Federal funding that will provide $300 more in unemployment payments to Alaskans will be distributed soon, the state announced.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Tamika L. Ledbetter said Friday in a news release that $62 million in funding, provided by an executive order from President Donald Trump will be allocated to Alaska from the Federal Emergency Management Agency Lost Wages Assistance program.
“I want to thank President Trump for his executive order directing FEMA to assist displaced workers, including self-employed workers, through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program,” Dunleavy said in a news release. “Financial assistance to Alaskans now, who are ready and waiting to go back to work when their jobs return, will help protect Alaskan families and the overall economy.”
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People will receive the additional $300 payment for each week filed if they were eligible to receive at least $100 or more of weekly state unemployment insurance benefits and are unemployed or partially unemployed due to COVID-19, according to the state.
The Lost Wages Assistance payment funded by FEMA in response to the COVID-19 pandemic will be distributed to eligible individuals once programming is completed, according to the state. Payments will be made to regularly covered unemployment insurance recipients and the self-employed.
“The unemployment insurance program has provided critical replacement wages for Alaskans impacted by COVID-19. We are grateful to our federal partners for the additional resources provided to Alaskans during these challenging times,” Ledbetter said in the news release.
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