Disaster Unemployment Assistance

Please note: This program is not currently operational. Information has been kept available for reference purposes only.

Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) provides temporary benefits to individuals whose employment or self-employment has been lost or interrupted as a direct result of a major disaster and who are not eligible for regular unemployment insurance (UI). Direct result means loss of employment or self-employment because of the major disaster itself and not the result of a longer chain of events caused or worsened by the disaster. Individuals who are eligible for regular UI benefits under any state or federal law are ineligible for DUA benefits. The New York State Department of Labor (NYS DOL) must review eligibility for UI before a claimant can be deemed eligible for DUA benefits.

The U.S. Department of Labor oversees the DUA program and coordinates with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of the Department of Homeland Security. While it is part of the federal disaster assistance process, this program is administered by NYS DOL. DUA assistance supplements New York’s existing unemployment insurance system and expands eligibility to include individuals who might otherwise not be covered.

Beginning October 20, 2021 through November 18, 2021, DUA is available to New Yorkers in the following New York Counties – Bronx, Dutchess, Kings, Nassau, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester – who (1) lost employment as a direct result of Hurricane Ida and (2) live or work in an impacted county.