Deadlines Approaching to File for Disaster Unemployment Assistan - Acadiana's Multi-Media News Station

Deadlines approaching to file for disaster unemployment assistance

BATON ROUGE – Residents in several parishes face deadlines this week to file for Disaster Unemployment Assistance for Hurricane Isaac, the Louisiana Workforce Commission announced today.

A total of 21 parishes approved for FEMA's individual disaster assistance for Isaac are eligible for DUA. The deadlines to file for DUA in each parish vary based on when the parish was announced as eligible. Workers who lost their jobs and self-employed individuals who were unable to perform services as of the week-ending date of Sept. 8 because of the disaster are potentially eligible.

The deadlines are as follows:

      ·     Tuesday, Oct. 2 -- Ascension, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston,

         Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. John the Baptist and St.

         Tammany parishes.

      ·     Friday, Oct. 5 -- St. Charles and Tangipoahoa parishes.

      ·     Monday, Oct. 8 -- Assumption, Iberville, St. Helena, St. James,

         St. Mary, Terrebonne and Washington parishes

      ·     Monday, Oct. 15 -- East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana and West

         Feliciana parishes.

Applications filed after the deadline for that parish will be considered untimely unless the individual provides good cause for filing after the deadline.

To receive DUA benefits, individuals must provide their Social Security number, proof of wages, and proof of employment, including the name and address of the last employer. Proof of employment must be received within

21 days of the filing date of the claim. Self-employed individuals must provide their business and financial records, including federal income tax returns for 2011.

The DUA program is federally funded but administered by the LWC. The LWC is accepting claims according to the filing periods for each parish as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The LWC is accepting all DUA and regular unemployment insurance claims at www.laworks.net. People without internet access or who experience trouble filing online can call the LWC toll free at 1-866-783-5567. The LWC's Business and Career Solutions Centers have computers available for people to file claims. Center staff members also are available to assist job seekers and employers.

The DUA period ends March 2, 2013, as long as the claimant's unemployment continues to be a result of Hurricane Isaac.

Before an individual can be determined eligible for DUA, it must be established that the individual is not eligible for regular unemployment insurance benefits or extended unemployment compensation (under any state or federal law).

DUA is available to unemployed U.S. nationals and qualified aliens who worked or were self-employed if they:

      ·     Worked or were self employed in or were scheduled to begin work

          or self employment in an area declared as a federal disaster

          area;

      ·     Can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage

          or destruction to the place of employment as a direct result of a

          disaster;

      ·     Establish that the work or self employment they can no longer

          perform was their primary source of income;

      ·     Do not qualify for regular unemployment insurance benefits from

          any state;

      ·     Cannot perform work or self employment because of an injury, or

          because they were incapacitated as a direct result of the

          disaster;

      ·     Became the breadwinner or major support of a household because of

          the death of the head of the household;

      ·     Cannot work or perform self employment due to closure of a

          facility by the federal government;

      ·     Lose a majority of income or revenue because the employer or

          self-employed business was damaged, destroyed, or closed by the

          federal government.

Suffering a monetary loss because of damage to property or crops does not automatically entitle an individual to DUA.