Nebraska § 48-628.17 - Additional unemployment benefits; conditions; amount; when benefits payable.

§ 48-628.17. Additional unemployment benefits; conditions; amount; when benefits payable.

(1) In addition to any other unemployment benefits to which an individual is entitled under the Employment Security Law, an individual who has exhausted all regular unemployment benefits for which he or she has been determined eligible shall continue to be eligible for up to twenty-six additional weeks of unemployment benefits if such individual:

(a)(i) Was involuntarily separated from employment as a result of a permanent reduction of operations at the individual's place of employment or (ii) is unemployed as the result of a separation from a declining occupation;

(b) Is enrolled and making satisfactory progress in a (i) training program approved for him or her by the commissioner or (ii) job training program authorized under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, as amended;

(c) Is receiving training which is preparing the individual for entry into a high-demand occupation;

(d) Is enrolled in training no later than the end of the benefit year established with respect to the separation that makes the individual eligible for the training benefit. Individuals shall be notified of the enrollment requirement at the time of their initial determination of eligibility for regular benefits; and

(e) Is not receiving similar stipends or other training allowances for nontraining costs. Similar stipend means an amount provided under a program with similar aims, such as providing training to increase employability, and in approximately the same amounts.

(2) The amount of unemployment benefits payable to an individual for a week of unemployment under this section shall be equal to the amount of unemployment benefits which he or she has been determined eligible for under section 48-624 less any deductions or offsets authorized under the Employment Security Law.

(3) If an individual begins to receive unemployment benefits under this section while enrolled in a training program described in subsection (1) of this section during a benefit year, such individual shall continue to receive such benefits so long as he or she continues to make satisfactory progress in such training program, except that such benefits shall not exceed twenty-six times the individual's weekly benefit amount for the most recent benefit year as determined under section 48-624.

(4) No benefits shall be payable under this section until the individual has exhausted all (a) regular unemployment benefits, (b) extended benefits as defined in subdivision (1)(b) of section 48-628.14, and (c) unemployment benefits paid entirely from federal funds to which he or she is entitled, including, but not limited to, trade readjustment assistance, emergency unemployment compensation, or other similar federally funded unemployment benefits.

(5) For purposes of this section, regular unemployment benefits means all unemployment benefits for which an individual is eligible payable under sections 48-624 to 48-626, extended unemployment benefits payable under section 48-628.14, and any unemployment benefits funded solely by the federal government.