Unemployment benefits available for workers affected by floods - Dec. 14, 2007

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Media contact: Hilary Young, 360-902-9454

OLYMPIA – At the request of the U.S. Department of Labor, the Employment Security Department is re-announcing the availability of disaster unemployment benefits in Lewis and Gray’s Harbor counties to provide more details about eligibility requirements. 

Disaster unemployment benefits are only for people who do not qualify for regular unemployment benefits. These include people who were injured in the storm, who are self-employed, who were prevented from beginning new work or who became head of their household due to a death caused by the disaster.

To qualify for disaster benefits, people must be out of work as a direct result of the storm. The following examples constitute “direct result of the storm.”

·        The person’s place of employment was physically damaged or destroyed.

·        The person cannot get to work because it is inaccessible, either because roads are closed or the business is closed.

·        The person’s employer or business loses work because it received the majority of its revenue from another entity that was damaged or destroyed in the storm.

People should apply for disaster benefits right away. Disaster assistance is available to people beginning the week of Dec. 2, 2007, and the deadline for applications is Jan. 9, 2008.

Applications are available online at www.dua.go2ui.com. Unemployed workers also can request an application by phone at 877-416-7274, by e-mail at dua@esd.wa.gov or in person at local WorkSource centers. Qualified applicants will be eligible to receive $165 to $515 per week in benefits.

The Employment Security Department administers the federal disaster-benefits program for the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, on behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.