Montana Received $200 Unemployment Benefits Using Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF)

Residents of Montana have received $200 worth of unemployment benefits using the Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF). This was implemented as Congress has not approved of another pandemic stimulus package yet, says Montana.Gov.

Unemployment Benefits

In November 2020, Montana Governor Steve Bullock has announced the establishment of the Interim Pandemic Assistance program. This prompted the Montana Department of Labor & Industry (DLI) to issue benefits to the unemployed residents of Montana. A $200 worth of unemployment benefits was issued on a weekly basis. The funds used for this program came from the $25 million budget under the Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF).

Montana is one of the only states to use CRF to fund a new program that supports the unemployment of Americans. Payments issued under this new program are distributed in four rounds. Recipients must submit their payment requests and verify their claim for the benefits on a weekly basis. According to the federal CARES Act, all payments under the program must have been completed by December 30, 2020, which means that any payment must have not been released after that date.

Who was eligible for these payments?

According to Montana.Gov, the additional $200 payments were issued to any eligible resident of Montana who has been unemployed or partially unemployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who received unemployment benefits from other regular pandemic-related programs are also qualified. Recipients do not need to fill out a different unemployment insurance claim, but the additional payments will be sent in a different direct deposit account or check from their regular insurance payments.