PADADENA, Calif. — Californians who want to apply for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) for wages lost because of the destructive Southern California wildfires only have a short time left to apply. The deadline for DUA is Nov. 26.
Individuals who were unable to work as a result of the October wildfires in the seven federally declared counties may be eligible for DUA. The counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura were designated disaster areas by President Bush at the request of Governor Schwarzenegger.
To date, more than 6,120 workers affected by the fires have filed for unemployment insurance benefits.
DUA provides benefits from $144 to a maximum of $450 a week for individuals unemployed as a direct result of a major disaster.
In California, both DUA and Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims are processed through the Employment Development Department. Residents can apply on-line through
1-800-326-8937 for Spanish; or TTY 1-800-815-9387.
While DUA is similar to regular UI in benefit amounts and duration, eligibility is somewhat different. Those eligible for DUA include those affected by the disaster who have a legal right to work in the United States; who are or have been self-employed; who are unable to establish a valid regular UI claim; or individuals who have exhausted their UI claim benefits. People unable to reach work because of the disaster; those scheduled to begin work that was terminated because of the fires; and people physically unable to work because of a disaster-incurred injury also may be eligible.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency funds the 26-week DUA program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor at the federal level and the California Employment Development Department (EDD) at the state level.
FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES) coordinates overall state-agency response to major disasters in support of local government. OES is also responsible for maintaining the State Emergency Plan and coordinating California's preparedness, mitigation and recovery efforts.
Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, you should call FEMA toll-free at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 1-800-462-7585.
SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private non-profit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts, and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover uninsured and uncompensated losses and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For information about SBA programs, applicants may call 800-659-2955.
Temporary housing assistance from FEMA does not require that an applicant file for an SBA loan. However, an applicant must complete an SBA loan application to be eligible for additional assistance under the part of the Other Needs Assistance (ONA) program that covers personal property, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses. There are other ONA grants such as public transportation expenses, medical and dental expenses, and funeral and burial expenses that do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan to be eligible. FEMA will process applications for housing assistance regardless of whether the applicant has applied for an SBA loan, and eligibility determinations for applicants requesting FEMA’s temporary housing assistance will not be held up because the applicant has or has not filled out an SBA application.
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