Last $600 federal weekly payment still coming for some jobless Nevadans

The Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation said an error in the unemployment insurance system has resulted in some claimants not receiving their final $600 payment, the weekly amount that had supplemented state unemployment benefits under a program created by the $2 trillion federal coronavirus stimulus bill signed in March.

Dai Green of Las Vegas is one of the claimants who did not receive her additional $600 payment this week.

“Many of us really needed that last payment for bills that we thought we would be able to cover this week,” she said.

DETR said the issue of the delayed payment is expected to be resolved for claimants Wednesday and those who are eligible for the additional $600 payment will automatically be paid, including those eligible for retroactive payments.

Green, a longtime gaming bar bartender, said this week’s missing add-on sent many of her bartending colleagues into panic mode.

“We all knew it was ending soon…but none of us expected it to not go through this week,” she said.

The program, titled Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, was one of three major unemployment insurance provisions included in the CARES Act and ended Saturday.

This week’s payment would mark the last time claimants would receive the extra cash as congressional leaders continue to hash out a second coronavirus bill.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell finally unveiled his $1 trillion plan Monday but Democrats and Republicans disagree over how to continue providing unemployment insurance benefits, among other funding initiatives, to millions of jobless Americans.

Democrats want to continue paying the additional $600 a week but the GOP says it would keep many people out of the workforce. Republicans counter that the weekly benefit should be reduced to $200 until states can transition to paying filers 70 percent of their wage before losing their job due to the coronavirus.

It’s unclear how states like Nevada that are still struggling to pay existing benefits and the additional $600 will be able to create a new system to calculate and pay 70 percent of each person’s wages before the coronavirus pandemic.

‘Frustrating and scary’

“I see the back and forth — one side is fighting for (FPUC) and the other side wants to drop it — in the meantime, we’re out of work,” Green said. “There’s no word on what’s going to happen from here on out and it’s frustrating and scary for a lot of us.”

Green, a single mom of four children, said she was looking forward to going back to work when bars were able to reopen but when Gov. Steve Sisolak reversed his decision two weeks ago as cases of the coronavirus began to spike again she found herself back at home.

“I’m hoping we (can) go back to work,” she said. “If not, I don’t know. A lot of us have found other small jobs but that’s not enough to support yourself or your family. We can’t live on $8.25 an hour. It’s just really been horrible for all of us.”

Contact Subrina Hudson at shudson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Follow @SubrinaH on Twitter.