April 5, 2006

Know-Your-Rights Guide to the Extension of Jobless
Benefits for Those Unemployed by Hurricanes Katrina & Rita

On March 6, 2006, President Bush signed a law creating a federal extension of unemployment benefits for the families left jobless by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  This fact sheet provides basic information on who qualifies for the new federal benefits and describes the amount of assistance available under the program.  For more detailed information, contact your state’s Labor Department (see contact numbers below).

1. Who qualifies for the new extension of disaster jobless benefits, and how long will their additional benefits last?

Large numbers of Gulf Coast workers who were unemployed as a result of the storms did not qualify for regular state unemployment benefits because they were self-employed or did not work enough to qualify under their state rules. These workers were entitled to instead collect benefits under a federal program called Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA), lasting 26 weeks from when the disasters were officially declared by their states.   Under the new extension of the DUA program, these workers can now collect DUA for 39 weeks, or an additional 13 weeks of jobless benefits.    

2.  What about those who collected regular state unemployment benefits after the storm and reached the end of their jobless benefits? Do they also qualify for the DUA extension?

Yes, they qualify for the DUA program as long as they were originally unemployed as a direct result of either Hurricane Katrina or Rita.  Most people who ran out of their regular state unemployment benefits in February and early March now meet the two basic eligibility requirements for the DUA program because: 1) they unemployed as a direct result of the storms; and 2) they do not currently qualify for any other state or federal unemployment benefits.

3. Is there a deadline to apply for the DUA program? If so, is there an exception for those who missed the deadline if they were receiving regular state unemployment benefits?

Yes, there is normally a 30-day deadline to apply for DUA. For those who were unemployed as a result of Hurricane Katrina, the deadline was extended to 90 days, or until November 30th.   However, for the large numbers of people who missed the deadline because they were collecting regular state unemployment benefits, the federal Department of Labor will find that they had “good cause” excusing them from the DUA filing deadline. 

4.  Do those people who collected regular state jobless benefits also collect 13 weeks of additional DUA like those who started off collecting DUA after the storms?

Many people who collected regular state unemployment benefits may qualify for more than 13 weeks of DUA.   These workers qualify for more than 13 weeks of DUA if they did not receive the maximum 26 weeks of regular state unemployment benefits because they did not earn enough or did not work enough to qualify under their state rules (see below for the minimum weeks of benefits available in each state).   Their DUA benefits will start from when they ran out of regular state benefits and last until the DUA extension program officially ends.   For those who were unemployed as a result of Hurricane Katrina, the 39-week DUA program ends on June 3rd, and it ends on June 24th for those families unemployed by Hurricane Rita. 

Example:  Esther was unemployed as a result of Hurricane Katrina, and her regular Mississippi unemployment bemefits ran out on February 4th after she received 22 weeks of benefits. She can collect up to 17 weeks of DUA for the period from February 4th when her regular benefits ran out to June 3rd when the DUA program ends.  Esther’s total state and federal DUA benefits come to 39 weeks, which is the maximum number of weeks allowed under the DUA program.

Note: In Louisiana, some workers qualified for another program of jobless benefits called “Extended Benefits,” which ended February 25th.  Their DUA benefits will start from the date their Extended Benefits ended instead of when they reached the end of their regular state unemployment benefits.

State                     Minimum Weeks of Regular Jobless Benefits
Alabama                                             15 weeks
Louisiana                                            21 weeks
Mississippi                                          13 weeks
Texas                                                  10 weeks

5. How much will workers collect each week when they qualify for the extension of DUA benefits?

Those who started collecting DUA just after the storms will continue to collect the same amount each week under the extension of DUA benefits (see below for the minimum DUA weekly amounts for each state).  However, those who started collecting DUA after reaching the end of their regular state unemployment benefits may collect more than they previously received if their regular state benefits were less than the minimum weekly DUA amount for each state. 

Example:  Mike was collecting $50 a week in regular Louisiana unemployment benefits after losing his job because of Hurricane Katrina.  Under the new extension of jobless benefits, his benefits will increase to $97 per week, which is the minimum weekly amount of DUA in Louisiana.

Note:  Some workers may receive a little less in DUA benefits each week than they collected in regular unemployment benefits.  That is because DUA benefits are based on the individual’s 2004 earnings, which may be less compared to the more recent earnings that are used to calculate how much workers collect in regular state unemployment benefits.

State                      Minimum State Jobless Benefits          Minimum DUA Benefits
Alabama                                $45 per week                                       $91 per week
Louisiana                               $10 per week                                       $97 per week
Mississippi                             $30 per week                                       $94 per week
Texas                                     $51 per week                                       $131 per week

6. What is the process to apply for the extension of DUA benefits?

The process to apply will be a little different in each state.  Anyone who was unemployed as result of Hurricane Katrina or Rita and ran out of their unemployment benefits should have received a notice in the mail letting them know they may qualify for the DUA extension and describing the process for applying.  In Louisiana, workers will be automatically enrolled in the DUA extension program as long as they first make the weekly call (to the number provided in the state notices) required to report that they are available for work and looking for work and to comply with other DUA weekly reporting rules.  

For questions about the DUA extension of benefits, contact your state Labor Department::

-Alabama                  800-361-4524
-Mississippi             888-844-3577
-Louisiana                866-783-5567
(For those who receive a busy signal when calling the Louisiana number, the state Labor Department recommends calling on Saturdays when extra hours of operation have been set up between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.)
-Texas                       817-420-1600