Dr. Chhoda guides the Ignition Time community on how to certify correctly and ensure eligibility for the $300/week unemployment benefit extension under the lost wages assistance (LWA) program.
Also watch the follow-up video, the emerging new work search requirement for the $300/week here and check with your state about specific eligibility requirements.
There are some new requirements for eligibility for $300/week that didn’t exist under the CARES Act.
According to a new report on Yahoo Money and unemployment benefits expert Michele Evermore, new unemployment requirements make it tougher for workers to qualify for the $300/week provided by the lost wages assistance (LWA) program.
The extra $300 in weekly unemployment benefits provided under the president’s memorandum comes with new requirements, making it harder for jobless Americans to qualify.
One in 5 jobless Texans — or around 350,000 people who currently receive benefits in the state — are ineligible for the $300 available under the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program because of these changes, according to Cisco Gamez, a spokesman for the Texas Workforce Commission. There likely will be others who miss out when more states pay the $300 benefit.
Many of them don’t qualify because they said they didn’t lose their job due to COVID-19 related reasons the first time they filed their claim, which wasn’t a requirement to receive the extra $600 under the CARES Act. Jobless Texans will have to respond to the question again in subsequent weeks and may become eligible for the $300.
“In order to be eligible for the Lost Wages Assistance program, their unemployment right now has to be due to COVID-19,” Gamez said. “If it was due to something other than COVID-19… then they would not be eligible for the extra benefits.”
This question was previously asked only once when people initially applied for the benefit, but now they are going to be asked every one or two weeks, according to guidance issued by the Employment and Training Administration. This could add even more confusion to the already difficult application process, according to Michele Evermore, a senior policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project.
“Whenever the unemployment insurance agency asks additional questions, it knocks people off,” she said.