Minnesota Unemployment update

Minnesota is now approved by the federal government to participate in the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program. LWA is a short-term emergency program. It will provide an additional $300 per week to most unemployed UI applicants due to COVID-19. States have the option to provide an additional $100/week benefit from their own Coronavirus Relief Fund. Minnesota has already allocated Coronavirus Relief Funds to critical public health initiatives and other measures to fight the pandemic.

To receive the LWA, you must be eligible for unemployment benefits for that week. Your weekly benefit amount for unemployment benefits must be at least $100, and you must be unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The additional $300 per week will not show on the “Payment Information” screen of your online unemployment account. The payment will be deposited to the bank account or debit card they have on file. If you use direct deposit, the additional $300 per week will show up as a separate transaction. If you are eligible for multiple weeks of the extra $300 per week, you will receive the amount in a lump sum.

Applicants don’t have to do anything extra to receive LWA payments. Just cotinine applying, they will review all the payment requests made for the week of July 26th going forward and automatically pay applicants eligible for LWA. The additional $300 per week benefit will be available until all federal funds are exhausted or until Congress passes a replacement program. Based on current projections, they expect that LWA payments will end in all states by the middle of September.

If you have any questions about anything, please reach out to me by phone (507)577-1109 or email justinp@ibewlocal343.org