Governor Roy Cooper announced the first payments for unemployment claims related to coronavirus will start this week in a press release, Sunday.
“Thousands of workers have lost jobs, but their bills don’t stop. My administration is working overtime to get unemployment checks out now," said Governor Cooper. "We’ll keep pushing every day for more state and federal help to save our workers and their families."
The release says the Division of Employment Security has received an unusual number of unemployment insurance claims since Governor Roy Cooper signed Executive Order No. 118 on March 17.
Governor Roy Cooper’s office says approximately 270,000 claims have been filed in the past two weeks.
The office said the Governor directed the Division of Employment Security to begin implementing the unemployment insurance provisions of the federal CARES Act, this past Saturday.
The press release says the Division of Employment of Security expects to receive guidance from the federal government later this week about how to implement the changes, including the change that allows for an additional $600 in unemployment benefits.
And says the state expects those payments to begin approximately two weeks after that guidance is provided.
The press release says workers applying for benefits must complete their weekly certifications in order to receive unemployment insurance payments.