Dear Friend,

I have been working closely with federal, state and local officials to ensure every person in our community has access to the financial assistance they need during the coronavirus.

Florida has just been approved to participate in the Federal Lost Wages Assistance Program (LWA), which means individuals currently receiving unemployment assistance may be eligible to receive an additional $300 per week.

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions and answers about Florida’s LWA program:

HOW DO I KNOW I’M ELIGIBLE? Floridians who are eligible (beginning on or after August 1) for state or federal Reemployment Assistance benefits, are unemployed or partially unemployed due to COVID-19 and have a weekly benefit amount of at least $100 in a state or Federal Reemployment Assistance program may be eligible to receive the additional $300 LWA benefits. This includes individuals receiving:

• State Reemployment Assistance
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation
• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
• Extended Benefits
• Short-Time Compensation
• Trade Readjustment Allowance

HOW LONG WILL THESE FUNDS BE AVAILABLE? The state of Florida has received guidance from FEMA and the U.S. Department of Labor indicating that states should be able to receive approximately three weeks of benefit payments for eligible claimants. This program will be available for a limited time and additional approvals may be granted on a week by week basis pending funding availability.

HOW WILL I RECEIVE THESE NEW BENEFITS? The Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) is working to implement these benefits as quickly as possible through direct deposit or paper check. A paper check will be issued if the payment method selected is a debit card.

To ensure payments are received as quickly as possible, DEO highly recommends Reemployment Assistance claimants select direct deposit as their preferred method to receive benefit payments. For more information about how to update your banking information or mailing address, click here.

As always, my district staff and I are ready to serve you and help answer any additional questions you may have about this process. Please do not hesitate to reach out to my district office at (386) 302-0442 or contact my DC office at (202) 225-2706.

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In Service,

Michael Waltz