HURRICANE KATRINA UNEMPLOYMENT INFORMATION

 

DISASTER UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE

Disaster Unemployment Assistance provides financial assistance to individuals whose employment or self-employment has been lost or interrupted as a direct result of the Hurricane Katrina disaster as declared by the President of the United States.  Before an individual can be determined eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance, it must be established that the individual is not eligible for regular unemployment insurance benefits (under any state or federal law).

 

Eligibility  

Disaster Unemployment Assistance is available to unemployed U.S. nationals and qualified aliens who worked or were self-employed if they:

 

•    Worked or were self-employed in or were scheduled to begin work or self-employment in an area declared as a federal disaster area.

•    Can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to the place of employment as a direct result of a disaster.

•    Establish that the work or self-employment they can no longer perform was their primary source of income.

•    Do not qualify for regular unemployment insurance benefits from any state.

•    Can not perform work or self-employment because of an injury or because they were incapacitated as a direct result of the disaster.

•    Became the breadwinner or major support of a household because of the death of the head of the household.

•    Can not work or perform self-employment due to closure of a facility by the federal government.

•    Lose a majority of income or revenue because the employer or self-employed business was damaged, destroyed, or closed by the federal government.  

 

Benefits  

Disaster Unemployment Assistance is available to individuals for weeks of unemployment beginning after the date the major disaster began and for up to 26 weeks after the major disaster was declared by the President, as long as their unemployment continues to be a result of the major disaster.  

 

Filing a Claim  

Affected Individual can file a DUA claim as follows:

 

State                        Telephone Claims                Internet Claims

Mississippi                1-888-844-3577                www.mdes.ms.gov    Alabama                   1-866-234-5382                                                       Florida                      1-800-318-0133                www.fluidnow.com              Louisiana                  1-800-818-7811                 www.laworks.net           

   

For more information, please contact Jim Martin, Deputy Director of MHA Solutions Unemployment Insurance Program, 601-368-3308 or visit the Mississippi Department of Employment Security website, www.mdes.ms.gov.