ALASKA – DISASTER UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE, DEADLINE EXTENDED
Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) availability has been extended for individuals who were affected by storms in Western Alaska. The application deadline is now April 3,2026. The extension provides additional time to raise awareness of the additional areas that were added to the disaster declaration as of February. Impacted areas now include: Kashunamiut Regional Educational Attendance Area (REAA), Lower Kuskokwim REAA, Lower Yukon REAA, Northwest Arctic Borough, Yupiit REAA, and City of Saint Mary’s. The extension is available for any impacted individuals in these areas.
As a reminder, DUA is an unemployment insurance benefit made available after a disaster and is only available to individuals who:
- Have applied for and used all regular unemployment benefits from any state, or do not qualify for unemployment benefits.
- Worked or were self-employed or scheduled to begin work or self-employment in the disaster area.
- Can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to the place of employment as a direct result of the disaster.
- Establish that the work or self-employment they can no longer perform was their primary source of income.
- Cannot perform work or self-employment because of an injury as a direct result of the disaster.
- Became the breadwinner or major support of a household because of the death of the head of household.
To file a DUA claim online 24/7, impacted individuals can visit https://ready.alaska.gov/IA. Impacted individuals can also call (907) 465-4691 Monday through Friday, 10:00AM-3:00PM local time.
NEW YORK – NEW LAW WOULD EXTEND UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT DURATION
A recently introduced bill in the New York State Senate, S9383, would increase unemployment benefit duration to 30 weeks, up from its current 26 week maximum. If passed, the total maximum benefit amount would increase by up to $3,476 for individuals receiving the maximum weekly benefit amount ($869).
