Congress recently approved an extension of jobless benefits, which seeks to help people who were recently laid off as well as those who have unemployed for a while.

Workers who qualified for up to 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits may be eligible under the new provisions, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The extension is retroactive to May 1st, 2007 and expires March 31, 2009. Claimants who have exhausted their unemployment benefits at any point after May of last year will automatically be mailed the paperwork at their last known address. 

Anyone who has moved should fill out a change of address card at the local post office so they can make certain they receive the application.

Generally, the extension approved by Congress provides that a claimant may receive half of their previous claim’s maximum benefit amount. The maximum a claimant may receive on this extension is 13 weeks at $275 per week for a total of $3,575. If a claimant qualified for 18 weeks of regular unemployment benefits, he or she could get up to 9 weeks of extended benefits, half of their original regular benefit time period.

Once a claim is established, claimants will use the either the TIPS system to certify for their weekly unemployment benefits by phone at 615-532-1800, 1-800-689-9799 (within TN), 1-800-262-8094 (outside TN), or certify using the Internet application at www.tennesseeanytime.org/labor/.