Under the original CARES Act, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) provided claimants with up to 39 weeks of benefits. Benefits under the CARES Act expired on December 26, 2020. The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions (NMDWS) is working to implement benefit extensions under the Continued Assistance Act (CAA). Under CAA, PUA will provide up to an additional 11 weeks of benefits, to a maximum of 50 weeks.
Once a claimant has exhausted all PUA benefits, under federal law, they will not be permitted to apply for Federal-State Extended Benefits (FDEB1).