12/09/2021
CT Department of Labor: Hurricane Ida Disaster Unemployment Assistance Program Expanded to Include New Haven County
(Wethersfield, CT) – Today, Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL) Interim Commissioner Danté Bartolomeo announced that New Haven County has been added to the Hurricane Ida federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) program to help those residents who experienced job interruption or loss due to the remnants of Hurricane Ida on September 1-2, 2021. Fairfield, New London, and New Haven Counties and the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribal Nations are now covered under the declaration.
Under federal law, the filing deadline for Disaster Unemployment Assistance is 30 days; in Connecticut filers have until January 10, 2022 to submit their applications for Hurricane Ida disaster assistance. The deadline for residents in Fairfield and New London Counties and the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribal Nations has been extended from December 13, 2021 to January 10, 2022.
Commissioner Bartolomeo said, “The heavy rainstorms from Hurricane Ida caused severe infrastructure and property damage in Connecticut; I applaud Governor Lamont, Commissioner Rovella, and our FEMA partners for responding quickly to secure this much-needed assistance for residents who were affected by the storm. We urge anyone who lived or worked in the path of the storm to carefully read the eligibility guidelines and, if they meet the program requirements, to start the application process right away. This will be a new program to many—Connecticut residents last used DUA 10 years ago after the October ice storm. The Consumer Contact Center, the American Job Centers, and the CTDOL website can help filers navigate the process.”
Disaster Unemployment Assistance is a federal program that supports workers whose employment was lost or interrupted by a major disaster declared by the president, and who are not eligible for regular state unemployment insurance benefits. DUA covers workers, some self-employed, and the surviving spouses of heads of household who died due to the storm. Hurricane Ida Disaster Unemployment Assistance requires claimants to file two applications—first for regular state unemployment benefits, and then, if found ineligible for regular state unemployment, the Disaster Unemployment Assistance application, which is available by calling the Consumer Contact Center.
To file for Disaster Unemployment Assistance, residents must:
- Live, work, or travel to work through impacted areas—Fairfield County, New Haven County, New London County, the Mohegan Tribal Nation, or the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.
- Have unemployment or reduced hours due to:
- storm damage to their place of business;
- road or other closures; or
- lack of work because the business depends on a non-operational entity within the affected area.
- Have proof of employment, documentation of wages, and earnings for the 2020 tax year.
- Have documentation of wages or lost earnings directly related to Hurricane Ida or have lost a spouse who files taxes as the head of household and who died due to the storm.
- File for and be ineligible for regular state unemployment benefits.
Claimants must first file for regular state unemployment benefits using the blue button on www.FileCTUI.com. Once a claimant is found ineligible for state benefits, they must then file for Disaster Unemployment Assistance by calling the Consumer Contact Center or their American Job Center.
Additional important information and instructions are on the CTDOL website.
For Immediate Release: December 9, 2021
Media Contact:
CTDOL Communications Unit
200 Folly Brook Boulevard, Wethersfield, CT 06109-1114
Email: CTDOL.SocialMedia@ct.gov | http://www.ct.gov/dol