DES was informed by FEMA that LWA will end this week (benefit week ending September 5). DES has requested and received its weekly allocation for this last week. Starting next week, for the benefit week ending September 12, eligible claimants will receive their weekly benefit amount without LWA. Those who have not yet filed weekly claims or whose claims have yet to be processed may still be eligible for LWA. DES will continue to work with FEMA to provide retroactive LWA payments for eligible weeks between the week ending August 1 and the week ending September 5, as funding allows. Learn more: https://bit.ly/2RjJyvM

UPDATE: As part of its increased fraud detection efforts, DES closed accounts with suspicious account information and activity located out of state. The majority of claims identified are believed to be fraudulent. Whenever additional fraud detection and prevention measures are put into place, there will be a small portion of individuals eligible for benefits who may be impacted by these measures. These individuals will still be able to access benefits. Impacted cardholders who believe they are eligible for benefits should contact DES directly at [email protected]. Once a case is validated as not being fraudulent, a new card will be issued to the claimant and the funds will be reloaded.  

In early August 2020, select state and local government, non-profit, and Federally recognized Tribal employers received an Unemployment Tax Statement from DES that indicated that the full balance on the statement was due on August 31, 2020. If you received this statement, please disregard the balance and deadline. Interest will not accrue on these balances until October 31, 2020 as DES works to implement recent federal law changes and federal guidance. If you already paid your full balance, DES will work to provide reimbursement for the 50% share covered by the federal government. Read the full notice here.