Update: Lost Wages Assistance Eligibility Expanded

On December 4, 2020, Governor Ned Lamont signed Executive Order 9P expanding eligibility to the federal Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program to approximately 38,000 individuals not qualifying last summer for the six-week program due a federal requirement claimants receive at least $100 per week in unemployment benefits to qualify for the additional LWA funding. Learn more here.

Existing Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claimants have already self-certified and do not need to do anything to receive the additional benefit. New unemployment claimants and existing state and extended benefits claimants who are required to self-certify are notified by the Department through letter or email.
Self-certification is only required once for the duration of eligibility, it is not required weekly. To self-certify:

• Claimants log in to their unemployment account, where the account main page offers a new option in the menu ‘Certify for Lost Wages Assistance;
• Once a claimant has clicked on the button, a new screen will ask them to certify that their unemployment or underemployment is due to COVID-19;
• The claimant then confirms their submission and has completed the process.

Federal eligibility guidelines include:

• Recipients of at least $100 per week, including the dependency allowance, of any of the following benefits for the week they are seeking unemployment benefits;
• Claimants receiving unemployment compensation including state and federal workers and former service members as well as those receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, Extended Benefits, or High Extended Benefits;
• Claimants who are part of the Shared Work program, and;
• Workers with a Trade Readjustment Allowance.