Filing Period for Disaster Unemployment Assistance to Close May 4, 2023
LITTLE ROCK, AR (April 27, 2023)— In accordance with federal regulations, the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services has announced that the filing period for Disaster Unemployment Assistance under Disaster Declaration FEMA-4698-DR for individuals affected by the severe storms and tornadoes that occurred in Pulaski, Lonoke, and Cross counties on March 31, 2023, will end on May 4, 2023.
DUA is available to those 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 May 4, 2023, will be considered untimely unless the individual provides good cause for filing after the deadline.
Individuals will need their Social Security number, a copy of 2022 Federal income tax forms or check stubs, or documentation to support that they were working or self-employed when the disaster occurred. Individuals must submit all required documentation within 21 days of filing the DUA application to receive DUA benefits. DWS will work with claimants experiencing difficulties locating tax returns or pay stubs due to property losses.
The first step to filing for DUA is to submit an initial unemployment insurance application online at https://www.ezarc.adws.arkansas.gov. Select “Laid off – Weather” as the reason for separation. After completing the UI application, individuals must file a DUA claim by filing out the online application at https://bit.ly/DUAInitialApp or by downloading the DUA application at https://bit.ly/DUApaperapp and emailing the completed forms to ADWS.DUA@arkansas.gov. Paper applications for UI and DUA are also available at the Arkansas Workforce Centers in Little Rock, Benton, Jonesboro, Searcy, Conway, Forrest City, and West Memphis.
For more information on DUA, UI, and other employment services, visit https://bit.ly/ArkansasDUA.
Contact: Pamela Francis, DUA Coordinator, Pamela.Francis@arkansas.gov
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