Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier today announced eligible Pennsylvanians can begin applying for the new Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation (MEUC) program starting this Sunday, February 14, 2021. Payments will be retroactive and will begin in several weeks.

The MEUC program was created by Congress as part of the federal Continued Assistance for Unemployment Workers Act of 2020 to assist workers who had multiple sources of income that varied in eligibility for traditional Unemployment Compensation. MEUC provides an additional $100 weekly in extra benefits to eligible claimants.

MEUC Eligibility Requirements

• You must be receiving an unemployment benefit from a program other than Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).
• You must be receiving an unemployment benefit for claims week(s) covered by the MEUC program, which are January 2, 2021 through March 13, 2021.
• You must have at least $5,000 in net income from self-employment during the most recent taxable year.
• You must apply for the MEUC program and submit documentation which clearly shows $5,000 net income.

MEUC Acceptable Documentation

• Documentation must be for the applicable tax year and show at least $5,000 in net income from self-employment. Gross income is not acceptable.
• For regular Unemployment Compensation (UC) claimants, the applicable tax year is the year before the effective date of your claim.
• For Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) or Extended Benefits (EB) claimants, the applicable tax year is the effective date of your original UC claim.

NOTE: Your effective date is printed on the Notice of Financial Determination you received previously from the Office of Unemployment Compensation Benefits.

Tax Documents

• If the effective date of your claim is any time from January 5, 2020 through December 27, 2020 – you should submit documents for tax year 2019.
• If the effective date of your claim is any time from January 3, 2021 through March 7, 2021 – you should submit documents for tax year 2020.

You must submit your tax return for the correct tax year. If your tax return is not available (e.g., because you have not yet filed your taxes), acceptable documentation of self-employment income includes, but is not limited to:

• Bank receipts
• Billing statements
• Business records
• Contracts
• Invoices
• Self-employment paycheck stubs
• Tax returns 

How to Apply for MEUC

Individuals with internet access should apply online:

• Log in as if you are filing biweekly claims at uc.pa.gov.
• Click the "MEUC" button and follow the instructions to submit your application.
• Choose the option to upload documents within the application.
• If you do not have your documents ready at the time of application, you will be able to upload them later.
• The deadline set by the federal government to submit all MEUC online applications and required documentation is Friday, March 12, 2021.

Individuals without internet access should mail the application:

• Include the required documentation with your mailed application.
• Mail your application to:
  
  Department of Labor & Industry
  1316 State Street
  Erie, PA 16501
   
• Paper MEUC applications and required documentation must be postmarked by Saturday, March 13, 2021, per the federal government.

For more information about MEUC or other unemployment programs, visit uc.pa.gov or follow L&I on Facebook or Twitter. Click here for the latest L&I news.