ST PAUL, Minn. — The state of Minnesota has started sending out additional unemployment support to Unemployment Insurance (UI) applicants in the state.
The money comes from the short-term Lost Wages Assistance federal emergency program through FEMA, giving an extra $300 per week to UI applicants who are out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Payments are backdated to the week of July 26, with initial payments starting Friday, Sept. 4 and continuing for the following four days.
"Because we need to issue more than one million separate Lost Wages Assistance payments (along with the regular weekly UI benefit payments), this process will take a few days to complete," read a statement on the Minnesota UI website.
The payment schedule covering the backdated first five weeks of the Lost Wages Assistance program will be:
- Week of July 26 will be paid on Friday, Sept. 4
- Week of Aug. 2 will be paid on Sunday, Sept. 6
- Week of Aug. 9 will be paid on Monday, Sept. 7 (with potential processing delays due to the Labor Day holiday)
- Week of Aug. 16 will be paid on Tuesday Sept. 8
- Week of Aug. 22 will be paid on Wednesday, Sept. 9
State officials say UI recipients do not need to do anything to receive the extra payments; the money will be sent to eligible applicants automatically.
The Lost Wages Assistance program does have limited funds, but state officials said Minnesota will continue to request the funding for as long as it is available. The state is awaiting approval on payments for the week of Aug. 30.
A previous federal assistance program ended in July, which provided up to $600 in additional unemployment benefits, but the program was not extended by Congress.
President Trump announced the Lost Wage Assistance program by executive order in early August.
