Frequently Asked Questions About Receiving Supplemental Payments for Lost Wages

The state, territory and the District of Columbia may count UI payments during the same period of federal funding consistent with the parameters of the grant – week of unemployment ending Aug. 1, 2020, onward, for individuals that meet the LWA requirements to be eligible. States, territories and the District of Columbia may not apply funds expended prior to the week of unemployment ending Aug. 1, 2020.

SF-425, Federal Financial Report to FEMA on a quarterly basis throughout the grant awards period of performance, including any partial quarters in which the period of performance is open. States/territories must submit the report even if no grant award activity occurs during a given quarter.

The following reporting periods and due dates apply for the SF-425 Federal Financial Report:

Additional information on reporting requirements for states, territories and the District of Columbia can be found on the Lost Wages Supplemental Payment Assistance Guidelines page.

No, there is no concern about duplication of benefits as these are supplemental payments that do not duplicate state, territory and the District of Columbia unemployment insurance benefits.

Awards are being processed on an ongoing basis. Information regarding the grants that have been awarded can be found in FEMA’s media releases on FEMA.gov.

No, states, territories and the District of Columbia may not use the funds in their state unemployment account in the UTF to process funding for supplemental lost wages payments. States, territories and the District of Columbia must establish a separate account to receive the funding to pay supplemental lost wages assistance as it must be able to account for these funds separately from its state unemployment accounts.

Individuals must self-certify, and states, territories and the District of Columbia must document this self-certification so that it can be demonstrated to FEMA at grant closeout or during program monitoring and audit. However, under this program, no additional documentation or verification of the self-certification is presently required from individuals.

Yes, supplemental lost wages assistance is payable retroactively to eligible claimants beginning with the week ending August 1, 2020. However, if an individual becomes unemployed after the week ending August 1, 2020, he or she may only receive supplemental lost wages assistance for weeks in which the individual qualifies for an underlying unemployment benefit and meets the eligibility requirements for supplemental lost wages assistance.

No, if a state, territory and the District of Columbia uses Unemployment Insurance (UI) resources that are currently used to support administration of the UI programs (such as the UI IT systems, staff, call-centers, and building costs) to support administration of the supplemental lost wages assistance program, then the state/territory must develop a cost allocation plan. This is necessary to ensure that funding from USDOL-funded UI programs only supports those programs and FEMA funding for the supplemental lost wages assistance program only supports administration of the supplemental lost wages assistance program.

However, the underlying benefit costs and administrative costs for the regular UI program may be used to support the cost share for administrative costs.   

No, once the CRF is deposited into the state’s, territory’s or the District of Columbia’s unemployment account, the funds become subject to the withdrawal standard set forth in Section 3304(a)(4) of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) (26 U.S.C. 3304(a)(4)) and Section 503(a)(5) of the Social Security Act (SSA) (42 U.S.C. 503(a)(5)). The state, territory and the District of Columbia cannot use these funds to pay the additional $100 benefit on top of the $300 Federal supplemental lost wages payment.

No, the Lost Wages Assistance program is separate and distinct from other unemployment compensation programs.