Federal funds kick in to extend Nevada jobless payments
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Federal emergency funds are kicking in to extend unemployment payments for an additional 13 weeks for idled workers who have exhausted regular benefits, Nevada officials said Wednesday.
The state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation said it added information about federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation to its jobless workers website.
The program is slated to end in late December. Recipients also will keep receiving the $600 weekly payment the federal government included in a coronavirus pandemic relief package in late March, officials said.
The announcement came two weeks after the state said the wave of ongoing jobless benefits passed a trigger point to extend payments for another 13 weeks, and the state jobless figure spiked to 19.9%.
New jobless numbers are expected Thursday.
The governor’s office announced Tuesday that even though some businesses are reopening, people filing for unemployment will not be required to search for work in order to get benefits.
Gov. Steve Sisolak’s office said the work search requirement will remain waived until further notice, and people filing for benefits online can bypass the work search screen.
Restaurants, hair salons and some other businesses that closed or reduced operations in mid-March under Sisolak’s restrictions began reopening Saturday, letting reduced numbers of customers inside. Casinos, nightclubs, spas and gyms remain closed, along with movie theaters, bowling alleys, community centers, tattoo parlors, strip clubs and brothels.
Almost 6,400 people have tested positive for the COVID-19 illness caused by the coronavirus, and at least 321 have died, state health officials reported Wednesday.
Most people with the virus experience symptoms such as fever and cough for up to three weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems can face severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. The vast majority recover.
In other developments:
— Lawmakers on the Interim Finance Committee unanimously voted Wednesday to declare a state of emergency for the budget, clearing the way for Sisolak and lawmakers to pull money stashed in the state’s rainy day fund to help fill shortfalls. Officials have not yet said how much they will pull from the fund, which has more than $400 million.
Russell Guindon, a legislative budget analyst, told lawmakers that the state will learn how much tax revenue was lost in March at the end of May. Guindon said officials believe that with casinos having been shut since mid-March, the gambling taxes that are the second largest source of tax revenue are expected to see a $160 million loss this budget year.
---Station Casinos announced it would test all employees before returning to work, once casinos are allowed to reopen in the state. Station Casinos said it would give workers an antigen test that looks for protein traces of the virus, and test for antibodies in people’s blood, indicating a past infection. The operator of casinos in and around Las Vegas said it has already started the free testing at six properties.