Disaster Unemployment Assistance for Hurricane Sandy victims

People whose jobs were interrupted or lost because of Hurricane Sandy may be eligible to receive Disaster Unemployment Assistance even if they would not normally qualify for unemployment insurance benefits.

DUA eligibility in New York

• If you live or work in any of the affected counties and lost your job or income as a direct result of the disaster, you may qualify.  Affected counties are: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester.   You will not qualify if you are eligible for a regular unemployment insurance claim. 
• If you live or work in one of the counties declared a disaster area and lost your job as a result of Hurricane Sandy, you may be eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) relief. You may qualify for DUA even if you would not normally be able to get unemployment insurance benefits.
• You must first file for regular unemployment insurance by calling the NYS Department of Labor at 1-888-209-8124 or 1-877-358-5306 (if you live out of state).  Answer the questions to indicate that you lost your job as a direct result of the effects of Hurricane Sandy.
• Application deadline is December 3^rd.

DUA in New Jersey

• At this time, the DUA is available only in connection with the ten (10) counties now declared a federal a disaster area. Additional counties may be added to the disaster declaration following continued damage assessments by local officials, representatives of the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
• If you are unemployed because of the disaster that began on Oct. 28, you should FIRST file for unemployment insurance benefits through the Internet by going to www.njuifile.net.
• Application deadline is December 3^rd.

Additional information can be found at http://www.disasterassistance.gov/ or by contacting your local Department of Labor office.

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