What is disaster unemployment assistance - NYS Department of Labor eligibility requirements?
I keep seeing references to disaster unemployment assistance but I'm confused about what this actually covers through NYS Department of Labor. My area got hit by severe flooding last month and my workplace had to shut down for repairs. Regular unemployment seems different from this disaster thing - can someone explain what disaster unemployment assistance is and how it works in New York? I'm not sure if I should file a regular UI claim or if there's something special I need to do for disaster-related job loss.
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Kiara Greene
Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is a federal program administered by NYS Department of Labor for people who lose work due to federally declared disasters. It's different from regular UI because you don't need to have earned enough wages or worked enough hours in your base period. You can get DUA if the disaster directly caused your unemployment - like your workplace was damaged, you can't get to work due to disaster damage, or you were injured in the disaster. The key is that your area needs to be declared a federal disaster area first.
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Isaiah Cross
•How do I know if my area was declared a federal disaster area? The flooding was pretty bad but I haven't heard anything official about disaster declarations.
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Evelyn Kelly
You need to check FEMA's website to see if your county was included in any federal disaster declarations. NYS Department of Labor will also post information on their website when DUA applications become available for specific disasters. Don't file a regular UI claim if you think you might qualify for DUA - the application processes are separate and you want to make sure you're applying for the right program.
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Paloma Clark
•This is really important - I made the mistake of filing regular UI first and it complicated my DUA application later. Had to call NYS Department of Labor multiple times to sort it out.
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Heather Tyson
I went through this after Hurricane Ida caused flooding in my area. The DUA benefit amount is usually the same as what you'd get for regular unemployment, but the eligibility requirements are much more flexible. You can even get DUA if you were self-employed or didn't have enough work history for regular UI. The downside is that it's only temporary - you can only get it for as long as the disaster continues to affect your ability to work.
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Raul Neal
If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to ask about DUA eligibility, I had good luck using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to actually reach a real person. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I was stuck trying to figure out if I qualified for DUA or regular UI after storm damage, and talking to an actual NYS Department of Labor rep helped me understand which program applied to my situation.
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Isaiah Cross
•Thanks for the tip! I've been trying to call NYS Department of Labor for days but keep getting busy signals or getting disconnected.
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Jenna Sloan
Just want to add that DUA applications usually have pretty tight deadlines once they open up. I think it's like 30 days from when the application period starts? Don't wait around if you think you might qualify - get your paperwork together now in case they announce DUA is available for your flooding incident.
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