Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act
PL 93-572 (H.R.17597), enacted 12/31/1974

88 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 93-572-DEC. 31, 1974 
1869 
Public Law 93-572 
A N A C T 
December31, 1974 
To provide a program of emergency unemployment compensation. 
[H.R. 17597] 
Be it enacted hy the Senate- and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled. 
Emergency un-
•' 
"^ 
employment Com-
pensation Act of 
SHORT TITLE 
1974. 
SEC. 101. This Act may be cited as the "Emergency Unemployment 
Compensation Act of 1974". 
26 use 3304 
note. 
FEDERAL-STATE AGREEMENTS 
26 u s e 3304 
note. 
26 u s e 3304 
note. 
SEC. 102. (a) Any State, the State unemployment compensation law 
of which is approved by the Secretary of Labor (hereinafter in this Act 
referred to as the "Secretary") under section 3304 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1954 which desires to do so, may enter into and ^^ ^^'^ ^^^^ 
participate in an agreement with the Secretary under this Act, if such 
State law contains (as of the date such agreement is entered into) a 
requirement that extended compensation be payable thereunder as 
provided by the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensa-
tion Act of 1970. Any State which is a party to an agreement under 
this Act may, upon providing thirty days' written notice to the 
Secretary, terminate such agreement. 
(b) Any such agreement shall provide that the State agency of the 
State will make payments of emergency compensation— 
(1) to individuals who— 
(A) (i) have exhausted all rights to regular compensation 
under the State law; 
(ii) have exhausted all rights to extended compensation, 
or are not entitled thereto, because of the ending of their 
eligibility period for extended compensation, in such State; 
(B) have no rights to compensation (including both regu-
lar compensation and extended compensation) with respect 
to a week under such law or any other State unemployment 
compensation law or to compensation under any other Fed-
eral law; and 
(C) are not receiving compensation with respect to such 
week under the unemployment compensation law of the 
Virgin Islands or Canada, 
(2) for any week of unemployment which begins in— 
(A) an emergency benefit period (as defined in subsection 
(c)(3)); and 
(B) the individual's period of eligibility (as defined in 
section 105(b)). 
(c) (1) For purposes of subsection (b) (1) (A), an individual shall 
be deemed to have exhausted his rights to regular compensation under 
a State law when— 
(A) no payments of regular compensation can be made under 
such law because such individual has received all regular com-
pensation available to him based on employment or wages during 
his base period; or 
(B) his rights to such compensation have been terminated by 
reason of the expiration of the benefit year with respect to which 
such rights existed. 
1870 
PUBLIC LAW 93-572-DEC. 31, 1974 
[88 
STAT. 
26 u s e 3304 
note. 
Emergency 
benefit period. 
Notice, publi-
cation in Federal 
Register. 
26 u s e 3304 
note. 
Emergency com-
pensation ac-
count, formula. 
Restriction. 
(2) For purposes of subsection (b) (1) (B), an individual shall be 
deemed to have exhausted his rights to extended compensation under 
a State law when no payments of extended compensation under a 
State law can be made under such law because such individual has 
received all the extended compensation available to him from his 
extended compensation account (as established under State law in 
accordance with section 202(b)(1) of the Federal-State Extended 
Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970). 
(3) (A) (i) For purposes of subsection (b) (2) (A), in the case of 
any State, an emergency benefit period— 
(I) shall begin with the third week after a week for which there 
is a State "emergency on" indicator; and 
(II) shall end with the third week after the first week for 
which there is a State "emergency off" indicator. 
(ii) In the case of any State, no emergency benefit period shall last 
for a period of less than 26 consecutive weeks. 
(iii) When a determination has been made that an emergency 
benefit period is beginning or ending with respect to any State,, the 
Secretary shall cause notice of such determination to be published 
in the Federal Register. 
(B) (i) For purposes of subparagraph (A), there is a State "emer-
gency on" indicator for a week if there is a State or National "on" 
indicator for such week (as determined under subsections (d) and (e) 
of section 203 of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Com-
pensation Act of 1970). 
(ii) For purposes of subparagraph (A), there is a State "emergency 
off" indicator for a week if there is both a State and a National "off" 
indicator for such week (as determined under subsections (d) and (e) 
of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 
1970). 
(d) For purposes of any agreement under this Act— 
(1) the amount of the emergency compensation which shall be 
payable to any individual for any week of total unemployment 
shall be equal to the amount of the regular compensation (includ-
ing dependents' allowances) payable to him during his benefit 
year under the State law; and 
(2) the terms and conditions of the State law which apply to 
claims for regular compensation and to the payment thereof shall 
(except where inconsistent with the provisions of this Act or 
regulations of the Secretary promulgated to carry out this Act) 
apply to claims for emergency compensation and the payment 
thereof. 
(e) (1) Any agreement under this Act with a State shall provide 
that the State will establish, for each eligible individual who files an 
application for emergency compensation, an emergency compensation 
account. 
(2) The amount established in such account for any individual shall 
be equal to the lesser of-— 
(A) 50 per centum of the total amount of regular compensation 
(including dependents' allowances) payable to him with respect 
to the benefit year (as determined under the State law) on the 
basis of which he most recently received regular compensation; or 
(B) thirteen times his average weekly benefit amount (as deter-
mined for purposes of section 202(b) (1) (C) of the Federal-State 
Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970) for his 
benefit year. 
(f)(1) No-emergency compensation shall be payable to any indi-
vidual under an agreement entered into under this Act for any week 
beginning before whichever of the following is the latest: 
88 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 93-572-DEC. 31, 1974 
1871 
(A) the first week which begins after December 31, 1974, 
(B) the week following the week in which such agreement is 
entered into, or 
(C) the first week which begins after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
(2) No emergency compensation shall be payable to any individual 
under an agreement entered into under this Act for any week ending 
Q -IT-pT* 
(A) December 31,1976, or 
(B) March 31, 1977, in the case of an individual who (for a 
week ending before January 1, 1977) had a week with respect to 
which emergency compensation was payable under such agreement. 
PAYMENTS TO STATES HAVING AGREEMENTS FOR THE PAYMENT 
OF 
EMERGENCY COMPENSATION 
26 u s e 3304 
note. 
SEC. 103. (a) There shall be paid to each State which has entered 
into an agreement under this Act an amount equal to 100 per centum 
of the emergency compensation paid to individuals by the State pur-
suant to such agreement. 
(b) No payment shall be made to any State under this section in 
respect of compensation for which the State is entitled to reimburse-
ment under the provisions of any Federal law other than this Act. 
(c) Sums payable to any State by reason of such State's having an 
agreement under this Act shall be payable, either in advance or by 
way of reimbursement (as may be determined by the Secretary), in 
such amounts as the Secretary estimates the State will be entitled to 
receive under this Act for each calendar month, reduced or increased, 
as the case may be, by any amount by which the Secretary finds that 
his estimates for any prior calendar month were greater or less than 
the amounts which would have been paid to the State. Such estimates 
may be made on the basis of such statistical, sampling, or other method 
as may be agreed upon by the Secretary and the State agency of the 
State involved. 
FINANCING PROVISIONS 
SEC. 104. (a) (1) Funds in the extended unemployment compensa- 
^e use 3304 
tion account (as established by section 905 of the Social Security Act) "°42'use 1105. 
of the Unemployment Trust Fund shall be used for the making of 
payments to States having agreements entered into under this Act. 
(2) The Secretary shall from time to time certify to the Secretary 
Payment certia-
of the Treasury for payment to each State the sums payable to such ^°""" 
State under this Act. The Secretary of the Treasury, prior to audit or 
settlement by the General Accounting Office, shall make payments to 
the State in accordance with such certification, by transfers from the 
extended unemployment compensation account (as established by 
section 905 of the Social Security Act) to the account of such State 
in the Unemployment Trust Fund. 
(b) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated, without 
fiscal year limitation, to the extended unemployment compensation 
account, as repayable advances (without interest), such sums as may 
be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Amounts appro-
priated as repayable advances and paid to the States under section 
103 shall be repaid, without interest, as provided in section 905(d) of 
the Social Security Act. 
cation. 
1872 
PUBLIC LAW 93-572-DEC. 31, 1974 
[88 
STAT. 
26 u s e 3304 
26 u s e 3304 
note. 
26 u s e 3304 
note. 
DEFINITIONS 
SE(". 105. For purposes of this Act— 
(1) 
the 
terms 
"compensation", 
"regular 
compensation", 
''extended compensation", "base period", "benefit year", "State", 
"State agency", "State law", and "week" shall have the meanings 
assigned to them under section 205 of the Federal-State Extended 
Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970; 
(2) the term "period of eligibility" means, in the case of any 
individual, the weeks in his benefit year which begin in an 
extended benefit period or an emergency benefit period and, if 
his benefit year ends within such extended benefit period, any 
weeks thereafter which begin in such extended benefit period or 
in such emergency benefit period; and 
(3) the term "extended benefit period" shall have the meaning 
assigned to such term under section 203 of the Federal-State 
Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970. 
For purposes of any State law which refers to an extension under 
Federal law of the duration of benefits under the Federal-State 
Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970, this Act shall 
be treated as amendatory of such Act. 
Ante, 
p. 420. 
EXTENSION o r WAIVER OF 120-PERCENT REQUIREMENi' FOR PURPOSES OF 
EXTENDED COMPENSATION PROGRAM 
SEC. 106. The last sentence of section 203(e) (2) of the Federal-State 
Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970, as amended, is 
amended by striking out "April 30, 1975" and inserting in lieu thereof 
"December 31,1976". 
TEMPORARY REDUCTION I N NATIONAL TRIGGER 
SEC. 107. Section 203(d) of the Federal-State Extended Unemploy-
ment Compensation Act of 1970 is amended by adding at the end 
thereof the following new sentence: "Efi^ective with respect to com-
pensation for weeks of unemployment beginning before December 31, 
1976, and beginning after December 31, 1974 (or, if later, the date 
established pursuant to State law), the State may by law provide that 
the determination of whether there has been a national 'on' or 'off' 
indicator beginning or ending any extended benefit period shall be 
made under this subsection as if the phrase '4,5 per centum', contained 
in paragraphs (1) and (2), read '4 per centum'." 
26 u s e 3304 
note. 
Supra, 
Ante, 
p. 420. 
26 u s e 3304 
note. 
PROVISION FOR FINANCING TEMPORARY REDUCTION I N NATIONAL TRIGGER 
SEC. 108. Section 204(a) of the Federal-State Extended Unemploy-
ment Compensation Act of 1970 is amended by adding at the end 
thereof the following new paragraph: 
" (3) In the case of compensation which is sharable extended compen-
sation or sharable regular compensation by reason of the provision 
contained in the last sentence of section 203(d), the first paragraph 
of this subsection shall be applied as if the words 'one-half of read 
'100 per centum of but only with respect to compensation that would 
not have been payable if the State law's provisions as to the State 'on' 
and 'off' indicators omitted the 120 percent factor as provided for by 
Public Law 93-368 and by section 106 of this Act." 
Approved December 31, 1974.