Disaster unemployment pay offered

Workers affected by Hurricane Irma and who meet certain criteria can apply

Federal disaster unemployment assistance to workers and the selfemployed affected by Hurricane Irma is available to South Florida residents.

The deadline is Oct. 16 to file an application for disaster unemployment assistance for those whose work was lost or interrupted by the storm, according to Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity. To qualify, applicants must meet the following criteria:

That they have worked in the past or were self-employed, or were scheduled to begin work or self-employment;

Are not able to work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to their place of employment as result of the disaster;

Can establish that the work or self-employment was their principal source of income;

Cannot perform work or selfemployment because of an injury or direct result of the disaster;

Became the breadwinner or major supporter of a household because of the death of the head of household.

Applicants cannot also qualify for regular unemployment benefits from any state, the department said.

Disaster unemployment assistance is available for the weeks of Sept. 10 through March 17, 2018, as long as the individual’s unemployment continued to be a result of the disaster.

To file a claim, go to florida jobs.org/ or call 800-385-3920 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For claims information, call 800-204-2418 and choose option 2.

Separately, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced it is hiring staff to help with disaster recovery. The agency said it is seeking damage verifiers and construction analysts; lawyers, paralegals and legal assistants; loan specialists; customer service representatives and public information officers; and IT specialists. All of the positions are temporary.

Visit sba.gov/disaster and click on the “view jobs” tab for salary and job description information.

mpounds@sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6650 or Twitter @marciabiz