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Massachusetts Expedites Unemployment Benefits During Crisis

The Massachusetts State Seal

The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance has sped up the process that gets unemployment benefits to state residents whose work is affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

Governor Charlie Baker filed the emergency legislation on Monday, and signed it into law Wednesday.

“It waves the one-week waiting period for any person who’s making a claim for unemployment benefits and that’s particularly if that unemployment is the resulting of the COVID outbreak of the effect of the state’s declaration of a state of emergency,” said State Senator Adam Hinds.

Massachusetts has halted in-house service in restaurants and bars and shuttered public schools through April 6th in an effort to control the outbreak. Most state and municipal offices are also closed. For more information on how to apply for the emergency unemployment benefits, click here.

Josh Landes has been WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief since February 2018, following stints at WBGO Newark and WFMU East Orange. A passionate advocate for Western Massachusetts, Landes was raised in Pittsfield and attended Hampshire College in Amherst, receiving his bachelor's in Ethnomusicology and Radio Production. His free time is spent with his cat Harry, experimental electronic music, and exploring the woods.
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