95,000 unemployed Washingtonians will get a $550 one-time payment after federal benefits lapse
With outgoing President Donald Trump’s refusal to sign a COVID-19 relief package that would have extended unemployment benefits for millions of Americans, Washington is enacting a provision to provide a one-time benefit to nearly 95,000 people in the state.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Sunday that the state will provide $550 payments to people who were receiving federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which lapsed at midnight Saturday.
“In our state, we prepared for the possibility of a lapse in benefits and in anticipating it, we developed a plan for a one-time payment for those who have been receiving PUA benefits,” Inslee said in a statement. “Because we established a state backup plan, we can take action today to help some of those harmed by the president’s decision.”
The PUA program expanded unemployment benefits to people who are not usually eligible for unemployment insurance, such as part-time, contract, freelance and self-employed workers, and people who can’t work because they lost child care, are at high risk of contracting COVID-19 or are caring for someone who is sick.
Read more: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/95000-unemployed-washingtonians-will-get-a-550-one-time-payment-after-federal-benefits-lapse/