Thousands of out-of-work Coloradans who’ve been waiting for federal benefits to restart can reopen their unemployment accounts on Saturday about eight weeks after the last federal relief plan was approved by lawmakers.
Officials from the Colorado Department of Employment and Labor said the reopening comes two days sooner than expected. And they’ve already notified 289,000 people who are eligible for this so-called Phase 2 of benefits. An earlier phase allowed people who had benefits left from last year’s CARES Act to get paid earlier this month.
“We understand and we know that the gap in the benefits has been a hardship on Coloradans, but we are committed to making sure that we’re doing everything possible (to make sure) our systems are in compliance with rules and regulations that are required to administer these benefits to eligible unemployment claimants at this time,” Joe Barela, the Department of Labor’s executive director, said during a news conference Thursda