Extra UI payments to end

Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (2) – 9/10/20

FEMA has not approved the Montana Department of Labor and Industry funding for the Lost Wages Assistance Program beyond Unemployment Insurance benefit week ending September 5. The Lost Wages Program allowed for extra $400 weekly payments to eligible unemployment claimants starting on Aug. 26. FEMA funded $300 and the Montana CARES Act relief funds accounted for the remaining $100. These extra payments on top of weekly unemployment were authorized by FEMA to approved states on a week-to-week basis. The Labor Department estimates total LWA payments to jobless Montanans will be approximately $59 million.