North Carolina Loses its Federal Extended Unemployment Benefits

North Carolina's Benefits Reduced Drastically

Here's the official notice from the U.S. Department of Labor:

North Carolina EUC08 Agreement terminated.

Recent changes to North Carolina's Employment Security Law (effective June 30, 2013), which reduce the amount of an individual's benefit entitlement, violates the EUC "non-reduction" rule, thus, the EUC Agreement between North Carolina and the U.S. Secretary of Labor is terminated. The EUC program (all four tiers) ended in North Carolina effective June 29, 2013.

The notice actually summarizes the situation clearly:  To continue to receive federal extended unemployment benefits on behalf of its citizens, a state enters into an agreement with the federal government.  They have to maintain a level of regular state benefits.  North Carolina reduced its state benefits, thus violating the agreement that they made with the United States federal government.  So... no extra weeks beyond the 19 for unemployed citizens of North Carolina, a state with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. 

Here are a few articles about this situation:

• From National Employment Law Project (NELP)'s blog:  North Carolina Enacts Harshest Cuts to Unemployment Insurance
• 70,000 To Lose Unemployment Insurance in North Carolina
• North Carolina Dropped from Federal Unemployment Program
• North Carolina Axes Benefits for the Long-Term Unemployed

Update July 24, 2013:  There have been or will be changes to available weeks of benefits in California, Washington, Rhode Island, Maine, New Jersey, West Virginia, Louisiana, the Virgin Islands, Delaware, Illinois, Alabama, Mississippi, and Michigan.  Please check THIS LINK (How Many Weeks of Unemployment Will I Get?) for details.