When hurricanes, floods, wildfires, or other catastrophic events strike, they often leave businesses damaged, jobs lost, and communities struggling to rebuild. Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) provides critical financial relief for individuals whose livelihoods are disrupted by these natural disasters.
DUA supports workers not typically eligible for regular unemployment insurance, such as self-employed individuals or those without sufficient work history. By offering temporary financial aid, DUA helps stabilize individuals and families during uncertain times, allowing them to focus on recovery and rebuilding.
With Hurricane Helene recently carving a path of destruction across the Southeast, understanding DUA benefits and how they can support employees is more important than ever.
What Are DUA Benefits?
DUA provides crucial financial assistance to individuals whose jobs or businesses have been disrupted by natural disasters. This assistance is especially vital for those who are self-employed or lack a sufficient work history to qualify for regular unemployment insurance. DUA benefits offer temporary aid to help people focus on recovery without the immediate worry of income loss.
After Hurricane Helene carved a path of destruction across the southeast just last week, it is as important as ever to understand DUA benefits and how they can help your employees in their time of need.
Who Qualifies for DUA Benefits?
To qualify for DUA benefits, an individual must meet these criteria:
- Applied for and exhausted regular unemployment benefits from any state, or not qualify for unemployment benefits.
- Worked or were self-employed, or were scheduled to begin work or self-employment in the disaster area.
- Cannot work or perform services due to physical damage to the workplace directly caused by the disaster.
- Establish that work or self-employment was the primary source of income.
- Cannot work or perform self-employment due to an injury directly caused by the disaster.
- Became the primary income source due to the death of the head of household.
When applying, individuals should clearly indicate that their job loss is associated with a declared disaster to expedite processing.
How are Benefits Received?
DUA benefits are managed by individual state workforce agencies but funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Application instructions and deadlines vary by state and by the specific disaster. Individuals must apply for—and be denied—regular unemployment benefits before qualifying for DUA. States may also temporarily waive certain UI requirements, such as the need to actively seek work, given the extraordinary circumstances.
Regular Benefits After a Declared Disaster
Regular unemployment benefits may also apply to individuals impacted by a declared disaster. These benefits are available to workers who lose jobs or experience a reduction in work hours through no fault of their own and meet traditional eligibility criteria, such as:
- Having sufficient work history and earnings during the base period.
- Being able, available, and actively seeking work.
After a disaster declaration, qualifying individuals may receive weekly benefit payments based on state-specific amounts and duration. Those applying for benefits should note that their job loss is linked to a declared disaster to speed up the claim.
In certain cases, individuals receiving regular UI benefits may transition to DUA if they exhaust their regular benefits.
About Us
For more than 40 years, 501(c) Services has been a leader in offering solutions for unemployment costs, claims management, and HR support to nonprofit organizations. Two of our most popular programs are the 501(c) Agencies Trust and 501(c) HR Services. We understand the importance of compliance and accuracy and are committed to providing our clients with customized plans that fit their needs.
Contact us today to see if your organization could benefit from our services.
Are you already working with us and need assistance with an HR or unemployment issue? Contact us here.
The information contained in this article is not a substitute for legal advice or counsel and has been pulled from multiple sources. Some information was provided by our friend, Darby Gibson, Client Marketing & Insights Specialist, at Thomas & Company.
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