Thousands Of Utahns Won’t Qualify For $300 Unemployment Boost
Aug 21, 2020, 6:30 PM | Updated: Dec 19, 2022, 11:59 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – Not every Utahn on unemployment will qualify for the extra $300 weekly payment from President Donald Trump’s Lost Wages Assistance program.
Unlike the $600 extra unemployment payments that expired in July, this new program has eligibility requirements that will leave thousands of unemployed Utahns on the sidelines.
In order to qualify for the additional payment, a claimant must already be receiving at least $100 in weekly unemployment benefits from the state.
“So if they are receiving less than $100, that means they’re not going to get this additional $300,” said Nate McDonald, communications director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services. “Roughly three to four thousand people, we anticipate, won’t quite hit that threshold.”
But McDonald said the majority of those on unemployment – about 95% – will qualify for the supplemental payments, but that they won’t have the final number until the department finishes the computer program to administer the program.
Another requirement to receive the payment is that Utahns claiming unemployment will have to attest that they lost work as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What’s more, Utah has only been approved to pay the additional $300 for a three-week period, from July 26 through August 15.
“We will continue to work with FEMA and the U.S. Department of Labor to pursue any additional funds for Utahns that may remain after the initial three-week period of benefits are distributed,” said a prepared statement from Kevin Burt, director of Utah’s Unemployment Insurance Division.
Utah is still seeking answers to some questions about the program, McDonald said, and Workforce Services doesn’t expect to send out the payments for another four weeks. It is possible that all three weeks will be paid at once.
There is no separate application process for the Lost Wages Assistance payments and McDonald reminded that there is no need to call as it’s expected that benefits will be calculated automatically.
