Peace Corps, AmeriCorps volunteers eligible for stimulus unemployment benefits, Labor says

Peace Corps volunteers who were evacuated back to the U.S. and AmeriCorps volunteers who lost their positions due to the coronavirus pandemic will be able to receive unemployment benefits included in a major stimulus package.

Peace Corps volunteers are barred from receiving standard unemployment benefits, but several Democratic lawmakers pushed earlier this month to ensure funds would be open to volunteers whose “place of employment…closed as a direct result of the COVID-19 public health emergency.”

A guidance from the Department of Labor released Tuesday allows both Peace Corps and AmeriCorps volunteers to qualify for the unemployment benefits in the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief bill.

“For decades, Peace Corps and AmeriCorps volunteers have served our country at home and abroad – promoting democracy, literacy, development and good will. Today, these men and women – thousands of whom have been recalled – deserve the same safety net provided to others at this moment of need,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who spearheaded a letter to the department asking for the guidance.

Peace Corps in March evacuated all 7,300 volunteers from more than 60 countries where they serve.

Volunteers are returning to the U.S. in uncertain times, as more than 26 million Americans have applies for unemployment benefits. 

The abrupt evacuation has left many Peace Corps volunteers in precarious situations. Many are footing hotel bills to quarantine away from vulnerable family members, and they’ve all lost their jobs at a time when the U.S. economy is at a standstill.

“I left a lot of stuff behind to commit to the two years of service,” Kevin Lawson, 35, who was evacuated from Ukraine, previously told The Hill. “I left my job, I left my place to live, I sold my car, I got rid of everything. So now to come back earlier than expected, I’m really left with this feeling of being lost.”

Van Hollen and other lawmakers have also called on Peace Corps and AmeriCorps volunteers in the effort to battle Covid-19, including by drastically expanding public health volunteer work in the U.S.