Press Release
July 16, 2020

Utah approved for Disaster Unemployment Assistance

SALT LAKE CITY (July 16, 2020) —President Donald Trump has declared Utah’s earthquake and aftershocks from March 18 to April 17, 2020, a major disaster making the federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) program available for Utahns whose employment was lost or interrupted as a direct result of the disaster.

DUA is available to individuals who:

• Do not qualify for traditional or CARES Act unemployment benefits from any state,

• Are a citizen or have the appropriate documentation to work, or

• Were directly impacted by the earthquakes and aftershocks in Salt Lake or Davis counties, which includes individuals who:

• • Were unable to reach their job or self-employment location because they must travel through the affected area and were prevented from doing so by the disaster,

  • Were scheduled to begin work or self-employment in Salt Lake or Davis counties,

  • Can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to the place of employment as a direct result of the earthquake or aftershocks,

  • Demonstrate that the work or self-employment that can no longer be performed was their principal source of income,

  • Cannot perform work or self-employment because of an injury as a direct result of the disaster

  • Who became the breadwinner or major support of a household due to the death of the head of household because of the earthquake.

To receive assistance, individuals in the designated disaster areas must complete an application by August 17, 2020. The application process can be started at jobs.utah.gov/covid19. The benefit is available for eligible individuals beginning March 22, 2020, through January 9, 2021, as long as unemployment continues to be a direct result of the disaster. 

To receive DUA benefits, all required documentation must be submitted within 21 days from the day the DUA application is filed.  Required documentation includes Social Security number, a copy of the 2019 federal income tax return, check stubs, and documentation to support that the applicant was working, self-employed, or was scheduled to begin work at the time that the disaster occurred.

“We will provide this important benefit to those who lost employment due to the disaster as we have done for those impacted by the pandemic,” said Kevin Burt, Unemployment Insurance Division director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services. “However, we do not anticipate a large number of eligible applicants, as those already receiving unemployment benefits are not eligible and to qualify the loss of employment must be a direct result of the earthquake.”& amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; amp; lt; /p>

Job seekers may visit jobs.utah.gov for access to job search resources, job postings, and training programs, as well as assistance with exploring career options, resume and application preparation, career development, and more. Spanish Version