Division of Unemployment Insurance

American Rescue Plan Act Unemployment Insurance Programs

Overview of Programs

On March 11, 2021, the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,” a federal COVID-19 relief package that extends the CARES Act and the CAUW Act programs, was signed into law. The four federal PUA, PEUC, FPUC, and MEUC unemployment insurance programs are extended in Maryland until the week ending Saturday, September 4, 2021.

Information about the American Rescue Plan Act can also be found on the linked flyer.

No Gap in Benefit Eligibility or Delay in Payment

The Maryland Department of Labor’s Division of Unemployment Insurance worked around the clock to quickly program and implement all four extended federal unemployment insurance programs. As a result, there will be no gap in benefit eligibility or delay in payment for claimants who received benefits the week ending Saturday, March 13, 2021.

Next Steps for Claimants

All claimants have received an e-mail specifying whether they should file their weekly claim certification or reopen their claim for the week ending Saturday, March 20, 2021 in their BEACON 2.0 portal.

$300 FPUC Benefit Payment

All claimants who are eligible to receive benefits will automatically receive the new FPUC amount of $300 on top of their regular benefit amount beginning from Sunday, March 14, 2021, through the week ending Saturday, September 4, 2021, as long as they remain eligible for benefits and file their weekly claim certification.

Proof of Employment Documentation Requirement for PUA Claimants

As a result of new federal requirements, claimants must provide proof of employment documentation to be eligible for the PUA program. All PUA claimants will receive an action item in their BEACON portal. Learn more about the proof of employment requirement.

Fraudulent Unemployment Insurance Activity

Report Fraud

With the record number of unemployment insurance claims filed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Maryland, and states across the entire country, have seen an increase in activity by bad actors and fraudsters using illegally obtained data to file fraudulent unemployment insurance claims. Please note that there has been NO breach in our BEACON unemployment system.

If you believe that your information has been used to fraudulently file an unemployment insurance claim, please contact the Division of Unemployment Insurance’s Benefit Payment Control Unit by completing a “Request for Investigation of Unemployment Insurance Fraud” form and e-mailing it to ui.fraud@maryland.gov.

If you received a 1099-G tax form, but did not apply for unemployment insurance benefits in Maryland in 2020, then please complete this Affidavit form and submit it along with picture ID to the Benefit Payment Control Unit by e-mailing dlui1099-labor@maryland.gov.

If you are an employer and believe a fraudulent claim has been charged to your account, please file a benefit charge protest through your employer portal.

If you believe fraudulent transactions have been made on your Bank of America Debit Card, please contact the Debit Card Customer Service Center at 1-855-847-2029 to file a report and request a replacement card.

Avoid Scams

We have been alerted to a number of potential scam operations that are attempting to prey on unemployment insurance claimants. To help you distinguish between legitimate assistance from Maryland Division of Unemployment Insurance (DUI) staff and fraudulent assistance from a potential scammer, please remember the following:

• DUI will never request or require payment for assistance with unemployment insurance, especially not through apps like Venmo or Cashapp.
• DUI staff will not provide assistance to claimants through direct message on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
• DUI will never arrange for an adjudication or fact-finding interview over any teleconferencing platform, such as Zoom, BlueJeans, Google Hangout Meets, or Skype.
• DUI does not provide assistance through text message and will not send any links asking a claimant to verify their account through text.
• DUI will never ask for your bank account number, debit card number, or credit card number over e-mail or on social media
• DUI will never request your BEACON password over e-mail.
• All e-mails from legitimate DUI staff will come from a @maryland.gov e-mail address.
• Do not provide any sensitive information related to your Maryland unemployment insurance claim by e-mail unless it is to a @maryland.gov e-mail address.

Avoid Scams on Social Media

Please be aware of pages and scammers on social media pretending to be the Maryland Department of Labor. Scammers are replicating the Maryland Department of Labor’s social media pages, directly messaging claimants, and attempting to steal their identity by asking for their personal information. These pages are particularly targeting members of unemployment groups on Facebook.

Fraudulent pages may look similar, but are newly created, do not have a lengthy history of posts, spelled differently (often with typos), and not verified with a blue check mark. “Maryland department of labour” is an example of a fraudulent page that looks similar, but is spelled differently. If you find a fraudulent page, please report it to the social media platform immediately and DO NOT respond to their messages.

Links to the Maryland Department of Labor’s official government agency social media pages can be found below:

• Facebook - Maryland Department of Labor
• Twitter - @MD_Labor
• LinkedIn - Maryland Department of Labor

Identity Theft Resources

If you believe you have been a victim of identity theft, please read the Maryland State Police's Identity Theft Protection Quick Guide. For more information about identity theft, please visit the Commissioner of Financial Regulation identity theft page.

Timeline for Transition to Direct Deposit Benefit Payments Extended

The Division of Unemployment Insurance will be transitioning from issuing benefit payments to unemployment insurance claimants via debit card through Bank America to direct deposit (or paper check) through Wells Fargo.

We are in the process of facilitating this important transition, and all claimants will receive detailed instructions about the transition to direct deposit (or paper check) via email in late April or early May. Claimants do not need to take any additional action at this time and will continue to receive their benefit payments on their current Bank of America debit cards.

The department, our vendor, and our various partners are working hard to ensure that the appropriate contracts, programming, and security measures are all in place before launching the new direct deposit program. These actions and the extended timeline will allow the transition to be an easy and safe process for claimants.

Relief Act of 2021

Governor Larry Hogan recently signed the bipartisan RELIEF Act of 2021, which will provide more than $1 billion in tax relief and economic stimulus funds to Maryland residents, small businesses, and unemployed workers. The RELIEF Act was enacted to help Marylanders who are struggling as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To assist unemployed workers, the RELIEF Act:

The RELIEF Act also provides assistance to employers:

• The Division of Unemployment Insurance (DUI) will calculate tax rates for contributory employers based on their pre-pandemic experience, using the computation date, July 1, 2019, and using the normal computation date. These employers will receive the lower of the two rates. This provision will be in effect through the 2nd July after Governor Hogan lifts the state of emergency.
   
• Contributory employers with fewer than 50 employees have the option to defer submitting their contribution and employment reports for the first 3 quarters of calendar year 2021. If an employer elects to do so, they can defer payment until the due date for the 4th quarter of 2021: January 31, 2022.
   
• Reimbursable employers with fewer than 50 employees may elect to defer payment of their bills for the first 3 quarters of 2021. Employers who choose to defer these payments must pay them on the due date for the fourth quarter of 2021. Reimbursable employers with fewer than 50 employees may receive authorization from DUI to defer payments for the calendar year 2022 until a date which DUI will establish. Employers will not be considered delinquent or charged interest payments for the deferral period.

Unemployment Insurance Taxes and 1099-G I.R.S Form

Unemployment insurance benefits are subject to federal and state income tax. If you collected unemployment insurance benefits in 2020, you will need the I.R.S. 1099-G tax form to complete your 2020 federal and state tax returns. Please note that when you completed your initial claim application, you chose whether to have any taxes withheld from your weekly benefit amount. If you chose not to withhold any taxes, then you will be required to pay the appropriate taxes on the total benefits received when you pay your taxes.

Maryland’s Division of Unemployment Insurance has issued a 1099-G tax form to all claimants that received unemployment insurance benefits during the calendar year 2020 (from January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020) based on the delivery preference chosen in their BEACON portal.

All claimants will be able to immediately access their 1099-G tax form by visiting their BEACON portal and selecting Correspondences from “Your Options.” Select “Search” to display all Correspondences and select “1099” to view. If you selected the U.S. Mail as your preferred method of delivery, then you will also receive a 1099-G tax form in the mail.

If you receive a 1099-G tax form, but did not apply for or receive unemployment insurance benefits in Maryland in 2020, then please complete this Affidavit form and submit it along with picture ID to the Benefit Payment Control Unit by e-mailing dlui1099-labor@maryland.gov. If you did not receive unemployment benefits in 2020, you will not be responsible for paying taxes on that money once the Maryland Division of Unemployment Insurance confirms that the claim was fraudulently filed.

To learn about the Earned Income Tax Credit, find locations offering FREE tax preparation through the CASH Campaign of Maryland, get financial help with the cost of health coverage through the Maryland Health Connection, and more, please visit our website. To learn more about the 1099-G tax form, please read our Frequently Asked Questions.

Triggered Off Extended Benefit Unemployment Insurance Program

The U.S. Department of Labor has informed the Maryland Department of Labor that Maryland has officially “triggered off” of the federally funded unemployment insurance program known as “Extended Benefits” or “EB”. According to the notification from the U.S. Department of Labor, the final benefit week of the Extended Benefits program was the week ending Saturday, December 12, 2020.

BEACON 2.0 System

Overview

The fully modernized BEACON 2.0 unemployment insurance system launched for claimants and for employers.

• Claimant BEACON application
• Employer BEACON application
• Third party agents BEACON application

BEACON 2.0 is a multi-year project dating back to 2015 that integrates all benefits, appeals, tax, and reemployment functions of the unemployment insurance system. BEACON 2.0 is replacing a legacy mainframe IT system that is several decades old.

In addition to all that claimants can already accomplish in the current BEACON One-Stop application, launched to accommodate the unprecedented surge of new claims during the COVID-19 pandemic, the BEACON 2.0 system will offer claimants and employers dozens of new online features.

Claimant Portal User Guide and Glossary

The Claimant Portal User Guide and Glossary are available to help unemployment insurance claimants navigate their BEACON accounts, and learn more about the information and features available.

Download the Claimant Mobile App

The BEACON mobile app called “MD Unemployment for Claimants” is available to download for free from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store. The mobile app allows claimants to easily file their weekly claim certifications, view and update claimant information, and more directly from their mobile device. To download the app in the iOS App Store, please visit https://bit.ly/AppleMDBEACON. To download the app in the Google Play Store, please visit https://bit.ly/GoogleMDBEACON.

Need Help?

For questions regarding BEACON 2.0, file an inquiry using our new Inquiry Form or call an agent at 667-207-6520. Please include your full legal name, complete address, phone number, e-mail address, the last four digits of your Social Security number, claimant ID number, and/or a brief description of the issue you are experiencing.

Features

The new BEACON 2.0 system offers dozens of new features and will greatly improve the user experience for both claimants and employers. Check out the new functionalities and upgraded features below:

BEACON Claimant Tutorial Videos

Employers and Third Party Agents, take a look at BEACON tutorial videos for you.

Claimant and Employer Contact Information

The Division of Unemployment Insurance’s website and call centers are currently experiencing an unprecedented volume of users due to COVID-19. This may result in longer than usual wait times. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience during these uncertain times.

Please be assured that Maryland does not have a waiting week like many other states do. No matter when or how they file, Marylanders become eligible for benefits starting the day after they separated from employment. Your payment will be backdated to the date you became unemployed, not when your claim was processed. If you are determined to be eligible, you will be paid for all benefits due.

Important Contact Information and Links

Frequently Asked Questions

• COVID-19 FAQs for Claimants and Employers
• Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) FAQs
• BEACON FAQs
• CARES Act FAQs
• Work Search Exemption FAQs
• Weekly Claim Certification FAQs
• Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) FAQs
• Benefit Payment and Bank of America Debit Card FAQs
• Work Sharing Program FAQs
• Employer
• Employee
• Employer Bulk Claims FAQs
• Employer 1st Quarter Report FAQs

COVID-19 Work Search Exemption

Due to the state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor of Maryland, and the labor conditions across the state of Maryland, the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor (Labor) has ordered a temporary exemption from the work search requirement for individuals receiving unemployment insurance benefits.

Labor will exempt all current and new unemployment insurance benefit recipients from the requirement to actively seek work while Maryland is in a declared State of Emergency and for thirty (30) days after. However, recipients MUST CONTINUE TO FILE WEEKLY CLAIM CERTIFICATIONS, either through the online Weekly Claim Certification or by calling 410-949-0022.

When you file your certification, you will be asked whether you have searched for work. Please respond accurately. Because of the exemption, even if you answer “No,” you will still receive your benefits. If you have questions about the exemption, please visit our Work Search Exemption FAQs. If you have questions about filing your weekly claim, please visit our Weekly Claim Certification FAQs.

Claimants who are selected to participate in a federally-required reemployment workshop during this period will be required to complete a one-on-one telephone session with a reemployment facilitator. However, claimants will not be required to complete the activities detailed in their Individual Reemployment Plan (IRP) until the state of emergency has been lifted.

Additional State Resources

If you are in need of additional financial assistance, the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation has created a Financial Relief Guide for Marylanders. The guide summarizes some of the many COVID-19 financial relief programs and consumer protections that are available for Maryland residents and their families.

You may be eligible for additional supportive benefits and services through the Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS). In addition to cash and food purchasing support, you may qualify for counseling and other services. Find out what services may be available for you by completing an initial application online or you may contact DHS' 24-hour helpline at 1-800-332-6347.

For additional state resources from the state departments of Labor, Human Resources, and Housing and Community Development, please visit the State of Maryland Financial Resources & Services.