(Des Moines) Pottawattamie County has been added to the areas where individuals are eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) following severe weather last month. Iowa Workforce Development is now accepting applications for DUA from individuals who lost their employment or self-employment due to severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding starting June 16. Impacted individuals can start applying today, and applications for this DUA must be filed by August 23, 2024.
Eligibility
To be eligible for DUA benefits under Presidential Disaster Declaration FEMA-[DR-4796-IA], individuals:
- Must be an unemployed or self-unemployed worker whose unemployment was caused as a direct result of the major disaster declared by the President and
- Must be a U.S. national or a qualified alien; and
- Must be unable to qualify for regular unemployment insurance benefits from any state; and
- Must have worked, been self-employed in, or been scheduled to begin work or self-employment in one of the counties listed above; and
- Must establish that the work or self-employment they can no longer perform was their primary source of income.
Also eligible to apply for DUA are individuals who:
- Can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to their place of employment as a direct result of a disaster or
- Cannot perform work or self-employment because of an injury caused as a direct result of the disaster or
- Became the breadwinner or significant support of a household because of the death of the head of the household or
- Cannot work or perform self-employment due to the closure of a facility by the federal government.
What You Need
- To file for DUA, individuals will need their Social Security Number and the name and address of their last employer or prospective employer.
- Applicants must provide proof (at the time of filing or within 21 days of filing their DUA claim) that they were employed or self-employed when the disaster occurred or were scheduled to begin (or resume) a job or self-employment when the disaster occurred.
- A copy of the most recent federal income tax forms or check stubs may also be required (self-employed individuals should also provide Schedules SE and Schedule C or Schedule F).
Deadline
Applications filed after August 23, 2024, will be considered untimely unless the individual provides good cause for filing after this date. As long as unemployment continues as a result of the disaster, individuals can receive up to 27 weeks of DUA benefits. Eligibility for DUA benefits will be determined on a week-to-week basis.
How To Apply
Individuals eligible for assistance must file a claim online with Iowa Workforce Development’s Unemployment Benefits Online Application System (workforce.iowa.gov).
If you need assistance over the phone, please call IWD Customer Service at 1-866-239-0843, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. After submitting a claim application, refer to the additional DUA information on our website at workforce.iowa.gov/unemployment/dua.
