Nevada last state to submit Lost Wages Assistance application
Nevada was the last state to apply for a first-come, first-served program that would put more money in jobless Nevadans’ pockets.
The Silver State announced Wednesday it submitted its application for the Lost Wages Assistance program, which would provide additional weekly unemployment insurance benefits of at least $300. The state is requesting an estimated $300 million in funding.
A White House official said it took the state a week to submit the application after announcing it would apply Aug. 25, “making Nevada the last state.”
States are initially allowed to receive three weeks’ worth of benefits upon approval, and funds are retroactive to Aug. 1, according to Nevada’s employment agency. Additional funds are approved on a weekly basis.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provides the grant, only has $44 billion allocated for the LWA program. Once the amount is exhausted by states, benefits will end.
Gov. Steve Sisolak granted authorization last week for the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, which oversees the unemployment office, to begin the application process.
“I want to do everything I can to ensure Nevadans get much needed help with unemployment benefits during this historically difficult time, which is why I authorized DETR to apply for the Lost Wages Assistance program — the only option for additional federal assistance that is currently available,” Sisolak said in a statement.
Extra help
President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month giving state employment agencies federal funds to pay jobless workers an extra $300 a week in benefits through a grant agreement with FEMA.
States were given the option to contribute an additional $100 using state funds or money provided through the $2 trillion federal coronavirus relief act, according to guidelines from the U.S. Department of Labor. The payments are subject to a federal income tax.
Citing the state’s budget constraints, DETR said it does not anticipate contributing an additional $100 per week.
DETR said once its application is approved, the department would be able to provide eligible filers the extra weekly $300 payments for the first three weeks of August.
Nevada’s unemployment rate across the state, at 3.6 percent in February, jumped to 30.1 percent in April before it tumbled over the past few months.
Still, more than 228,000 unemployed Nevadans continued to file weekly for jobless benefits as of Aug. 22, DETR reported last week. Over 107,000 self-employed and independent contractors in Nevada filed weekly claims through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program in the same period.
Contact Subrina Hudson at shudson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Follow @SubrinaH on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Debra Saunders contributed to this report.
