WA Unemployment Applicants To Receive $300 Lost Wage Payments
SEATTLE — Starting Monday, the Washington Employment Security Department began processing payments for the Lost Wages Assistance Program, giving extra money to unemployment recipients who lost work due to the coronavirus pandemic.
That means that, as claims are processed over the next few days, some unemployment recipients will receive an extra payment of $300 per week they were unemployed between August and early September.
Employment Security Department (ESD) leaders say they hope this one-time payment can help struggling residents during this trying time.
“Any additional funds to help unemployed workers are welcome – and we estimate that this will provide more than $450 million to families, individuals and our state’s economy,” said ESD Commissioner, Suzi LeVine when the program was first announced.
However, there is a catch: not everyone is eligible for the money, and the federal funds paying for the program are limited, meaning the program's scope is fairly narrow.
"Not everyone who has filed an unemployment claim will be eligible," said LeVine. "We continue to apply for additional weeks of funds and will do so as long as the money is available."
Here's a breakdown of how it works. To receive the extra money, applicants must have:
Lost their job or be working fewer hours because of the pandemic.
Already had their unemployment benefits approved for the weeks ending Aug. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 and Sept. 5.
Eligible applicants will receive a payment of $300 for each of the weeks they were eligible. So far, the federal government has not announced plans to provide any further funding for weeks past September 5, so new or recent applicants will not be able to receive the money for the foreseeable future.
Unemployment recipients who already receive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance were automatically enrolled in the program and should see their extra funds come in some time over the next few days as the ESD processes the payments.
All other unemployment applicants should have received a notification on their eServices account asking them to confirm whether they were eligible or not. Those who answered and had their eligibility confirmed will also automatically receive payments.
As for everyone else: anyone who is still interested but who has not confirmed their eligibility with the ESD can still call their office to try and enroll— though the ESD notes that funds are limited, and some later applicants may be denied.
Find out more about the program and how to enroll on the Employment Security Department's website.
This article originally appeared on the Puyallup Patch
