HYANNIS – Payments will be made to roughly 500,000 eligible low-income workers in Massachusetts as part of the COVID-19 Essential Employee Premium Pay Program.
The state will start distributing the first round of $500 payments to low-income workers, with checks to be mailed over the next week.
The payments are the first round of a $460 million program passed by state lawmakers and signed by Governor Charlie Baker as part of a spending plan for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
Residents will be eligible for the first round of payments if their income from employment was at least $12,750 based on filed 2020 tax returns and their total income put them below 300% of the federal poverty level that year.
People who received unemployment compensation in 2020 won’t be eligible for payments from this initial round.
Contact the dedicated call center at (866) 750-9803 Monday through Friday, 9am – 4pm to find out more about eligibility.
By Brian Engles, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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