This is going to be a short post in the interest of getting this important information up as soon as possible. I’ve received a lot of emails and comments in the last two days about claim denials by NHES and missed checks. It seems to only be affecting eligible claimants who are already collecting Federally-funded EB benefits or are in the process of moving into EB benefits. As far as I can tell, it is not affecting those folks who are still collecting the regular 26 week State unemployment benefits or EUC benefits as I’ve received email from people in both situations who were unaffected.

My understanding of the situation is that NH has “triggered off” the EB program which means is that the State of NH is no longer eligible for funding by the Federal government for the EB program. The unemployment rate in NH in July decreased to 5.8% from 5.9% in June which brought the three month average below the 6.5% threshold required for Federal funding of the EB program so residents of NH will no longer be eligible for EB as of August 14, 2010. This does not affect the regular 26 week State unemployment benefits program or the Federally funded EUC program.

With this change, the maximum number of weeks of unemployment benefits NH residents may be eligible would now be 26 weeks of regular State benefits, up to 20 weeks of Tier 1 EUC benefits, up to 14 weeks Tier 2 benefits, up to 13 weeks of Tier 3 benefits for a total of 73 weeks. NH residents are not eligible for Tier 4 benefits as the unemployment rate in NH is well below the threshold 8.5%. Tier 3 benefits may soon be coming to an end in NH as the three month average unemployment rate must be above 6% and is is currently sitting at just slightly above that. We’ll find out what happens on September 3, 2010 when the official data is released.

Whether this is exactly what is affecting you or not, if you are having any issues with your claim you should call or visit NHES and ask specifically about your case. I’ve heard that they have been giving different explanations to different people which, to me, is disappointing since an issue this important to NH residents should be addressed and communicated to NHES staff and the public.

I’ll update this post if I confirm the issue or find out any more details.

As always, if anyone has anything to add or a question, please leave a comment.