The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) announced today (Friday, Sept. 4) that it has paid about $366 million in total Lost Wage Assistance (LWA) to out of work Louisiana residents since Aug. 22. This total includes payments for the weeks ending Aug. 1, Aug. 8, Aug. 15 and Aug. 22.
LWA is a federally funded program provided via President Trump’s Executive Order, and provides an additional weekly $300 benefit amount to qualifying individuals. Up to 44 billion in funding for states is available to support this initiative. Louisiana was among the first to apply, receive approval and pay these extended unemployment benefits to impacted individuals.
The LWC has requested approval from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to process payments for the week ending August 29, however approval has not yet been granted.
LWA payments do not show up in claimants Helping Individuals Reach Employment (HiRE) dashboard. Individuals should check their bank accounts for the processing of payments.
The payments may not process at the same time as other unemployment compensation because LWA is not drawn down from state funds. The LWC is paying these benefits to Louisiana residents as quickly as we are able to, pending approval from FEMA on a weekly basis.
Individuals need to continue filing their weekly certifications in order to receive unemployment compensation. Outside of this, claimants do not need to do anything in order to receive LWA.
As an update, the LWC has sent out more than 22,000 emails to individuals that could qualify for additional LWA assistance if they can verify that the COVID-19 pandemic is the reason for their continued unemployment.
“I’m proud of our team at the LWC who has worked tirelessly to ensure that LWA payments are processed and provided to Louisiana residents in a timely manner,” said LWC Secretary Ava Dejoie. “Our staff will continue to work to ensure that all eligible individuals will get the benefits that they qualify for.”
