Workers who became unemployed as a direct result of flooding in the state may qualify for unemployment assistance. The Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) program is triggered when the President of the United States designated regions a disaster area.

The first week of unemployment eligible for DUA is the week of the March 10 through March 16, 2019.  The process for filing is the same as regular unemployment insurance benefits.  Claims should be filed online at NEworks.nebraska.gov. All DUA applicants will be required to provide documents to verify wages. 

Filing Deadline

April 26 for workers in Butler, Cass, Colfax, Dodge, Douglas, Nemaha, Sarpy, Saunders and Washington counties.

May 3 for workers in workers in Boone, Buffalo, Custer, Knox, Richardson and Thurston counties and the Santee Sioux Nation.

May 13 for workers in workers in Antelope, Boyd, Burt, Cuming, Hall, Howard, Madison, Nance, Pierce, Platte, Saline, and Stanton counties.

A listing of job centers is available at https://dol.nebraska.gov/Home/AboutUs.

To be eligible for DUA benefits under the Presidential Disaster Declaration, individuals must:

  • Be an unemployed worker whose unemployment was caused as a direct result of the major disaster declared by the President
  • Be a U.S. national or a qualified alien; and
  • Not qualify for regular unemployment insurance benefits from any state; and
  • Have worked or been self-employed in, or scheduled to begin work or self-employment in, one of the counties listed above; and
  • Establish that the work or self-employment they can no longer perform was their primary source of income.

Also eligible to apply for DUA are individuals who:

  • Can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to the place of employment as a direct result of a disaster; or
  • Cannot perform work or self-employment because of an injury caused as a direct result of the disaster; or
  • Became the breadwinner or major support of a household because of the death of the head of the household; or,
  • Cannot work or perform self-employment due to closure of a facility by the federal government.

DUA applicants will need their Social Security Number and the name and address of their last employer or prospective employer to file for DUA. Applicants are required to provide proof (at the time of filing or within 21 days of filing their DUA claim) that they were employed or self-employed at the time the disaster occurred or were scheduled to begin (or resume) a job or self-employment when the disaster occurred.  A copy of the most recent federal income tax forms or check stubs may also be required (self-employed individuals should also provide Schedules SE and Schedule C or Schedule F.)

Individuals can generally receive up to 26 weeks of DUA benefits as long as unemployment continues to be a result of the disaster.  Eligibility for DUA benefits will be determined on a week-to-week basis. The filing deadline is April 26, 2019.  General information about DUA can be found at https://dol.nebraska.gov/UIBenefits/Programs/DUA.