DES MOINES, Iowa -- Disaster Unemployment Assistance is now available in Linn County.
Iowa Workforce Development says the assistance is the result of a Major Disaster Declaration signed by President Trump on Aug. 17th.
IWD is accepting applications from people whose employment or self-employment was lost or interrupted due to the Aug. 10th derecho.
Disaster Unemployment Assistance expands eligibility for benefits and gives help to the self-employed, including business owners and farmers.
To be eligible for DUA benefits, Workforce Development says individuals:
- Must be an unemployed or self-unemployed worker whose unemployment was caused as a direct result of the major disaster declared by the President.
- Must be a U.S. national or a qualified alien; and
- Does not qualify for regular unemployment insurance benefits from any state; and
- Must have worked or was self-employed in, or was scheduled to begin work or self-employment in one of the counties listed above; and
- Must establish that the work or self-employment they can no longer perform was their primary source of income.
Also eligible to apply for DUA are individuals who:
- Can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to their place of employment as a direct result of a disaster; or
- Cannot perform work or self-employment because of an injury caused 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; or
- Cannot work or perform self-employment due to closure of a facility by the federal government.
Applications must be filed with Iowa Workforce Development by September 24th.