Unemployed New Yorkers Getting Extra $300: When, How To Claim

NEW YORK, NY — About 2 million New Yorkers left jobless by the pandemic got some welcome relief Thursday after state officials said they'll see an extra $300 a week in federal lost-wage assistance.

The state Department of Labor said payments for the Lost Wages Assistance program will begin next week. Up to 2.4 million New Yorkers are eligible for the program, though about 435,000 of them still have to submit an additional certification to qualify for the supplemental cash.

The money comes after President Donald Trump on Aug. 8 authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to use its Disaster Relief Fund to supplement unemployment benefits for people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Federal emergency officials can spend up to $44 billion in disaster money.

FEMA released funding for the first three weeks of the program's benefits to New York, covering the benefit weeks ending Aug. 2, 9 and 16. The state Labor Department said recipients will include those receiving both traditional unemployment insurance and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA. Under federal rules, New York could be eligible for more weeks of federal Lost Wages Assistance funding, officials said.

About 2 million New Yorkers are pre-qualified and will receive payments beginning next week. These people indicated on their initial benefit application that their unemployment was connected to the coronavirus pandemic. They will receive an email and text message from the state Labor Department informing them they are pre-qualified for the Lost Wages Assistance program.

About 435,000 still need to submit an additional certification confirming that their unemployment is related to the pandemic to qualify for the supplemental money. These people will receive payments starting next week if their certification is submitted by 5 p.m. Tuesday. After that, payments will be released on a rolling basis.

Those who still need to certify can do so beginning Friday online or via phone.

• Online: Claimant will receive a secure DocuSign email from the Labor Department on Friday with a link to certify for supplemental benefits.
• Phone: Claimant can call 833-491-0632 to certify via an automated phone system.

FEMA said funding for the Lost Wages Assistance program will continue until any of the following occur:

• The Disaster Relief Fund balance falls below $25 billion;
• $44 billion allocated for the program is depleted;
• Congress enacts a replacement unemployment relief program;
• If none of the above scenarios occur before Dec. 27, funding will terminate on that date.

Trump's order also created a so-called "payroll tax holiday" through the end of the year, provided relief for student debt and called for pausing evictions for homeowners with federally-backed mortgages.

As Patch previously reported, the state Labor Department released preliminary unemployment numbers for July, and Long Island saw even more people out of work than in previous months — breaking June's standing as the second-worst month for jobs in the area in 30 years.

Unemployment on Long Island was 13.8 percent in July, up from 12.8 percent in June. That equates to 215,100 unemployed workers. The rate was 3.8 percent in July 2019.

The unemployment rate is worse than the Great Recession that began in 2008, when Long Island's unemployment reached 8.2 percent in early 2010.

The worst month on Long Island was April, which brought 16.1 percent unemployment, or 229,300 people without jobs — the worst job loss on record. In March, before the closures began in earnest, unemployment was at 3.8 percent.

Nassau's unemployment rate in July was 14 percent while Suffolk's was 13.6 percent.