GA Dept of Labor Creating System to Implement Lost Wages Assistance Program

The Georgia Department of Labor has started creating a system to implement the Lost Wages Assistance program, that will distribute an additional $300 supplement to eligible individuals receiving benefits from Georgia’s state and federal unemployment insurance programs.

Because of the different requirements for the Lost Wages Assistance Program, a new computer program must be developed.

“We are working as quickly as possible to build an application to meet the new FEMA guidelines to process these weekly supplements,” said Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “I am thankful we have an IT and UI team that is able to interpret extensive federal guidelines and develop a system that will support the specifications these systems demand.”

The GDOL anticipates programming to begin this week and implementation to be completed within three to four weeks.

On Aug. 8, 2020, President Trump approved up to $44 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Administration’s Disaster Relief Fund to provide financial assistance to Americans who have lost wages due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This benefit is currently time-limited to an initial three-week period for the weeks ending August 1, 8, and 15.

Additional benefits are contingent upon availability of remaining FEMA funds.

If you believe you are eligible for this extra assistance, you do not need to call or apply separately for this benefit.

The additional payment will be automatically issued to eligible claimants currently receiving state or federal unemployment benefits who are eligible.

Eligibility for the LWA Program is based upon an individual’s weekly benefit determination – an amount calculated by a claimant’s reported wages. Individuals must have received a weekly benefit amount determination of at least $100 to be eligible for LWA. He/she must also be unemployed or partially unemployed due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

To get more information on the Lost Wages Assistance program and other unemployment and reemployment programs, you can go to the Department of Labor’s Web site at dol.state.ga.us.