Katrina Unemployment Benefits and Disaster Unemployment Assistance
Please be aware that most of the information below
is now obsolete, because much time has passed since Hurricane Katrina
struck. The last significant update to this page was on 3/6/06.
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Beware of Katrina Unemployment Scams! Filing
for unemployment benefits and Disaster Unemployment Assistance is always
free through state unemployment offices and Career One Stop Centers.
But con artists have been charging Katrina-unemployed victims to file
claims. Don't fall for it! Instead, file for free through one of the
state unemployment offices or Career One Stop Centers listed below. Contact
the state
Attorney General to report unemployment scams.
Katrina Unemployment Offices
If you're an unemployed victim of Hurricane Katrina, your state's department
of labor (unemployment office) is where you'd file a claim for unemployment
benefits or Hurricane Katrina Disaster Unemployment
Assistance.
You may file online, by phone or in person, depending on the facilities
currently available. For claim information, click a state link or call
a phone number listed below. Be sure to call a local branch unemployment
office before visiting, as it's possible that some will be closed for awhile
after Katrina hit.
See also Katrina Career One Stop
Centers and Louisiana and Mississippi
hotline phone numbers listed below.
Katrina-Displaced Workers: Other state
unemployment offices are voluntarily helping Katrina-unemployed victims
file claims for standard unemployment benefits or Katrina Disaster Unemployment
Assistance. If you've evacuated to a state that's not listed above and
you need unemployment help locally, contact the state
unemployment office to ask if it will help you.
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Katrina Career One Stop Centers
Career One Stop Centers are distributed throughout each state as local
branch offices of state unemployment offices. States might call them by
names other than Career One Stop Centers (as noted in the links below).
Regardless, they're all part of the National
Career One Stop System. Among the services they offer, some take claims
for unemployment benefits or Disaster Unemployment Assistance, while some
do not.
Below is a list of links to help you locate the nearest Katrina-relevant
Career One Stop Center that is taking claims for standard unemployment
benefits or Katrina Disaster Unemployment Assistance. Click a state link
below or call the central locator number at 877-US-2JOBS (877-872-5627).
For TTY, dial 877-889-5627.
To first discover which centers are closed from Hurricane Katrina damage,
see the list maintained
by America's Service Locator or call 877-US-2JOBS (877-872-5627). For TTY,
dial 877-889-5627.
See also the Louisiana and Mississippi
hotline phone numbers listed below.
Katrina-Displaced Workers: Other state
Career One Stop Centers are voluntarily helping Katrina-unemployed victims
file claims for standard unemployment benefits or Katrina Disaster Unemployment
Assistance. If you've evacuated to a state that's not listed above and
you need unemployment help locally, contact the nearest center to ask
if it will help you. You may locate a center through America's
Service Locator or by calling 877-US-2JOBS (877-872-5627). For TTY,
dial 877-889-5627.
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Louisiana
Since the end of September and the beginning of October, Louisiana Works
has expanded the number of parishes that are eligible to file for Disaster
Unemployment Assistance. Parishes now eligible are Acadia, Allen, Ascension,
Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche,
Sabine, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, Terrebonne, Vermilion, Vernon
and West Baton Rouge. The deadline to file is still November 30, 2005.
See the press
releases for updates.
At this writing, several Career One Stop Centers (commonly called Job
Centers) in the New Orleans area remain closed because of Hurricane Katrina
damage. Check for updates on closed centers in the Louisiana Works press
releases or the list maintained
by America's Service Locator. Alternately, call 877-US-2JOBS (877-872-5627).
For TTY, dial 877-889-5627.
All who need to apply for Louisiana unemployment benefits or Katrina Disaster
Unemployment Assistance (DUA), may do so by calling the toll-free hotlines
at 866-783-5567, 800-430-8076 or 888-524-3578, or by visiting any open Louisiana
Job Center that accepts claims among its services.
Hurricane Katrina victims who've evacuated from Louisiana to Texas, may
file for Louisiana unemployment benefits or Katrina DUA through the nearest
Career One Stop Center (Workforce Center) in
Texas that accepts claims among its services. Alternately, they may
call the hotline at 800-818-7811.
Hurricane Katrina victims who've evacuated from Louisiana to Alabama,
may file for Louisiana unemployment benefits or Katrina DUA through the
nearest Career One Stop Center (Career Center) in
Alabama that has facilities for such, or by calling 866-234-5382 (1-800-499-2035
TTY) toll-free.
Meanwhile, Louisiana unemployment office workers are attempting to reach
Hurricane Katrina victims who are still in shelters, to help them file
claims for unemployment benefits or Katrina DUA.
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Mississippi
At this writing, several Career One Stop Centers (commonly called WIN
Job Centers) in Mississippi are closed because of Hurricane Katrina damage.
Check for updates on closed centers in the Mississippi Department of Employment
Services press
releases or the list maintained
by America's Service Locator. Alternately, call 877-US-2JOBS (877-872-5627).
For TTY, dial 877-889-5627.
All who need to apply for Mississippi unemployment benefits or Katrina
Disaster Unemployment Assistance, may do so by calling the toll-free hotline
at 888-844-3577 toll-free or by visiting any open Mississippi
WIN Job Center that accepts claims among its services.
Hurricane Katrina victims who've evacuated from Mississippi to Alabama
may file claims for either Katrina DUA or standard unemployment benefits,
by calling 1-866-234-5382 (1-800-499-2035 TTY) toll-free or by contacting
the nearest Alabama
Career Center (Career One Stop Center) that accepts claims among its
services.
Alabama and Texas Employers! If you'd
like to offer jobs to Katrina-displaced Louisiana and Mississippi workers,
call the following toll-free hotlines or post them at Katrina
Recovery Job Connection.
- Alabama: 866-767-8103
- Texas: 800-695-6879
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About Katrina Disaster Unemployment Assistance
The Disaster Unemployment Assistance Program provides
unemployment benefits to eligible individuals who become unemployed or
can't work because of injury, as a direct result of major disasters declared
by the President of the United States.
Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, President Bush declared Alabama, Florida,
Louisiana and Mississippi as disaster
areas. Consequently, Hurricane Katrina Disaster Unemployment Assistance
is now available in those states.
Individuals who have become the breadwinners or major support contributors
in their households, because the heads of the households died as a direct
result of Hurricane Katrina, might also be eligible for Hurricane Katrina
Disaster Unemployment Assistance.
Self-employed individuals who are now out of business or otherwise lost
self-employment income because of Hurricane Katrina, are not likely to
be eligible for standard unemployment benefits based solely on self-employment.
(Self-employed individuals might be eligible standard unemployment benefits,
if they also worked on the side as employees prior to Hurricane Katrina.)
However, self-employed victims might be eligible for Katrina Disaster Unemployment
Assistance, as it's for both employees and self-employed individuals who
lost their work income because of Hurricane Katrina.
Because Disaster Unemployment Assistance is separate from standard, state
unemployment benefits programs, eligibility requirements differ. Among
other requirements, you must have exhausted or otherwise be ineligible
for standard unemployment benefits to receive Katrina Disaster Unemployment
Assistance.
To fully determine your eligibility for either standard unemployment benefits
or Katrina Disaster Unemployment Assistance, you'll likely have to file
an official unemployment claim verses just asking. Your state's unemployment
office (or Career One Stop Center) might not clearly distinguish between
filing for standard unemployment benefits or Katrina Disaster Unemployment
Assistance. If so, your state's unemployment office will determine which
you might receive, based on the information you provided when filing your
unemployment claim.
Disaster Unemployment Assistance is administered by state
unemployment offices as agents of the Federal government. The Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issues the funds in partnership with
the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL),
the "main" unemployment office, so to speak. But FEMA offers more to
disaster victims than just Disaster Unemployment Assistance.
For more information, see Disaster
Unemployment Assistance Available to Hurricane Katrina Victims or
call 877-872-5627.
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Katrina Legal Advice
Volunteer attorneys are providing free, disaster-related legal assistance
to low-income, Mississippi residents affected by Hurricane Katrina, through
the Mississippi Disaster Legal Service hotline at 866-255-4495. (See also Mississippi's
Legal Services Resource Center.) Persons in the counties declared as
disaster areas may ask for help with disaster-related legal questions,
including those about unemployment claims, insurance claims, home repair
contracts, consumer protection matters, landlord-tenant concerns, mortgage
foreclosure and debt collection problems.
It's likely that volunteer attorneys in Alabama, Florida and Louisiana
are doing the same. You might find such an attorney through a free
attorney referral service or through one of the legal aid organizations
linked below.
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