Tourism Worker Recovery Fund
One-time Payments for Select Tourism Workers
Tourism Worker Recovery Fund
In November 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul introduced New York State’s Tourism Worker Recovery Fund. This $100 million program will provide one-time stimulus payments of $2,750 to as many as 36,000 workers in select tourism sectors who have been displaced from employment because these sectors and jobs were least likely to have returned following the pandemic.
Industries impacted especially hard by the pandemic include tourism-specific industries, such as hotels and motels, food service contractors, limousine service, travel agencies and more.
Pre-selected eligible individuals include those employed by businesses in tourism sectors that have yet to regain a substantial portion of their workforce and where a high percentage of workers were still collecting extended federal benefits when the program expired on September 5, 2021.
The Department of Labor is contacting those New Yorkers who are eligible for this one-time payment directly by email and text message with further instructions. New Yorkers should not call NYS DOL to see if they are eligible. We will contact eligible recipients directly.
Eligible New Yorkers must complete a self-attestation through DocuSign and certify that they are not fully employed to receive the one-time payment.
Frequently Asked Questions
| Who will get this funding? | One-time payments will be made to individuals who are part of select tourism industry sectors that remain impacted by the pandemic and whose Extended Benefits (EB) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) ended on September 5, 2021. Additionally, workers must certify that they are not fully employed to receive the one-time payment. |
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What will eligible workers need to attest to? |
Workers will need to attest that they are not yet fully employed, meaning that before the annoucnement of this fund on November 8, 2021 they were not earning at least 75% of what they were making prior to the start of the pandemic. This calculation may be made using a weekly basis. For example, you may be making a similar hourly rate, but only working a small portion of hours each week compared to before March 2020. |
| Which industries were selected? |
Workers who will receive these stimulus payments work for businesses that fall into specific tourism-related industries, including hotels and motels, food service contractors, limousine service, travel agencies and more. Pre-selected eligible individuals include those in tourism sectors that have yet to regain a substantial portion of their workforce and where a high percentage of workers were still collecting extended federal benefits when the program expired in September 2021. |
| How were industries selected? | The Department of Labor assembled a list of tourism industries and based on statistics, narrowed to a combined list of those industries that have yet to regain a substantial portion of their workforce and additionally those industries where a high percentage of workers were still collecting extended federal benefits. These workers are least likely to be able to return to their previous work as business has not yet recovered. |
| Are restaurant workers eligible? | No. The food services industry did not meet the above criteria and there are many jobs in these businesses available today across the state. Restaurant workers can find available jobs at jobzone.ny.gov. |
| When and how will funds be paid? |
Eligible workers will be contacted via email and text message in November with additional instructions and to complete a self-attestation. If email or text message is not available, they will be contacted via mail. They will then be issued a one-time payment through a virtual debit card or check.
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| Where will checks be coming from? |
The checks will be coming from the First National Bank of Omaha. |
| What about fraudulent claims? | The individuals who are eligible have already passed through extensive fraud protection measures as they were receiving UI benefits. In the future, DOL will run a future cross-check on wage earnings. |
| How can I apply for this program? |
You do not need to apply. Individuals have been pre-selected for this program based on the above criteria. There is no application for this program, but New Yorkers who may fit the eligibility requirements are encouraged to look out for an email and/or text message with additional information. |