Additional county authorized for Disaster Unemployment Assistance

LITTLE ROCK, AR (June 6, 2024) – On June 5, 2024, Baxter County was added to the list of Arkansas counties as a result of Presidential Disaster Declaration FEMA-4788-DR announced on May 30, 2024. The Arkansas Division of Workforce Services (ADWS) is now accepting applications for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) from individuals in Baxter, Benton, Boone, and Marion counties whose employment or self-employment was lost or interrupted due to the severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding that occurred on May 24-27, 2024. Applications for DUA must be filed by July 29, 2024.

DUA is available to individuals who:

• Worked or were self-employed or were scheduled to begin work or self-employment;
• Can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to the place of employment as a direct result of a disaster, which can also include the physical inaccessibility of the place of employment due to its closure by the federal, state, or local government in immediate response to the disaster;
• Establish that the work or self-employment they can no longer perform was their primary source of income;
• Do not qualify for regular unemployment insurance benefits from any state;
• Cannot work or resume self-employment because of an injury as a direct result of the disaster; or
• Became the breadwinner or major support of a household because of the death of the head of the household.

Applications filed after July 29, 2024, will be considered untimely unless the individual provides good cause for filing after the deadline.
To file for DUA, individuals should first go online at https://www.ezarc.adws.arkansas.gov and file their regular UI. Select “Laid off – Weather” as the reason for separation. After completing the UI application, individuals will receive an email link to complete and submit the DUA application or be mailed an application to complete and return. Paper applications for regular UI will also be available at the mobile Workforce Centers. Find more information, including Workforce Center and mobile Workforce Center locations, visit https://bit.ly/ArkansasDUA. Follow the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services on Facebook and X for more updates.

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