Rita Unemployment Benefits and Disaster Unemployment Assistance
You might be eligible for Rita Disaster Unemployment Assistance, if you're now unemployed because you worked or were self-employed in a region devastated by Hurricane Rita. If you're unemployed and became the breadwinner or a major support contributor in your household, because the head of your household died as a direct result of Hurricane Rita, you too might be eligible for Rita Disaster Unemployment Assistance.
To be eligible for Rita Disaster Unemployment Assistance, among other requirements, you must have exhausted or otherwise be ineligible for standard unemployment insurance benefits. In other words, you might be eligible for one or the other, but not both at the same time. Rita Disaster Unemployment Assistance benefits are administered by state unemployment offices as agents of the Federal government. State unemployment offices also administer standard unemployment insurance benefits.
To determine your eligibility for either standard unemployment benefits or Rita Disaster Unemployment Assistance, contact or file an official unemployment claim with the unemployment office for the Rita-ravaged state in which you (or the deceased head of your household) worked or were self-employed. (Click the relevant unemployment office link below.) Typically, you may file a claim online or by phone. At this writing, you have through November 30, 2005 to file a claim and 90 days after filing to provide the supporting paperwork.
The Disaster Unemployment Assistance Program is active only in the relevant counties or regions in states that the U.S. President declares as disaster areas. Almost immediately after Hurricane Rita hit, President Bush declared Louisiana and Texas as Rita disaster areas. Consequently, Rita Disaster Unemployment Assistance is now available in those states.
Each state in the list below is linked directly to the relevant unemployment office Web site, where you may file a claim for Rita Disaster Unemployment Assistance or standard unemployment benefits, or locate contact information for same. (Main phone numbers are included.) Because the President did not declare Florida as a Rita disaster area, Florida is not likely to be offering Rita DUA. But it's still offering standard unemployment benefits in Rita's wake to qualified individuals.
Career One Stop Centers are officially connected to state unemployment offices and are distributed throughout each state. (Your state might call them by a name other than Career One Stop Centers, such as Job Centers.) Some offer all services of unemployment offices, while others offer only limited services. Consequently, a full-service, local Career One Stop Center (if still operating) is a good place to file a claim for Rita Disaster Unemployment Assistance or standard unemployment benefits. It is also a good place to receive free job searching assistance.
Click a link below to locate the nearest Career One Stop Center that has facilities to file claims for standard unemployment benefits or Rita Disaster Unemployment Assistance. Alternately, call 877-US-2JOBS (877-872-5627). For TTY, dial 877-889-5627. Calling first might be a good idea, to find out which of the nearest centers are open after Hurricane Rita.
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also has Rita disaster assistance available for victims. In fact, it provides the funds for Disaster Unemployment Assistance, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor. But FEMA offers more than just Disaster Unemployment Assistance.