Effective today, January 9, 2018 Secretary Designate Bill McCamley has issued an emergency provision to the Unemployment Insurance rule waiving the work search requirement for affected federal employees for up to 180 days. The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions is offering the following guidelines to essential and non-essential federal employees who have been furloughed due to the federal government partial shutdown when applying for Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits:
· Federal employees affected by the federal government shutdown who are on furlough or are required to continue work without pay are eligible to file for unemployment.
· There are two ways to file for unemployment:
o Online by going to the New Mexico Workforce Connection Online System at www.jobs.state.nm.us. Individuals can then access the UI Tax and Claims system. The online system is available to take initial claims and weekly certifications from 4:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Sunday through Friday.
o By phone at 1-877-664-6984 the UI Operations Center is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
· Employees who receive unemployment benefits and also later receive a retroactive payment from their employer for the same time period will need to repay the UI benefits received.
“This administration appreciates and values Federal workers so much because we know how important they are to our communities,” said Secretary Designate Bill McCamley. “They are going through a tough time right now and we’ll do everything in our power to get them through it as smoothly as possible.”
The department has had over 450 individuals apply for benefits with federal agencies affected in New Mexico being Homeland Security, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“I’m hopeful the federal shutdown can come to a swift resolution, but in the meantime we will look out for the diligent federal professionals in our state,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said.
For Federal employees looking for more information please refer to the attached fact sheet, view our recent video on our official NMDWS YouTube channel, or visit our website at www.dws.state.nm.us.