The federal government has made 3 changes to its unemployment benefits guidelines as the coronavirus cripples entire industries - here's what you need to know

• The federal government has made three changes to unemployment benefits as the coronavirus ravages entire industries.
• The US Department of Labor issued guidance to states to allow more flexibility with granting unemployment benefits to workers during the pandemic in three different scenarios.
• The first scenario is if a business has to temporarily shut down to to the virus, preventing employees from coming to work.
• The second is if an employee is quarantined and plans on returning to work afterward.
• The third scenario is if an employee leaves work due to a risk of exposure or infection or to care for a family member.
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The novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 15,300 people and infected more than 349,000 worldwide, has also wreaked havoc on the global economy.

As entire industries are temporarily shuttered, from restaurants to beauty parlors, the US has seen a historic surge in people applying for unemployment benefits. For the week ending March 14, US jobless claims spiked by 70,000 to 281,000. Goldman Sachs estimates that number could jump to a record 2.25 million within a week. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) estimates that three million total jobs could be lost in the US by the summer due to the pandemic.

As more workers are applying for unemployment benefits, the US Department of Labor has issued guidance that gives states more flexibility in granting those benefits to workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Unemployment insurance is a program that's jointly run by the state and federal government, so while the application procedure can vary by state, the overall process and eligibility requirements are more or less the same.

The Department of Labor outlines three scenarios in which states should offer more flexibility with unemployment benefits:

1. An employer temporarily ceases operations due to COVID-19, preventing employees from coming to work

Restaurants and other businesses across the US have been government-mandated to close their doors to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The expanded unemployment benefits guidelines make it clear that workers can be eligible for benefits even if they are not officially laid off.

"The requirement for unemployment benefits is [that] you had zero earnings in the prior week and your employer didn't offer you any hours," Andrew Stettner, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, told Business Insider. "The question isn't whether you're employed, it's whether you're working."

2. An individual is quarantined with the expectation of returning to work after the quarantine is over

There's a difference between self-isolation, self-quarantine, and a legally enforced quarantine order. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "federal, state, or local public health orders may be issued to enforce isolation, quarantine or conditional release."

If you are told to self-quarantine by a health official and are unable to work, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits, but states may have their own definitions of who qualifies as quarantined, as The New York Times noted.

3. An individual leaves employment due to a risk of exposure or infection or to care for a family member

Stettner said this could apply to a worker who chose not to come into work because they're concerned about being infected by the coronavirus.

"For example, if they are immune compromised or older and quit a job that requires sustained exposure to the public like working at a grocery store that has remained open," he told Business Insider. "It's a drastic move to quit, [but] there are cases when workers will feel like they have no choice."

Again, this eligibility will vary by state. But if you're in doubt about whether or not you're eligible for unemployment benefits, experts say you should apply anyway.

Beyond the federal guidance on unemployment insurance, states are changing their own eligibility guidelines every day, so even those who don't think they're eligible should consider applying, Demetra Nightingale, a fellow at nonprofit research organization The Urban Institute, told CNBC Make It.

To find information specific to your state, you can check the Department of Labor's list of all 50 states' unemployment insurances offices with phone numbers and links to informational websites.

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