Florida Should Extend Disaster Unemployment Assistance Filing Deadline

News Release September 25, 2017

Florida has set a Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) filing deadline of October 16^th for all 48 counties included in the federal disaster declaration following Hurricane Irma. Florida should follow the example of Texas and extend the normal 30-day application period for DUA as a sensible step to help assure that assistance remains available to those who have lost work as a direct result of these disasters.

Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is a federal program that provides temporary financial assistance to individuals unemployed as a result of a “major disaster” declared by the president.

Many workers and self-employed Floridians are financially strained from the loss of work and by their families’ extraordinary needs as they try to recover. Extending the DUA filing deadline in Florida – particularly in light of the difficulties people face in being able to access the filing system itself in the state – should be a no-brainer.

After Hurricane Harvey, with thousands of displaced workers in Texas facing imminent deadlines (9/27, 9/29, 10/5) for filing DUA applications, the Texas Workforce Commission on September 20^th announced an extension of the deadline to October 31^st, which was approved by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Extending the DUA application deadlines after the severe sorts of major disasters we’re now experiencing is just one of the sensible steps NELP proposes for states and the federal government in this recent fact sheet.

As the table below details, such DUA filing deadline extensions have been common after hurricanes, floods, and other disasters in recent years; some have seen multiple extensions.

State	Disaster	FEMA Declaration	Declaration Date	Extended Filing Date	Designated Areas
Louisiana	Flooding	DR-4277	Aug. 14, 2016	Oct. 14, 2016	22 parishes
Rhode Island	Hurricane Sandy	DR-4089	Nov. 3, 2012	Feb. 4, 2013	2 counties
New York	Remnants of Tropical Storm Lee	DR-4031	Sept. 13, 2011	Nov. 14, 2011	13 counties
Vermont	Tropical Storm Irene	DR-4022	Sept. 1, 2011	Nov. 21, 2011	12 counties
New York	Hurricane Irene	DR-4020	Aug. 31, 2011	Nov. 16, 2011	28 counties
Puerto Rico	Severe Storms and Flooding	DR-1798	Oct. 1, 2008	Jan. 15, 2009	21 municipalities
Texas	Hurricane Ike	DR-1791	Sept. 13, 2008	Dec. 12, 2008	34 counties
Iowa	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding	DR-1763	May 27, 2008	Aug. 12, 2008	62 counties
Florida	Hurricane Jeanne	DR-1561	Sept. 26, 2004	Dec. 27, 2004	47 counties
Colorado	Wildfires	DR-1421	June 19, 2002	Aug. 23, 2002	58 counties
Virginia	Severe Storms and Flooding	DR-1386	July 12, 2001	Oct. 10, 2001	8 counties
Minnesota	Flooding	DR-1370	May 16, 2001	July 31, 2001	57 counties

In addition, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, and after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, filing deadlines were extended several times in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, New York and elsewhere, and durations of weeks of DUA benefits were also extended.

Neither Texas nor Florida has, to date, provided an extension of the 21-day deadline that governs when DUA applicants must submit the wage and employment history information required to process DUA claims.

Florida should immediately request at least a 30-day extension of the DUA filing deadline from the U.S. Department of Labor and extend the 21-day deadline for submitting documentation.

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