Hurricane Dolly Disaster Unemployment Assistance is available in three Texas counties that were significantly damaged by the category-2 hurricane.
President George Bush declared disaster areas in southeastern counties of the state, on and near the Gulf Coast.
Subsequently, the Texas Unemployment Office (Texas Workforce Commission) has made Hurricane Dolly Disaster Unemployment Assistance available in the counties of Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy. The application deadline is September 2, 2008.
Update: The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) has requested $7.5 million in Hurricane Dolly Disaster Relief Employment funding from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), to create 475 temporary cleanup jobs in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy Counties. The temporary cleanup jobs will support restoration and rebuilding efforts, while providing wages and benefits to eligible unemployed workers.
If you’re an employee or self-employed individual who has become unemployed, lost income or couldn’t start a new job due to damage directly caused by Hurricane Dolly, then you might be eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA). Benefits are similar to standard state unemployment benefits.
If you’ve become the household breadwinner because the former breadwinner died as a direct result of Hurricane Dolly, then you too might be eligible for DUA.
To receive Hurricane Dolly Disaster Unemployment Assistance, among other requirements, you must be ineligible to receive standard state unemployment benefits or the extended unemployment benefits recently authorized. If you are eligible for either standard or extended benefits, then you’d collect those instead of DUA. To determine your final eligibility for any type of unemployment benefits, you must apply.
The Extended Unemployment Benefits program is also referred to as Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC). Although the benefits are similar, EUC is not the same as Disaster Unemployment Assistance.
To apply for standard or extended benefits, start by visiting the Web site of the Texas Unemployment Office, where you may apply over the Internet if you wish. To apply for Hurricane Dolly Disaster Unemployment Assistance, you may not do so over the Internet at this writing; instead, you must call one of the TWC Tele-Centers. You must apply for DUA on or before the September 2, 2008 deadline, or have a good reason why you couldn’t.
For more information about Hurricane Dolly Disaster Unemployment Assistance (and temporary cleanup jobs), see the “Hurricane” press releases (Español) from the TWC. See also Disaster Unemployment Assistance Benefit Rights.
To apply for other types of Hurricane Dolly disaster assistance, see Apply for Assistance at the Web site of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). Disaster victims who have speech or hearing impairments may instead call 1-800-462-7585 through their TTY devices.
If you need legal assistance because of the damage caused by Hurricane Dolly, some local lawyers volunteer to help disaster victims by charging no fees or only small fees. A free lawyer referral service might be able to help you find one, as might a non-profit, Texas legal-aid organization.
To look for new employment, start at the Job Search page.
