Special Provisions - FAQs
- What is the Self Employment Assistance Program (SEAP)?
- What is Trade Adjustment Assistance?
- Are you attending or interested in attending a school or training program?
- Who is a dislocated worker?
Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)
- What is Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)?
- What areas are covered by DUA due to Hurricane Irene?
- What areas are covered by DUA due to Tropical Storm Lee?
- How do I qualify?
- Can I receive DUA if I am self-employed?
- If I’m a self-employed farmer, can I qualify?
- Is it possible, as a self-employed farmer to earn an income and still collect DUA?
- Will collecting DUA prevent me from either cleaning or salvaging my business/farm?
- If someone I know speaks a language other than English or Spanish and is interested in filing, how do they find out about more on their DUA claim?
- How do I apply?
- What are the deadlines for filing?
- What do I need to apply for DUA?
- Can I apply for other disaster benefits if I apply for DUA?
- How do I claim or certify for weekly DUA benefits?
- How long can I collect DUA?
- What is the minimum weekly DUA benefit?
- What is the maximum weekly DUA Benefit?
- Do I need to certify or claim each week that I am unemployed to receive payments?
- If I qualify, how will I receive DUA benefits?
- I am an employer. Will my account be charged if my workers collect DUA?
What is the Self Employment Assistance Program (SEAP)?
State and Federal legislation set up the Self Employment Assistance Program (SEAP). SEAP gives people who qualify the chance to start their own businesses, while they collect unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. To qualify for this program, our profiling system must identify you as likely to exhaust UI benefits. This profiling is done after an interested claimant contacts the Labor Department.
If you are interested in this program, contact the Division of Employment and Workforce Services office nearest you. Click here for the One-Stop Career Center locations.
Before you can start or operate your own business while collecting UI benefits, you must:
- Comply with program requirements
- Receive written acceptance into the SEAP program
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What is Trade Adjustment Assistance?
Many people have lost their jobs due to increased imports or shifts in production out of the United States. The programs to help these people are:
- Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)
- Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA)
The goal is to speed the return of trade-affected workers to suitable jobs, as quickly as possible.
Click here for details on TAA.
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Are you attending or interested in a school or training program?A provision in the UI Law (the 599 Program) allows UI claimants to receive benefits while they attend a training course or program. The training, however, must be approved by the Department of Labor.
Once we approve training under this provision, UI claimants:
- Are excused from the requirement to look for work
- May qualify for more weeks of benefits when there are funds
If you told us that you attend (or have been accepted to) a training program when you filed your claim, the Labor Department will contact you. We will review your course or program. Then we will tell you if it is approved or not.
If you delay in notifying us about training acceptance or attendance, it may reduce the benefits you can collect. If you fail to disclose attendance in training while receiving benefits, it may result in penalties and loss of future benefits.
If you want to attend training, contact your local One-Stop Center promptly to qualify for the highest benefit allowed under this program. Trained counselors at the One-Stop Center can help you with your training needs and guide you to approvable training programs. Ask about the 599 Training Program. Click here for the office locations.
If we cannot approve your training, you may be eligible to collect UI benefits while in training -- as long as you are able to seek and accept employment.
Click here for details on the 599 Program.
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A dislocated worker must meet one of these conditions:
- Terminated or laid off from your job
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- Eligible for UI
- Not likely to return to your former industry or occupation
- Lost your job because of a plant closing or substantial layoff
- Long-term unemployed with few options for work in your former occupation
- Self-employed and lost your job due to poor economic conditions or a natural disaster
You may also qualify if you:
- Have been out of the labor force for many years
- Worked full time as a homemaker
- Must return to the labor force because you have lost your source of income
As a dislocated worker, you may qualify for retraining and other services. For details, contact your Division of Employment and Workforce Services office. Click here for the office locations.
What is Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)?
DUA is a Federal program that provides payments to people in a federally declared disaster area who have lost work or income, as a direct result of the disaster.
What areas are covered by DUA due to Hurricane Irene?
DUA covers these counties: Albany, Bronx, Clinton, Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Greene, Herkimer, Kings, Montgomery, Nassau, Orange, Otsego, Putnam, Queens, Rensselaer, Richmond, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster, Warren, Washington and Westchester.
What areas are covered by DUA due to Tropical Storm Lee?
DUA covers these counties: Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Fulton, Herkimer, Oneida, Orange, Otsego, Schenectady, Schoharie, Tioga and Ulster.
If you live or work in any of the affected counties and lost your job or income as a direct result of the disaster, you may qualify -- as long as you do not qualify for a regular unemployment insurance (UI) claim.
Can I receive DUA if I am self-employed?
If you live in or get most of your income from areas affected by the disaster, you may qualify.
If I'm a self-employed farmer, can I qualify?
If you live in or get most of your income from areas affected by the disaster, you may qualify.
Is it possible, as a self-employed farmer to earn an income and still collect DUA?
Yes it is possible, in some situations. For example, farmers who are involved in more than one aspect of farming (i.e. dairy and crops) may still qualify for partial DUA payments.
Will collecting DUA prevent me from either cleaning or salvaging my business/farm?
Restorative or clean-up work needed because of the disaster will not disqualify you for DUA. Also, salvaging or other limited self-employment activity alone will not necessarily make you ineligible for DUA, as long as you work less than full time and your earnings do not exceed $405 a week.
If someone I know speaks a language other than English or Spanish and is interested in filing, how do they find out about more on their DUA claim?
For translations, contact the TCC at 1-888-209-8124 or 1-877-358-5306 (if you live out of state) and choose your language at the prompts. If your language is not listed, choose option 9 for other languages. After you file a claim and connect to an agent, tell them that you are filing due to the disaster and would like more details.
You must first file for regular UI by calling the NYS Department of Labor at 1-888-209-8124 or 1-877-358-5306 (if you live out of state). Answer the questions to indicate that you lost your job as a direct result of the effects of Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee.
What are the deadlines for filing?
File your application with the NYS Department of Labor as soon as possible.
- You must apply for DUA by November 14, 2011 if you live in Broome, Chenango, Chemung, Delaware, Fulton, Oneida, Orange, Otsego, Schenectady, Tioga and Ulster County and you were impacted by Tropical Storm Lee.
- You must apply for DUA by November 23, 2011 if you live in Herkimer and Schoharie counties and you were impacted by Tropical Storm Lee.
- You must apply for DUA by November 16, 2011 if you live in Albany, Bronx, Clinton, Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Essex, Greene, Herkimer, Kings, Montgomery, Nassau, Orange, Otsego, Putnam, Queens, Rensselaer, Richmond, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster, Warren, Washington or Westchester Counties and you were impacted by Hurricane Irene.
What do I need to apply for DUA?
To apply, you should have the following information ready and available:
- Your Social Security number
- Your NYS driver’s license or Motor Vehicle ID card number, if you have one
- Your mailing address and zip code
- A telephone number where you can be reached for additional information
- Your alien registration card number, if you have one
- For those impacted by Hurricane Irene, the names and addresses of all employers you worked for within the 18 months prior to August 29, 2011, including any in another state.
- For those impacted by Tropical Storm Lee, the names and addresses of all employers you worked for within the 18 months prior to September 12, 2011, including any in another state.
Please refer to our DUA Fact Sheet for more information.
For farmers and self-employed workers, you should also have the following information ready and available:- Your 2010 income tax return:
- Self-employed workers: Schedule C (line 31) net profit or loss
- Farmers: Schedule F (line 36) net farm profit or loss
Please refer to our DUA Fact Sheet for Farmers and Self-Employed Workers for more information.
However, it is important to apply as soon as possible, whether you have all the documentation or not.
Can I apply for other disaster benefits if I apply for DUA?
Yes. You can apply for any other disaster benefits besides DUA. Please visit My Benefits or the NYS Office of Emergency Management for details.
How do I claim or certify for weekly DUA benefits?
When you first file for DUA over the phone, you will learn how to claim weekly benefits. You will also receive a Disaster Unemployment Assistance form. This form tells you how to claim weekly benefits on our web site or by mail, if you continue to be unemployed due to the disaster.
You can collect DUA benefits for a maximum of 27 weeks between August 29, 2011 and March 4, 2012, (for those impacted by Hurricane Irene); or between September 12, 2011 and March 18, 2012 (for those impacted by Tropical Storm Lee), for periods when you are unemployed as a direct result of the disaster.
Example 1: If you were unable to get to work from the start of the storm until 3 weeks later, you could collect from the first week of the disaster until the time that you return to work.
Example 2: If you are an apple picker and your work usually begins in October, but you are unable to work because your employer's fields are damaged due to the storm, you can start to collect in October (when your work would normally start).
What is the minimum weekly DUA benefit?
The minimum weekly DUA benefit is $153.
What is the maximum weekly DUA Benefit?
The maximum weekly DUA benefit is $405.
Do I need to certify or claim each week that I am unemployed to receive payments?
Yes. If you are qualified, you need to claim benefits on a weekly basis to receive payments. Your eligibility for DUA will be determined on a week-by-week basis. Your unemployment must continue to be a direct result of the disaster.
If I qualify, how will I receive DUA benefits?
You would receive benefits on a Direct Payment Card, which will arrive about one week after you qualify. Once you claim each week, payment should be on the card within two business days.
I am an employer. Will my account be charged if my workers collect DUA?
No, DUA is not charged to your account if your workers collect.
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