Some states are giving their residents who return to work payments worth up to $2,000.
Arizona and Kentucky were two of the first states to do this even before federal unemployment ended.
Federal unemployment ended on Sept. 6, but it was May when the Back to Work Plan was introduced in Arizona.
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The program pays any Americans in Arizona that return to work full time $2,000. Anyone that returned part time received a $1,000 check. These were one time payments.
Governor Doug Ducey’s goal was to get workers back in the force by Labor Day on Sept. 6.
While the federal unemployment ended in Sept., Arizona ended it early for its residents on July 10 in an attempt to get everyone back to work.
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Ducey felt that it was safer for people to return to work with greater access to vaccines.
He added that the state would use the federal unemployment money to encourage people to work instead of paying them to not work.
What other states are offering back to work stimulus checks?
Programs that would or will pay people to go back to work were also created in Kentucky, Maine, and Montana.
In Kentucky, Governor Andy Beshear announced in June that 15,000 residents could be paid $1,500 upon their return to work.
Maine paid workers $1,500 if they started jobs between June 15 and 30, 2021. If workers returned in July they could earn $1,000.
Those who could participate needed to be receiving unemployment benefits ending May 29, and had to accept a job paying less than $25 per hour. They needed to hold that job for 8 weeks to qualify.
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Many states chose not to create a back to work program once the federal unemployment ended.
Some states are sending qualifying residents their own state stimulus checks, like California.
In order to qualify, residents must make under $75,000 annually.
Checks are being sent out now.
Related: Thousands of Americans will see a stimulus check worth $1,100 this month, are you one of them?
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