Mississippi loosens unemployment benefits for COVID-19. But it's unclear who will qualify

Mississippi's unemployment office has loosened rules for people seeking benefits due to the coronavirus, but confusion remains over who will qualify, and many have struggled to begin the application process due to an overloaded hotline and website. 

Department of Employment Security officials urged people to quickly apply for benefits, and said more tweaks to the eligibility rules are likely coming. They said they were working to fix several problems with the overwhelmed hotline and website. For now, officials asked applicants to use the website if they have access to internet, to avoid clogging phone lines. 

"We ask for patience, we ask for people to know when they do get through, MDES will be here to see their claim all the way through," MDES Executive Director Jackie Turner told the Clarion Ledger on Monday. 

The changes announced late Friday by MDES said that workers could file a claim if they:

• Were quarantined by a medical professional or government agency.
• Were laid off or sent home without pay due to virus concerns.
• Were diagnosed with the virus.
• Were caring for an "immediate family member" diagnosed with the virus.

Gov. Tate Reeves also announced additional unemployment relief over the weekend. He ordered waiving the usual one-week waiting period to receive benefits, and suspended requirements for people receiving benefits to regularly prove their job-search progress.  

Confusion over who qualifies for benefits

A frequently-asked-questions document unveiled by MDES on Saturday seemed to directly contradict some of its earlier guidelines. The document suggests those who contract the virus will not qualify, because people who seek unemployment "are required to be physically able to work." As of Monday, there were 249 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state. 

The FAQ also implied those unable to work because of a family member's illness won't qualify, because they must "be able and available to work." The document underscored the agency's eligibility decisions will "be made on a case-by-case basis." 

Turner said these two groups — people who have the virus or are caring for someone — should still apply for benefits. She said MDES is working with federal and state leaders to remove an existing rule that applicants be eligible to work before receiving benefits. 

She also said contractors and other self-employed people who would not usually be eligible should also apply. That's because federal disaster money may soon become available to help pay those groups for unemployment. 

The agency is taking several steps to ensure more people can file claims in the coming days, Turner said. Employees are being reassigned to beef up staffing at several call centers to handle the "historical influx of calls."

The hotline is open every day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and officials are considering expanding those hours later in the evenings. The agency also is considering distribution of paper unemployment applications. 

Turner reminded applicants even if it takes several days to be approved, benefit payments will be applied retroactively to the date they lost their job. 

State's unemployment system criticized in new report

The state's new COVID-19 unemployment guidelines were released just as a report by the progressive-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities came out Friday, finding Mississippi is the most poorly prepared state to recover from the coming recession.

A central reason for this, the report's authors found: Mississippi's "barely functioning" unemployment insurance system. Less than 10% of jobless workers receive unemployment benefits in Mississippi, among the least in the nation, compared to more than 40% of workers able to get benefits in eight other states. 

Other than the strength of state unemployment systems, the report also cited state budget reserves, Medicaid health programs and the price of higher education as key indicators of how prepared a state will be to bounce back in the coming months and years. Mississippi, the authors wrote, is "the only state that ranks in the bottom ten across all four categories." 

"In states with relatively few reserves, relatively inaccessible Medicaid and unemployment programs, and relatively unaffordable colleges, people and communities will suffer unnecessarily," the report's authors wrote.

A strong unemployment insurance program is key, the report said, because it ensures laid-off employees can support their families and keep some money flowing into local businesses. It also noted Mississippi was among a handful of states that did not accept incentives as part of the 2009 Recovery Act to modernize its unemployment program. 

While Mississippi's unemployment benefits reach only about 9% of unemployed people, they also don't pay out very much. Weekly benefits in Mississippi average $213, a separate Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report said, among the lowest amounts in the nation. The national average is $385. 

Feds may also provide direct payments, unemployment assistance

Mississippi and other states will hope to receive additional federal assistance in coming days for unemployment benefits and other virus-related needs.

The U.S. Senate on Monday continued to debate a $2 trillion bill that would help by pushing $350 billion toward the unemployment insurance system as well as small business help for payroll costs. 

The legislation also would offer $1,200 payments to most American adults and $500 to children. 

But the legislation remained in limbo Monday, as senators argued over several provisions, including whether it disproportionately favored financial assistance for businesses over households. 

Unclear how many laid off thus far

Many Mississippi restaurant and bar workers have reported on social media and elsewhere they have lost their jobs in recent days.

A recent analysis by the American Hotel & Lodging Association found the Magnolia State could lose nearly 15,000 workers in the lodging industry alone, due an "unprecedented" drop in hotel demand that's getting "progressively deeper and more severe week by week." The organization said thousands more Mississippi jobs related to the hotel industry were also in peril. 

Meanwhile, many of the state's manufacturing jobs will also disappear within several weeks as companies, especially smaller ones, face plummeting demand. 

So far, the layoffs are mostly anecdotal: MDES has not reported how many people have filed unemployment claims since the coronavirus crisis hit Mississippi about two weeks ago. Other states including Louisiana, Georgia and more reported a massive surge in claims over just a few days. 

Turner said she did not have exact numbers of unemployment claims since the crisis began in Mississippi. Initial totals, she said, will be unveiled by the U.S. Department of Labor in the coming days. 

"I can tell you that the number of claims being received has grown exponentially within the last few days," she said.

MDES has received not only numerous calls from the unemployed, but also from business owners seeking guidance ahead of layoffs, Turner said. The calls have poured in from the manufacturing companies, the food service industry and casinos, she said. 

MDES asks those who wanting to file an unemployment claim to do so as soon as possible, at mdes.ms.gov, or by calling (888) 844-3577. To file, you need recent work history information, your driver's license or state ID number and Social Security card.

Did you lose your job in Mississippi due to the coronavirus? I want to hear your story — and how our state's unemployment system works for you. Send me an email, lramseth@gannett.com, or give me a call, 601-317-7476. You can also find me on Twitter, @lramseth.