), for the purposes of this subparagraph, the term “period of continuing unemployment” means—

(I)

a single registration period that includes more than 4 days of unemployment;

(II)

a series of consecutive registration periods, each of which includes more than 4 days of unemployment; or

(III)

a series of successive registration periods, each of which includes more than 4 days of unemployment, if each succeeding registration period begins within 15 days after the last day of the immediately preceding registration period.

(v)

Special rule regarding end of period.—

For purposes of applying clause (ii), a period of continuing unemployment ends when an employee exhausts rights to unemployment benefits under subsection (c) of this section.

(vi)

Limit on amount of benefits.—

No benefits shall be payable to an otherwise eligible employee for any day of unemployment in a registration period where the total amount of the remuneration (as defined in section 351(j) of this title) payable or accruing to him for days within such registration period exceeds the amount of the base year monthly compensation base. For purposes of the preceding sentence, an employee’s remuneration shall be deemed to include the gross amount of any remuneration that would have become payable to that employee but did not become payable because that employee was not ready or willing to perform suitable work available to that employee on any day within such registration period.

(B)

Payment of Sickness Benefits.—

(i)

Generally.—

Except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, benefits shall be payable to any qualified employee for each day of sickness after the 4th consecutive day of sickness in a period of continuing sickness but excluding 4 days of sickness in any registration period in such period of continuing sickness.

(ii)

Waiting period for first registration period.—

Benefits shall be payable to any qualified employee for each day of sickness in excess of 7 during that employee’s first registration period in a period of continuing sickness if such period of continuing sickness is the employee’s initial period of continuing sickness commencing in the benefit year. For the purposes of this clause, the first registration period in a period of continuing sickness is that registration period that first begins with 4 consecutive days of sickness and includes more than 4 days of sickness.

(iii)

Definition of period of continuing sickness.—

For the purposes of this subparagraph, a period of continuing sickness means—

(I)

a period of consecutive days of sickness, whether from 1 or more causes; or

(II)

a period of successive days of sickness due to a single cause without interruption of more than 90 consecutive days which are not days of sickness.

(iv)

Special rule regarding end of period.—

For purposes of applying clause (ii), a period of continuing sickness ends when an employee exhausts rights to sickness benefits under subsection (c) of this section.

(2)

The daily benefit rate with respect to any such employee for such day of unemployment or sickness shall be in an amount equal to 60 per centum of the daily rate of compensation for the employee’s last employment in which he engaged for an employer in the base year, but not less than $12.70: Provided, however, That for registration periods beginning after June 30, 1975, but before July 1, 1976, such amount shall not exceed $24 per day of such unemployment or sickness, that for registration periods beginning after June 30, 1976, but before July 1, 1988, such amount shall not exceed $25 per day of such unemployment or sickness, that for registration periods beginning after June 30, 1988, but before July 1, 1989, such amount shall not exceed $30 per day of unemployment or sickness, and that for registration periods beginning after June 30, 1989, such amount shall not exceed the maximum daily benefit rate provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection. The daily rate of compensation referred to in this paragraph shall be determined by the Board on the basis of information furnished to the Board by the employee, his employer, or both.

(3)

The maximum daily benefit rate computed by the Board under section 362(r)(2) of this title shall be the product of the monthly compensation base, as computed under section 351(i)(2) of this title for the base year immediately preceding the beginning of the benefit year, multiplied by 5 percent. If the maximum daily benefit rate so computed is not a multiple of $1, it shall be rounded down to the nearest multiple of $1.

(4)

In computing benefits to be paid, days of unemployment shall not be combined with days of sickness in the same registration period.

(5)

(A)

Notwithstanding paragraph (3), subsection (c)(1)(B), and any other limitation on total benefits in this chapter, for registration periods beginning on or after April 1, 2020, but on or before July 31, 2020, and for registration periods beginning after December 26, 2020, but on or before September 6, 2021, a recovery benefit shall be payable to a qualified employee with respect to any registration period in which the employee received unemployment benefits under paragraph (1)(A), and in any registration period in which the employee did not receive unemployment benefits due to the limitation in subsection (c)(1)(B) or due to reaching the maximum number of days of benefits in the benefit year beginning July 1, 2019, or July 1, 2020, or July 1, 2021, under subsection (c)(1)(A). No recovery benefits shall be payable under this section upon the exhaustion of the funds appropriated under subparagraph (B) for payment of benefits under this subparagraph. For registration periods beginning on or after April 1, 2020, but on or before July 31, 2020, the recovery benefit payable under this subparagraph shall be in the amount of $1,200. For registration periods beginning after December 26, 2020, but on or before September 6, 2021, the recovery benefit payable under this subparagraph shall be in the amount of $600.

(B)

Out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated $425,000,000 to cover the cost of recovery benefits provided under subparagraph (A), to remain available until expended.

(b)

Time of payments

(c)

Maximum number of days for benefits

(1)

Normal benefits

(A)

Generally

(B)

Limitation

(2)

Extended benefits

(A)

Generally

(B)

Beginning date

(C)

Termination when employee reaches age of 65

(D)

Temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits

(i)

Employees with 10 or more years of service

Subject to clause (iii), in the case of an employee who has 10 or more years of service (as so defined), with respect to extended unemployment benefits—

(I)

subparagraph (A) shall be applied by substituting “330 days of unemployment” for “65 days of unemployment”; and

(II)

subparagraph (B) shall be applied by inserting “(or, in the case of unemployment benefits, 33 consecutive 14-day periods, except that no extended benefit period shall end before 20 consecutive 14-day periods after the date of enactment of the Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020 1

 See References in Text note below.

have elapsed)” after “7 consecutive 14-day periods”.

(ii)

Employees with less than 10 years of service

Subject to clause (iii), in the case of an employee who has less than 10 years of service (as so defined), with respect to extended unemployment benefits, this paragraph shall apply to such an employee in the same manner as this paragraph would apply to an employee described in clause (i) if such clause had not been enacted and if—

(A)

subparagraph (A) were applied by substituting “265 days of unemployment” for “65 days of unemployment”; and

(B)

subparagraph (B) were applied by inserting “(or, in the case of unemployment benefits, 27 consecutive 14-day periods, except that no extended benefit period shall end before 20 consecutive 14-day periods after the date of enactment of the Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020 ¹ have elapsed)” after “7 consecutive 14-day periods”.

(iii)

Application

(iv)

Treatment of certain calendar days

(v)

Appropriation

(3)

Accelerated benefits

(A)

General rule

(B)

Exception

(C)

Determination of age

(d)

Overpayment of benefits; recovery; liability of officers

(e)

Assignment, taxation, garnishment, attachment, etc., of benefits

(f)

Effect of payment of benefits for remunerable period; payment of surplus remuneration to Board

(g)

Payment of accrued benefits upon death

(June 25, 1938, ch. 680, § 2, 52 Stat. 1096; June 20, 1939, ch. 227, §§ 7–9, 21, 53 Stat. 845, 848; Oct. 10, 1940, ch. 842, §§ 9–12, 54 Stat. 1095, 1096; July 31, 1946, ch. 709, §§ 305–307, 60 Stat. 736, 737; May 15, 1952, ch. 290, § 1, 66 Stat. 73; Aug. 31, 1954, ch. 1164, pt. III, § 304, 68 Stat. 1041; Aug. 12, 1955, ch. 869, § 4, 69 Stat. 716; Pub. L. 86–28, pt. III, §§ 302, 303(a), May 19, 1959, 73 Stat. 30; Pub. L. 89–700, title II, § 202, Oct. 30, 1966, 80 Stat. 1087; Pub. L. 90–257, title II, § 202, Feb. 15, 1968, 82 Stat. 23; Pub. L. 93–445, title IV, § 401, Oct. 16, 1974, 88 Stat. 1359; Pub. L. 94–92, title I, § 1(c)–(e), Aug. 9, 1975, 89 Stat. 461, 462; Pub. L. 98–76, title IV, § 412(a), Aug. 12, 1983, 97 Stat. 436; Pub. L. 100–647, title VII, §§ 7101(c), 7201(a), Nov. 10, 1988, 102 Stat. 3758, 3774; Pub. L. 104–88, title III, § 324(3), Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 950; Pub. L. 104–251, §§ 2–5(b), Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3161–3165; Pub. L. 111–5, div. B, title II, § 2006(a), Feb. 17, 2009, 123 Stat. 445; Pub. L. 111–92, § 9(a), Nov. 6, 2009, 123 Stat. 2988; Pub. L. 111–312, title V, § 505(a), Dec. 17, 2010, 124 Stat. 3308; Pub. L. 112–78, title II, § 202(a), Dec. 23, 2011, 125 Stat. 1283; Pub. L. 112–96, title II, § 2124(a), Feb. 22, 2012, 126 Stat. 167; Pub. L. 112–240, title V, § 504(a), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 2344; Pub. L. 116–136, div. A, title II, §§ 2113, 2114(a), Mar. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 334; Pub. L. 116–260, div. N, title II, §§ 232(a), 233(a), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 1957; Pub. L. 117–2, title II, §§ 2901(a), 2902(a), Mar. 11, 2021, 135 Stat. 49.)

cite as: 45 USC 352

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