President Trump ordered Governors to work with FEMA to set up “Lost Wages Assistance Program” $400 weekly payments will supplement unemployment; Economists estimate that if the $400 payments are actually made per Trump’s request. payments will last only one to two months before the money allocated runs out. On Saturday, President Trump ordered Governors to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to set up a “Lost Wages Assistance Program” to distribute supplement payments of $400 to the 30 million who are unemployed.  The FEMA Disaster Relief Fund would contribute up to $44 Billion. Until July 31, 2020, The Cares Act provided a $600 per weekly federal supplement to anyone qualified for $1 dollar of Louisiana Unemployment Benefits or Pandemic Unemployment Benefits.  Louisiana has an unemployment rate of 9.7%. The $600 payment ended because The US House and Senate could not agree on an extension.   Both believe an extension is necessary.  The Senate wanted a $200 per week supplement and the US House, a $600 a week supplement.  The President split the difference and signed an executive order for a $400 per week payment. However, it is unclear whether the President has the legal authority to do what he did and whether the States, including Louisiana, will start the $400 payment. States will be responsible for paying 25% or $100 of the $400 payment according to the Order.  Many States do not have the money to pay the $100.   Unlike the federal government which can run massive budget deficits, […]

According to a recent laworks.net video, Louisiana has brought back the Work Search Requirement to receive Unemployment benefits “because $600 federal unemployment supplement has ended.” However, there are exceptions for COVID-19 related issues and exempt claims. Work Search is looking for a job online, by email, by fax, by phone or by attending a job fair in person or virtually. Keep a list of all prospective employers you contact each week. When it is time to file your weekly laworks.net certification, you will enter this in the work search portion every week unless you are exempt or not able and available for work due to COVID-19. According to the video, you should login and complete your “Eligibility Review Questions” Next, you should fill out the Employer Information where you fill in information about the prospective employer(s). You only need to enter as much information as you are able to enter about the name, address and contact for the employer. Then you will enter the Job Title, Date You Contacted the Employer and the Status of the Job. You will complete these steps for all three jobs you searched for to satisfy your work search efforts. If you answered “NO” to the question, “Were you able and available for work?” AND it is due to due to a Covid-19 issue, enter COVID-1, COVID-2 and COVID-3 as your 3 employer contacts and leave the other fields blank. Also, some claimants are exempt from Work Search and will not be asked to complete […]

The Coronavirus & $600 Per Week Louisiana Unemployment Claims  If you want $600 per week unemployment benefit to extend beyond July, 2020, call Senator John Kennedy at 202-224-4623 and US Senator Bill Cassidy at 202-224-5824 and ask them to extend the $600 per week unemployment benefit. The $600 per week in additional unemployment will end in July, 2020 because  US Senators John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy from Louisiana and some other senators want it to end.  The CARES Act signed into law by President Trump gives Louisiana eligible employees as well as independent contractors and other workers, who are ordinarily ineligible for unemployment, $600 per week in additional unemployment benefits. To Apply in Louisiana, make your claim with the Louisiana Department of Labor at www.laworks.net Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards says Louisiana now has the money from the federal government, and the additional benefit will be available starting Monday, April 13. Even people who initially get rejected should do their weekly certifications with www.laworks.net so they can quickly get the money out. Some people, such gig economy workers, independent contractors, and others who get their tax information on form 1099, should apply now, so their information will be in the system, and the federal money will flow to them as soon as it’s available. Background On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which provided additional flexibility for state unemployment insurance agencies and additional administrative funding to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coronavirus […]

With  $14 a barrel oil & Coronavirus layoffs affecting Oil Field Workers, Warehouse Workers, Truckers and those in the Service Industry, disabled injured workers with work restrictions, who returned to work in a modified duty position after receiving Louisiana Workers Compensation, may find they are still able to collect workers comp. Before applying for unemployment benefits, the injured worker may want to immediately seek the advice if an experienced Louisiana Workers Compensation Lawyer to see if he is still eligible for reinstatement of workers compensation indemnity payments. A laid off disabled injured worker may be able to have his or her compensation wage loss payments from his Employer of Injury and its Workers Compensation Insurer fully reinstated, provided he has not settled his claim or waited too long to file the proper legal paperwork to protect his indemnity benefits. In a Louisiana Workers Compensation Act case of Hunter v. Alliance Compressors, 934 So.2d 225 (2006), Ms. Hunter returned to work with light-duty work restrictions. She still was under these same work restrictions at the time her Alliance Compressor employer laid her off. The Court noted that entitlement to Supplemental Earnings Indemnity Benefits is based on the injured worker sustaining a work related injury resulting in her inability to earn 90 percent or more of his or her average pre-injury wage. La.R.S. 23:1221(3)(a). Ms. Hunter showed she was not capable of earning 90 percent of her pre-injury wage. The burden then shifted to the Alliance employer to show jobs were available […]