A sense of panic is passing among the more than 75,000 Oklahomans, including those in Pryor, who receive unemployment benefits. News reports last week said the well had run dry.

In an interview about unemployment and Congress having extended benefits three times in the last year, Stacy Dunagan with

the Oklahoma Employment Securities Commission (OESC) made a comment about the next “tier” deadline. The term “tier” refers to an extension. The next deadline is Feb. 27.

“Come the first week in March, basically, whatever monies that they’re on, whether it be a state claim, first extension, second or third, that’s it. Once they draw that money, it’s exhausted. There’s no more,” she said.

Karen Becker, Pryor, knew nothing about the announcement until she called the unemployment hotline to update her weekly claim.

“After I’d entered my claim information, the automated system basically told me that my benefits would end on March 6,” she said. “I was shocked and really pretty fearful.”

She was also confused because a few weeks ago, she’d filed for her second extension. It was approved and she’d received a letter stating that her benefits had been extended through May.

Becker, a single mother, was laid off from Gatorade in December 2008. It’s not been an easy year.

“I’ve actively looked for a job for over a year in this area and surrounding areas, but haven’t found anything,” Becker said. She’d held out a bit of hope that she might be called to return to her previous job at Gatorade. All of that changed last week, when the plant closed its doors for good.

With many like Karen confused and scared that benefits were coming to an

abrupt end, Unemployment Insurance Director Jerry Pectol immediately responded to help clarify the statement from Dunagan that, according to Marsha Cunningham, OESC Manager at Pryor Workforce Center, were “not exactly correct.”

“Let me first say that an extension of these deadlines … is currently being considered by Congress,” Pectol said in explanation.

Cunningham emphasized as well “that the extended benefits DO NOT just end of Feb. 27.”

In order to understand the how and why of the system, it is important to know the “what” of the system.

There are 26 weeks of standard benefits for unemployment. In the last year, Congress has approved four additional extensions (tiers).

Following the standard 26 weeks, Tier 1 adds 20 additional weeks. Tier 2 adds 14 weeks and Tier 3 adds 13 weeks. Tier 4 is the final extension, which adds six additional weeks. All of that is followed by a so-called FedEd extension adding 20 weeks. If no extension is approved, FedEd would only be worth an additional 13 weeks.

Loree Levy, a spokeswoman for the California Employment Development Department gave this example.

“Workers who lost their jobs after Aug. 16, 2009, will not be eligible for any of the extensions because they will not have exhausted their initial 26 weeks of benefits by

Feb. 28,” she writes, adding that those people may, however, be able to get 13 weeks of the FedEd benefits.

Pectol said that the Defense Appropriations Bill actually says “that the first payable week of the new tier (whichever tier a person is on) must be prior to Feb. 28.

“If their last payment of Oklahoma UI (the standard 26 weeks) is for the week ending 2/20, their first payable week of Tier 1 would be 2/27 – so they would meet the filing deadline and be eligible to draw up to 20 weeks of Tier 1 benefits,” Pectol said. “If their last week of Oklahoma UI is the week ending 2/27 or later, no EUC08 (Tier) benefits will be paid.”

Becker worries about what will happen next in her own life, but is

also extremely concerned about those former co-workers at Gatorade who will join her in the unemployment line.

“It’s not right for those who’ve just lost their jobs. They’re in the same boat,” she said. “In the time we’ve all had (referring to those who’ve been unemployed for a year) we cannot find jobs. What are they all supposed to do now?”

Pectol said it is likely that an extension of three, four, or six months will be passed by Congress.

“However, if no extension is passed, the current deadlines will be enacted,” he said.

Senate Majority Leader Democrat Harry Reid tabled a bipartisan proposal that would have addressed the eligibility extension for unemployment.

Congress reconvened on Feb. 22, which gives them a week to get something done.

If no deadline extension is approved, many Oklahomans, indeed many Americans, will see their unemployment benefits end months before anticipated.

And the newly unemployed, such as those who recently lost their jobs at the close of the Gatorade plant in Pryor or those recently laid off at Buzzi Unicem cement plant, may lose the opportunity to even apply for extensions to their standard unemployment benefits.

“I rely on my faith in God for hope on a day by day basis,” Becker said. “It’s a Catch-22 situation. The unemployment benefits don’t pay the bills. It’s tough to choose a minimum wage part-time job that will pay even less than that. Some days I don’t know what I would do without the support and encouragement from family and friends.”