FLORIDA, USA — Florida has been approved by FEMA for a grant under its Lost Wages Assistance program.
What does that mean? Now Floridians, unemployed due to COVID-19, will be able to receive an extra $300 a week in federal unemployment benefits on top of the unemployment assistance from the state.
Earlier this month, President Trump signed an executive order making up to $44 billion in FEMA Disaster Relief funds available to pay unemployed Americans an additional $300 per week after the $600 a week federal payments expired in July.
The program offers the $300 a week benefit for those eligible for assistance from the state for weeks of unemployment ending on or after Aug. 1.
"FEMA looks forward to working with the governors of additional states who agree to administer a lost wages program to bring financial relief to unemployed Americans," FEMA wrote in a release.
To be eligible, claimants must be receiving at least $100 in an approved Reemployment Assistance program weekly benefit. And, claimants must certify that they are unemployed or partially unemployed due to disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those eligible for the funds include people receiving:
- State Reemployment Assistance, including Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) and Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Service members (UCX)
- Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)
- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
- Extended Benefits (EB)
- Short-Time Compensation (STC)
- Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA)
- Payments under the Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) program.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the state applied for the program assistance after more than two dozen states had already applied.
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