Last Day To Apply For Disaster Unemployment Assistance
If the hurricane put you out of work, you may be eligible for unemployment assistance
Release Date: November 28, 2005
Release Number: 1609-031
» More Information on Florida Hurricane Wilma
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Today and Wednesday mark the deadline for Floridians who lost income because of Hurricane Wilma to apply for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA), according to officials of the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the State Emergency Response Team (SERT).
Interested persons must file for disaster benefits within 30 days of the date of public notification. For those affected who live in Broward, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties, the DUA application deadline is Monday, Nov. 28, 2005; for those who live in Brevard, Indian River and Okeechobee counties, the deadline is Wednesday, Nov. 30.
DUA is available to help those people whose employment was stopped or reduced by the hurricane and extends unemployment compensation to those who do not qualify for regular unemployment benefits, including self-employed individuals, owners of farms and ranches, farm and ranch workers, and fishermen.
The Agency for Workforce Innovation administers the DUA program in Florida in partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor and state and regional workforce boards. Funding for the program is provided by FEMA.
To apply for DUA, log on to www.fluidnow.com and indicate on the application that it is a disaster-related unemployment claim. To apply by phone, call the state unemployment office at 800-204-2418 during the hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday.
The State Emergency Response Team (SERT) is a collaboration of Florida 's state agencies led by the state coordinating officer. SERT's mission is to ensure that Florida is prepared to respond to emergencies, recover from them, and mitigate their impacts. Visit www.floridadisaster.org for the latest information on the hurricane relief efforts.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003. For more information visit www.fema.gov .
Last Modified: Monday, 28-Nov-2005 16:00:51