Gov. Beshear: Disaster Unemployment Assistance Available for Those Impacted by Severe Storms Over Memorial Day Weekend

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 9, 2024) - Gov. Andy Beshear announced today that the state will accept applications for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) from individuals in 15 counties who are out of work as a result of the severe storms in Kentucky on May 21-27, 2024.

Following Gov. Beshear's disaster relief request on June 14, 2024, President Joe Biden issued a Major Disaster Declaration on July 23, 2024, designating the following 15 counties for individual assistance: Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Christian, Clay, Greenup, Hopkins, Knox, Logan, Muhlenberg, Simpson, Todd, Trigg, Warren and Whitley.

Individuals - including unemployed and self-employed individuals who were living or working in the affected areas and became unemployed or had work interrupted as a direct result of severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, landslides and mudslides on May 21-27, 2024, - are eligible to apply for DUA benefits through the Kentucky Office of Unemployment Insurance.

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
• As a result of the disaster, became the breadwinner or major support of a household because of the death of the head of the household.

In order to qualify for DUA benefits, claimants in eligible counties must show that their employment or self-employment was lost or interrupted as a direct result of the disaster and that they are not otherwise eligible for regular unemployment insurance benefits under state or federal law. Farmers and other self-employed individuals who traditionally are ineligible for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits may qualify for DUA.

To receive DUA benefits, the federal program requires individuals to provide documents, including a copy of their most recent federal or state income tax forms or check stubs, a bill showing their physical address at the time of the disaster and a photo ID. All required documentation must be submitted within 21 days from the date the DUA application is filed.

DUA is available for weeks of unemployment beginning May 26, 2024, until Jan. 25, 2025, as long as the individual's unemployment continues to be a direct result of the disaster.

How To File a Claim
Affected individuals should visit the Kentucky Career Center website at kcc.ky.gov or call 502-875-0442 to file their initial claim. The deadline to apply for assistance is October 9, 2024.

Updated information will be communicated on the Kentucky Career Center website and through future press releases with detailed information. DUA is funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and benefits are not charged to employers.

Following the storms over the Memorial Day weekend, the Governor urged local officials to start the federal Individual Assistance and Public Assistance damage assessments and asked Kentuckians who experienced storm damage to take photographs before cleaning up and to report the damages to their local emergency management officials.

Gov. Beshear also activated the State Emergency Operations Center and activated the state's price gouging laws to protect Kentuckians from overpriced goods and services as they cleaned up from the severe weather.

On Memorial Day, Gov. Beshear visited the hardest impacted areas in Hopkins and Muhlenberg counties to view storm damage and speak with local officials and families affected by the severe weather.

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