On Sunday, Gov. Jay Inslee announced that the state will pay $550 to almost 100,000 Washingtonians who will lose federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits at the end of December.
This emergency payments of CARES Act funds totaling $54 million will be issued to all PUA claimants who:
- Submitted a PUA claim for the week ending Nov. 21, 2020, and
- Were paid for that week on or before Dec. 24.
The payment will total $550 per claimant — equal to roughly two weeks of benefits for most PUA recipients.
“We?know how critical these payments are?to individuals and families across the state?and we’re grateful to the governor for his leadership on this,”?said Employment Security Department?Commissioner Suzi LeVine. “The team at ESD has been working around the clock to get this new program ready. We will issue these one-time payments this week so that eligible claimants will have the funds as they head into the New Year.”
To learn more,?go to esd.wa.gov/pandemic-relief.?