More than a half-million unemployed workers in Arizona and several other states are missing out on extended federal benefits because of the way laws in their states are written.
The economic stimulus package allows states with high unemployment to provide up to 20 weeks of extended federal benefits to workers who have exhausted other government benefits. But 13 states and the District of Columbia have laws written in a way that prevent them from qualifying for the money, according to a study by the National Employment Law Project, which promotes policies and programs that assist workers.
The states are Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Tennessee.