Secretary Gassman Urges Affected Workers in Disaster Areas to Apply
MADISON – With filing deadlines approaching, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Secretary Roberta Gassman today issued a reminder to workers in counties affected by severe storms and flooding last month to file for disaster unemployment assistance if they were unable to work due to the flooding.
Governor Doyle announced Disaster Unemployment Assistance for 29 counties that have been declared disaster areas as a result of the storms and floods that began on June 5, 2008. The next deadline is Saturday, July 19, for workers in eight counties: Dodge, Fond du Lac, Green, Iowa, Marquette, Washington, Waukesha, and Winnebago; AND Sunday, July 20, for workers in four counties: Grant, Kenosha, Rock and Sheboygan.
The deadlines for the remaining counties are as follows:
July 23 for Dane, Juneau and Ozaukee;
July 25 for Adams, Calumet, Green Lake, Jefferson, La Crosse and Walworth; and,
July 30 for Manitowoc County.
Applications can be filed by calling the Unemployment Insurance Division in Madison at (608) 232-0678, in Milwaukee at (414) 438-7700, or toll-free at 1-800-822-5246. A special (TTY) number for the hearing impaired is also available at 1-888-393-8914.
DUA benefits are available to unemployed workers who worked or were self employed if they:
worked or were self employed, or were scheduled to begin work or self employment, in one of the affected counties; or were unable to reach their job because they must travel though the affected area;
can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage to the place of employment as a direct result of the disaster;
establish 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 household support 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; or
lost a majority of income or revenue because the employer or self employment business was damaged, destroyed, or closed by the federal government.
DUA benefits are not payable if an individual is eligible for regular unemployment insurance benefits. This program provides benefits for those who lost employment because of the disaster and do not qualify for regular benefits. Suffering a monetary loss due to damage to property or crops does not automatically entitle an individual to Disaster Unemployment Assistance.
Benefits are based on a person’s earnings for the most recent tax year. As a result, applicants will be asked to furnish earnings data from their 2007 federal tax returns when filing a claim. The benefit can range from $134 to $355 per week. The first potential week payable for DUA benefits is the week of June 8 through June 14, 2008.
