Eligible Pennsylvanians To Start Receiving Extra $300-A-Week Jobless Pay By Mid-September
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
HARRISBURG (KDKA) - The state is ahead of schedule to start giving eligible unemployed Pennsylvanians an extra $300 a week.
The Department of Labor and Industry Secretary Jerry Oleksiak announced Friday that the state will complete and implement the federal Lost Wages Program ahead of schedule. They'll start making payments on Sept. 10, and those who apply and qualify will start getting money as early as Sept. 14.
This extra $300 a month will run through December or until federal funding is depleted, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry says.
Late last month, the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved Pennsylvania for a new round of $300 in weekly unemployment benefits under a presidential order
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This comes after the extra $600 a week expired.
When it comes to workers who are eligible, this is what the Department of Labor and Industry says in a press release:
"The federal government requires that only individuals who are fully or partially unemployed due to COVID-19 disruptions may apply for this benefit. To qualify for the extra $300, the LWA program also requires that eligible individuals must have a benefit rate and dependence allowance totaling $100 or more per week in benefits, and must receive a benefit payment for each week from one of the following qualifying programs:
- Regular Unemployment Compensation (UC);
- Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC);
- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA);
- Pennsylvania Extended Benefits (EB);
- Shared Work or Short-Time Compensation (STC); and
- Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA).
Individuals receiving benefits from these programs, with the exception of PUA and Shared Work, will need to apply for LWA by certifying one time only that their unemployment is due to COVID-19. PUA claimants do not have to apply because they previously certified they were unemployed due to COVID-19 and will receive payments automatically. Employers in a Shared-Work program must provide the required certification on behalf of all participating employees."
Beginning at 6 a.m. on Sept. 6, people who need to complete the certification process can do that online.
Lost Wages Assistance will be made for claims for previous weeks dating back to Aug. 1.