May 1, 2020
Over the last few weeks, my office has been inundated with constituent casework from too many residents who are unable to access the unemployment insurance benefits they are entitled to. The filing process has been unacceptably complicated, if not impossible, and the new BEACON system has fallen well-short of what was promised. I have and will continue to advocate to the Department of Labor to get this right. Marylanders are counting on them to rectify the situation as quickly as possible, especially as bills are due.

My office continues to assist District 46 residents who are unable to get through to a representative from the Division of Unemployment Insurance. If we can assist you, please email me at bill.ferguson@senate.state.md.us . In addition, I want to pass along some helpful resources that the Department of Labor recently provided my office:
BEACON One-Stop Username and Password
The Maryland Department of Labor’s Division of Unemployment Insurance has received a number of questions and comments from Marylanders about difficulties they are experiencing with usernames and passwords. To help ensure that Maryland’s new and existing claimants can access the new BEACON One-Stop, we have created a Username and Password Handbook. You can access this new resource by visiting www.labor.maryland.gov/employment/uibeaconuserhandbook.pdf . 
New BEACON One-Stop Video Tutorials
The Maryland Department of Labor’s Division of Unemployment Insurance has posted four new tutorial videos on our website, social media pages, and YouTube to help Marylanders navigate the new BEACON One-Stop. All four videos can be found directly on our homepage at   MDunemployment.com .

The first tutorial video provides instructions for activating and logging into your account. To watch this video, please visit  https://youtu.be/w826_vuOKnw .

The second tutorial video will walk Marylanders through applying for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) CARES Act program. Those who are self-employed, independent contractors, sole proprietors, gig economy workers, have insufficient work history, or believe they are eligible for the PUA program, can submit their applications online and receive their benefits retroactive to their earliest date of eligibility. To watch the video, visit  https://youtu.be/SXQgt9Lzzo4 .

The third tutorial video will walk Marylanders through applying for the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) CARES Act program. Those who have recently exhausted their benefits can apply for an additional 13 weeks of benefits through this new application. New claimants and those who are currently receiving benefits will automatically receive an additional 13 weeks of benefits. To watch the video, visit  https://youtu.be/RO_Lp5Fnb-c .

The fourth tutorial video will walk Marylanders through filing their weekly claim certification. To watch the video, visit  https://youtu.be/s2jJK_LC64w .

If you have additional technical questions, please email them to BEACON.support@maryland.gov .
Please do not hesitate to contact my office if there is anything we can do to help via email at bill.ferguson@senate.state.md.us , or phone via (410) 841-3600 by leaving a voicemail to be returned promptly.