Take Action on the NY State COBRA Subsidy

I am pleased to report that the New York State Department of Labor launched their Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation (MEUC) program.

This additional federal benefit was included in the text of the American Rescue Plan and is intended to support workers who have both W-2 income and 1099 earnings, but whose benefit calculation doesn’t take their self-employment earnings into account.

The MECU program provides an additional federal benefit of $100 per week if you:

• collect regular unemployment insurance (UI), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), or extended benefits (EB); and
• earned $5,000 or more a year in net earnings from self-employment.

Click here to visit the DOL’s website for details and to apply for this important benefit.

We also must take action to ensure the COBRA subsidy program for the entertainment industry is included in the New York State budget. Please contact New York State Senate President Pro Tempore and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins to encourage support of this program which helps so many of our members keep their health coverage. Email scousins@nysenate.gov or call (518) 455-2585 with the sample message below.
 
Dear Senator Stewart-Cousins:
 
As a New York member of SAG-AFTRA, I urge you to join the Assembly and insist that $2 million be included in the Budget for the existing COBRA subsidy program for the entertainment industry. As you know, our industry has suffered disproportionately from the pandemic and thousands of our members have applied for unemployment insurance and lost health coverage. This program is a bridge for our members to stay covered in our Health Plan until the industry fully recovers. Thanks for all that you do, and for your consideration.

Onward together,

Rebecca Damon
New York Local President