Issue Brief 9-46
November 24, 2009
Summary 

On November 6, 2009, the president signed the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 [the Worker Assistance Act (P.L. 111-92)]. This law expands the 2008 Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program by increasing the duration of second-tier benefits from 13 to 14 weeks, providing second-tier benefits to workers in all states, and authorizing a new set of third- and fourth-tier benefits for jobless workers in states with high unemployment. The legislation does not alter program termination and phase-out dates for EUC benefits as determined in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, P.L. 111-5 (ARRA).