The NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development has begun to review unemployment claims exhausted since July 2019 for eligibility for federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), “Eligible claimants will begin being notified later this week to certify for benefits,” the agency said. “This process will continue for the next few weeks.” The benefit in question is the extra 13 weeks of federal benefits that was created as part of the CARES Act. Workers who had already received 24 weeks of regular benefits and those who are close to reaching that milestone have been waiting to see when the extra 13 weeks would kick in. The Labor website describes in detail what those who have exhausted their benefits should do to get the extra 13 weeks. As of last week, the agency has paid out $2.5 billion in unemployment benefits to more than 725,000 workers since the start of the coronavirus. About 1.1 million New Jerseyans have applied for benefits.