Massachusetts officials declined to say Monday whether they would accept new funding from the federal government that could boost unemployment benefits by $400 a week, as states scrambled to understand the controversial maneuver President Trump announced over the weekend.
Charles Pearce, a spokesman for the state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, said the Baker administration is reviewing the memorandum that Trump presented Saturday. The order, which sidestepped Congress, is meant to extend financial relief to millions after the $600 weekly unemployment bonus benefit available during much of the coronavirus pandemic expired at the end of July.
