Hoosiers eligible to resume collecting federally funded unemployment extensions will be able to begin filing online for those benefits on Tuesday. The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) anticipates the recently passed law will restore eligibility to approximately 80,000 Hoosiers covering nearly 250,000 weeks of payments.

In order to qualify for these retroactive benefits, Hoosiers will need to complete their weekly vouchers through Indiana’s online filing system. Each Hoosier will need to verify they were unemployed through no fault of their own, report where they looked for work each week and list any outside income earned each week in question. Hoosiers will need to complete a voucher for each week of benefits they want to collect.

Hoosiers moving into the Extended Benefits (EB) program, the final tier of benefits, will not have vouchers available on Aug. 3. It is a requirement of the Extended Benefits program that each person applies in person at their local WorkOne Center and brings their eligibility letter from DWD. The department will resume sending those letters this week. Hoosiers previously enrolled in Extended Benefits will have vouchers available beginning Aug. 3 to collect the benefits they had remaining when the program ended on June 12.

Due to the anticipated increase of claims, Indiana’s 27 full-service WorkOne Centers will be open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Aug. 3 through Aug. 6.

WorkOne Express Offices will maintain normal business hours. In addition, payments on eligible vouchers will be made within 48 hours during that week.

This new federal legislation changes the $25 weekly federal additional payment. Anyone who previously collected the $25 per week will continue to collect this money weekly. Individuals who file new initial unemployment claims after May 29 will not receive the additional $25 per week.

Hoosiers eligible for retroactive benefits should visit their homepage on Indiana’s online filing system prior to July 31 to make sure they don’t have any pending applications or links seeking information. In some cases this information will be required for vouchers to appear by Aug. 3.

Answers to frequently asked questions about the extension are available at http://www.in.gov/dwd/275 0.htm.