We all know The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, commonly known as the Stimulus Bill, provides for a monetary boost for many parts of the U.S. economy. And since it is very expansive everyone, from small businesses to state governments, is cashing in, and rightfully so. The money is there, so one might as well take it and muffle the blow of the recession or offset it completely. What many people might not know is that the Stimulus Bill provides a substantial amount of money to nonprofits. Besides filling budget gaps and shortfalls, the stimulus money will expand nonprofits’ services and efforts, creating many jobs. This recession has changed the way a lot of us look at the economy and job market, and as a consequence many of us have had to widen our horizons.
Stimulus Bill
There are hundreds of job boards on the internet, many of which are either very specific or very worthless. To help people find the best ones, we created the Job Board Directory on TheCanned.com.
Over the last month we have gotten a hundred or so comments on this section. People write things like:
- “I need a job. can do concrete management work. (Redi Mix) Have beena rebar detailer and estimator for last 6 years +”
- “Interested in strategic marketing/branding position in the New York City/Westchester/So. Connecticut area”
- “Looking for an instructor position in the Cosmetology field”
These comments tell me two things: First, the job board directory is confusing and needs to be redesigned (it has been and a shiny, new directory is coming soon). Second, people need some guidance about how to network and job search online. Since we already covered The Truth About Job Boards, let’s take a look at online networking.
LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter… these can all be valuable resources in your job search. Chris Brogan writes some decent articles on building personal and business networks if you’re interested in lots of details. If you’re intersted in the quick scoop, from the perspective of a job seeker, then keep reading. Read the rest of this entry »
I once got an email from a Kenyan prince (never mind that Kenya doesn’t have a prince) claiming that he found me through an internet search for “honest and trustworthy people”. He wanted to pay me to use my bank account to transfer money into the US. Offers for unemployment grants are scams, just like letters from African royalty.
The federal government does not give out grants to people who are out of work.
Aside from research and educational programs, the Federal government doesn’t typically give grants to individuals at all. So-called “stimulus grants” are available for governments and organizations, not for downsized workers.
Capitalizing on misunderstanding about the stimulus bill, seedy Web sites are popping up all advertising “stimulus grants” or “government assistance grants.” Some of them even managed to get “.org” status (I don’t know how). The FTC warns that these scammers have distributed computer viruses, fraudulently drained bank accounts, and stolen private information.
If you are an organization that actually qualifies for a grant, go directly to Grants.gov to make sure it’s real. If you already got scammed, call (877) FTC-HELP.
With the passage of the stimulus bill (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009), the unemployment insurance (UI) system will get a much-needed injection of funds from the Federal government. The bill provides funds to increase weekly payments, elongate the extended benefits period, and modernize the way that each state administers its unemployment benefits system.
A refresher on the basics of UI
UI is a joint program between the Federal and state governments. The Federal government sets loose guidelines for eligibility, and then each individual state narrows them down and administers the program. The program is almost entirely funded by a payroll tax on employers, but in times of high unemployment (like this one) the Federal government will extend emergency funding.
More money each week
Each state will receive funding to increase weekly benefits by $25 each week for everybody getting unemployment benefits. You don’t need to do anything: this subsidy will automatically be tacked onto your payments unless your state elects not to participate.
Extended benefits
Typically, you can receive benefits for 26 weeks. Last December, the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 tacked on an additional twenty weeks due to economic duress. As part of this stimulus bill, the extension becomes 33 weeks. Extended benefits payments are 80 percent of the average weekly amount that you were receiving before you exhausted your regular benefits.
Not everyone will have the full 33 weeks available to them, since it is ultimately decided at the state level. States with unemployment over 6 percent are eligible for funding. In some states, you may need to participate in training programs to qualify. Check out your state page here for more information.
Unemployment modernization
The stimulus bill creates a $7 billion pool that creates incentives for states to make changes to their unemployment administration. In order to qualify, states have noteworthy incentives: they need to extend unemployment eligibility to those who voluntarily quit to escape domestic violence or care for an ailing relative.
For more information on unemployment benefits
Check out the Unemployment Benefits section of TheCanned.com for in-depth information on Federal guidelines and your state’s program!
We got a few questions following our post “COBRA Subsidy in Stimulus Package“. Here is the in-depth explanation of how this works. We will start with a crash course on the COBRA program and then describe how the subsidy will change things.
COBRA is designed to help people maintain their group health insurance following involuntary job loss (pretty much everything except gross misconduct). If you used to get group health insurance through your employer, and that firm had at least 20 employees, then you are eligible for COBRA. In many states, eligibility extends down to firms as small as two employees.
Employers are able to negotiate discounted rates because they can bargain on behalf of large numbers. If an individual looked to purchase a comparable plan, it would cost far more. Many employees don’t realize this because their employer pays all or most of their health insurance premiums. When they get canned, however, they find out the hard way how pricey insurance can be. With COBRA, you traditionally had to pick up 100 percent of the tab to maintain your health insurance. Although this rate is significantly cheaper than the rate you would pay on your own, it can still be hundreds of dollars each month.
The subsidy, as provided in the stimulus package, will pay for 65 percent of the cost of COBRA coverage each month for up to nine months. This amounts to thousands of dollars per person. For example:
When I got canned, I received a letter from my former employer explaining my COBRA option. It would have cost me about $575 per month for COBRA, but the alternative was even worse: an individual plan would have run me about $750 per month. To enroll, I would have needed to make my initial payment of $575 directly to my former employer. With the stimulus package, I would only need to pay $201.25 each month (35 percent of $575) because the government would pick up the rest. Over nine months, this would amount to a savings of over three thousand dollars!
Anybody who got canned after September 1st, 2008, is eligible for this subsidy.
Instructions:
When you lose your job, your employer is legally required to tell you about how to enroll in COBRA if you are eligible (see above). You will make payments each month directly to your former health insurance plan administrator (usually you human resources department). If you already opted out of COBRA, you are still eligible. Contact your the HR department of your former employer for instructions on how to enroll.
The nicest part about getting severance was that my health insurance continued after I got canned. It was one less thing to worry about. After the severance period was up, though, there were lots of tough decisions. COBRA is insanely expensive. Continuing my group coverage through COBRA would have cost me almost $600 per month. I ended up going with Healthy NY at less than half that, but sacrificed some coverage in the process.
A recent study shows that for family coverage, COBRA eats up 84 percent of unemployment benefits on average. For individual coverage it’s a more “manageable” 30 percent. Either way, the outlook for paying bills and putting food on the table is grim.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (that $787 billion stimulus bill that will likely be signed into law by week’s end) sets aside $24.7 billion to help offset the costs of COBRA. Uncle Sam will pick up 65 percent of your premiums by issuing a credit directly to your employee benefits provider. You are eligible for this subsidy for nine months if you were laid off on or after September 1st, 2008. Your nine months of eligibility start the first month that you receive a subsidy and no subsidies will be issued for premiums that you have already paid.
If you already opted out of COBRA, contact your former employee benefits provider. If they are willing to extend group coverage, you still qualify for this subsidy. Unfortunately for me, I got canned on August 27th — four days shy of eligibility!
To learn more about COBRA, check out this page on TheCanned.com.
