Pohnpei, FSM – On March 15, 2021, the Office of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) under the Department of Finance & Administration, received the official notice for extension of the PUA program from the US Department of Labor.
The President of the United States signed into law the American Rescue Act of 2021 (ARPA) on March 11, 2021, extending the PUA program for the second time. The ARPA extends the PUA and FPUC programs from March 14, 2021 to September 6, 2021, an additional of 29 weeks for an overall total of 79 weeks. Qualified individuals will continue to receive their weekly benefit of $166 plus the FPUC of $300 per week.
The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program is for individuals whose employment or self-employment was interrupted as a direct result of the COVID-19 public health emergency. For FSM, where do not have a COVID-19 case, these individuals need to be directly impacted by the border closure or other emergency measures such as a State imposed curfew or quarantining. It does not cover individuals who are unemployed for non-COVID-19 reasons such as the downturn in the economy or continue to receive regular income.
The first PUA extension occurred on December 27, 2020 when the President of the United States signed into law the Continued Assistance Act (CAA). The enactment of the CAA extended the PUA program for an additional 11 weeks and reauthorizes but modifies the FPUC supplement to $300 per week from December 27, 2020 to the week ending on or before March 14, 2021.
The Office of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance in FSM continues to require individuals to submit proof of identification and documentation for employment or self-employment. Individuals are also required to submit Weekly Payment Requests on a bi-weekly basis. Failure to provide required documentations and untimely filing may disqualify an individual for the program.
The FSM Government wishes to thank the US Government for including the FSM in this program and the US Department of Labor for its continued guidance in the administration of this program.
IMPORTANT: If you suspect someone is collecting the PUA benefit illegally, please contact the Fraud Hotline at 320-1103 or e-mail opua@gov.fm .
