Federal unemployment compensation and COBRA benefits expire tonight due to a gridlocked vote in the Senate.  As FOXNews reports:

Unemployment insurance and COBRA benefits will expire Sunday for millions of voters because the Senate was unable this week to pass a short-term extension, a failure that reflects partly the partisan gridlock that has stalled the Democratic legislative agenda and partly the Senate rules that allows one lawmaker to block legislation.

According to the FOXNews article, while benefits are set to expire today, the Senate should be able to renew them with a Tuesday vote.  Congress will soon take up a broader bill in its “jobs agenda,” which includes an extension of the benefits for one year.  The bill is expected to pass by the end of next week.

As CNNMoney reports, the effect of the current benefits expiration is that unemployed workers will not be able to apply for the federal benefits during the expiration period, and those workers will stop receiving federal unemployment compensation checks once their state benefits or current federal benefits run out.  If the new extension is approved, jobless workers could reapply for federal benefits, but they will not receive missed payments.

Southwest Florida HR Law & Solutions will continue to monitor these developments, and will post updates as they occur.