Department Accepts Applications For Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (Pua)

April 16, 2020
No. 20-10

JUNEAU, Alaska — The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD) has begun accepting applications for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).

“Self-employed workers, or those not working due to the COVID-19 pandemic and not eligible for regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits, or those who have exhausted their UI benefits, may qualify for PUA,” said Commissioner Dr. Tamika L Ledbetter.

Applicants are encouraged to apply for regular unemployment insurance benefits with the Department by filing online at my.alaska.gov.Individuals without Internet access may contact a claim center at one of the phone numbers listed below.

Individual filers may first receive notification of ineligibility. Those individuals should continue to file their weekly certification. System modifications are on-going, and filers will be contacted for additional income verification in the near future.Once payments are ready for distribution, eligible weekly benefits under the PUA program will be paid retroactively.

In addition, filers should be prepared to provide wage or self-employment earning documentation. Necessary documentation would be their most recent federal tax filing for the year 2019 or documents that show employment or earnings prior to the individual’s unemployment due to the pandemic. If individuals haven't filed their 2019 returns yet, they can use other types of earnings/wage proof from 2019.

These documents can be faxed to (907) 308-2861 or emailed to dol.uis@alaska.gov. DOLWD will notify claimants by mail if they are eligible for PUA.

Claim center phone numbers: Anchorage (907) 269-4700, Fairbanks (907) 451-2871, Juneau (907) 465-5552, and all other areas (888) 252-2557.

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