Vos mostly wrong on claim that pandemic unemployment payments are keeping Wisconsinites from working

Unemployment remains a top talking point among politicians, even though Wisconsin is experiencing a "record low" in unemployment claims. 

One target: Expanded unemployment benefits given to those who lost their jobs during the early days of COVID-19. Those programs made more people eligible and added money to what claimants received from their state. 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican, recently targeted the programs as the reason more people in Wisconsin are not working. 

During the November 2022 WisPolitics luncheon, after being asked about workforce development, Vos said people should know "they have to work to eat" and highlighted unemployment and food programs as among the reasons some people aren’t working. 

"A lot of the programs started during the pandemic are still going, even though the pandemic is long over," he said. 

That caught our attention: Are pandemic unemployment and food programs still running in Wisconsin? 

Let’s take a closer look. 

When asked for backup for claim, Angela Joyce, communications director for Vos’ office, said by email that the comments weren’t directed only at unemployment programs, but all government programs, "especially those implemented or expanded to assist individuals during the Federal Public Health Emergency implemented due to Covid-19." 

Besides unemployment programs, she highlighted FoodShare enhancements and Medicaid eligibility. 

Those who receive FoodShare benefits are still eligible to get an additional $95 per month due to the pandemic, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. As for Medicaid, the temporary COVID-19 policies are ongoing and set to end when the public health emergency expires in January, according to the department. The Medicaid changes during the pandemic allowed people to keep their coverage without renewing under a host of different programs, including Medicaid, BadgerCare and SeniorCare. 

But while those programs continue, the unemployment programs – which prompted Vos’ comment – are not. 

The bulk of pandemic-era unemployment programs stopped paying out new claims in 2021, according to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. 

For instance, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which provided benefits for those not usually eligible for regular unemployment, such as self-employed people and independent contractors, ended Sept. 4, 2021. 

Likewise, federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, which provided a temporary emergency increase in benefits, ended that same day.

So did Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which provided additional weeks of emergency benefits after the exhaustion of regular benefits. 

And Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation, which provided an additional $100 per week to those who received regular unemployment benefits and earned at least $5,000 from self-employment in the tax year prior to claims. 

Featured Fact-check

Ron Johnson

stated on August 2, 2020 in a TV interview

“Depending on which study you look at, either 68% or 5 out of 6 individuals ... are making more on unemployment than they did on the job.”

Meanwhile, Lost Wages Assistance, which provided an additional $300 per week for eligible candidates, ended Sept. 5, 2020. 

And Extended Benefits, which provided additional benefits who exhausted regular unemployment and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, ended Nov. 7, 2020. 

Though Wisconsin residents couldn’t apply for the programs after their end date, there are still some cases in which people are still receiving payouts, said Jennifer Sereno, the Department of Workforce Development’s communications director. 

"UI continues making payments on federal pandemic programs as various holds, investigations and appeals are resolved on claims that were filed for weeks during the program," she said in an email. "Any payments made related to the pandemic programs are only for eligible weeks filed during the special pandemic program period. Payments are made due to such things as changes in appeal outcomes and claim adjustments." 

So although a small number of people may still be getting payouts from pandemic-era programs, it is not because they are unemployed. And those receiving unemployment cannot access any pandemic-era benefits at this point. 

Vos claimed that people are still receiving pandemic-era benefits for food and unemployment. 

But those programs have all ended. There are some other programs, such as the FoodShare program, that are still providing additional funding to recipients, through the end of the federal health emergency, which is set to expire in January. 

We rate this claim Mostly False — the statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.