Posted on August 25, 2020
In response to the pandemic and the extended unemployment across our nation, President Trump signed an Executive Order to provide an additional $44 Billion from the Disaster Relief Fund to provide for lost wages.
As the extra $600 in additional federal weekly unemployment benefits was set to expire, Governor Lamont applied for extended funding from the federal government to provide an additional weekly wage supplement for Connecticut’s unemployed. Last night, that approval was granted.
The program, overseen by FEMA, will be administered by state officials and will provide a $300/week benefit for unemployed Connecticut residents who qualify.
Payments will be retroactive to July 26th, and are currently only available for July 26th, Aug. 2nd, and Aug. 9th. Other claim weeks are under review for approval.
According to Governor Lamont’s release, eligible individuals must self-certify that they are unemployed or partially unemployed due to the impact of COVID-19. Eligibility includes:
The agency anticipates disbursement in mid-September and expects about 250,000 claimants will be eligible for the federal benefit. The agency will mail letters to eligible claimants and release additional instruction and information as it becomes available.
The FEMA program will continue until the $44 billion is exhausted or Dec. 27, 2020.