Unemployment Insurance FAQs

No, there is not an application for the Worker Pandemic Benefit. Eligible individuals are those who certify and are eligible to receive benefits for qualifying weeks of November 22 through 28 or November 29 through December 5. Also, claimants who were receiving benefits but exhausted their benefits between September 12, 2020 and the time of the bill signing are eligible for WPB. There is no need for claimants to call or apply separately for this benefit.

This benefit payment will be separate from regular weekly benefit payments. Benefits will be paid starting December 14 to those determined eligible.

No. The $300 per week for up to six weeks was for Lost Wages Assistance (LWA), a program funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). WPB comes from re-allocated federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding received by the State of New Mexico, and approved during the 2020 Special Session.

Individuals are eligible for WPB as long as they certify and are eligible to receive benefits for qualifying weeks of November 22 through 28 or November 29 through December 5. Also, claimants who were receiving benefits but exhausted their benefits between September 12 and November 25 are eligible for WPB. There is no need for claimants to call or apply separately for this benefit.

This one-time benefit is not available to individuals who have returned to full-time work or certify that they earned wages greater than their weekly benefit amount during the week legislation was signed.

Yes, WPB is a taxable benefit.

Eligible individuals will receive a one-time $1,200 supplemental benefit as a separate payment from their weekly unemployment benefit through their preferred payment method for receiving Unemployment Insurance benefits. Your payment method can be revised at any time by logging into your Unemployment Insurance account and going to “View and Maintain Account Information” and then selecting “Payment Method Options and Tax Information.”

The department is expanding our eligibility criteria to include as many claimants as possible in the one-time Worker Pandemic Benefit. Eligible individuals are those who certify and are eligible to receive benefits for qualifying weeks of November 22 through November 28 or November 29 through December 5. Please note, claimants who were eligible for benefits but exhausted their claims between September 12 and November 25, 2020 are eligible for WPB. There is no need for claimants to apply separately for this benefit.

No, to be eligible for the one one-time Worker Pandemic Benefit you only need to be able to certify and are eligible to receive benefits for one of the qualifying weeks. Qualifying weeks are November 22 through November 28 or November 29 through December 5.

If an individual is waiting on an appeal hearing, they may receive the WPB payment if their appeal is resolved and determined in the claimant's favor without any other pending issues before December 28th and they are able to certify and receive a benefit payment for qualifying weeks of November 22 through 28 or November 29 through December 5.

If the Department receives a rejection or return on a direct deposit account for any reason, it will result in a paper check being issued to you by mail. There are many reasons why this could happen, including, but not limited to, the following: Wrong account number or routing number provided; Closed account; Bank closed account due to overdraft fees; Bank rejected payment; Name on payment did not match the name associated with the bank account. Once the Department receives the reject payment file back from the bank, usually in 3-5 days, the system will automatically send out a paper check. You may receive a call from the Department requesting you to correct your direct deposit information online. Please note that we cannot take this information over the phone. You may also receive notification of the rejected payment directly from your bank. If you do not have a valid bank account you will be placed on the debit card payment method.