Georgetown County residents eligible for unemployment assistance due to Hurricane Matthew

Georgetown County was one of 15 South Carolina counties added Tuesday by Gov. Nikki Haley and the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce to receive Disaster Unemployment Assistance.

Funds will be made available to assist people who became unemployed as a direct result of Hurricane Matthew, according to a press release.

Other counties are Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Florence, Hampton, Jasper, Lee, Sumter and Williamsburg. Marion and Orangeburg counties were declared eligible earlier this week. Other counties may be added at a later date.

The DUA program makes funds available to assist people who became unemployed as a direct result of Hurricane Matthew. It also is available to small business owners and the self-employed, including 1099 contract workers, who lost personal income due to the disaster.

Workers or business owners meeting the following criteria may be eligible for benefits:

▪ Individuals who are unemployed due to the disaster, and do not qualify for regular unemployment insurance benefits.

▪ Self-employed individuals and small business owners who lost income due to the disaster.

▪ Individuals who were prevented from working due to an injury caused by the disaster.

▪ Individuals who have become the major supplier of household income due to the disaster-related death or injury of the previous major supplier of household income.

▪ Individuals who are unable to reach their job or self-employment location because they must travel through the affected area and are prevented from doing so by the disaster.

▪ Individuals who were to commence employment or self-employment but were prevented by the disaster.

Individuals must first apply for regular unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. To apply, call 1-866-831-1724 or go to mybenefits.dew.sc.gov. The deadline for applying is 30 calendar days from the date that DEW announces the availability of DUA in the county. If the individual is found to be ineligible for UI benefits, a DEW representative will contact them directly and will assist with the DUA application.

Applications filed after the deadline will be considered untimely and DUA benefits may be denied unless the individual provides good cause for filing after that date. Applicants must submit their Social Security number, check stubs and other documentation to support the claim that they were working or self-employed when the disaster occurred. In some cases, additional documentation may be required.

Check www.dew.sc.gov/dua for updates on this program.

This story was originally published October 18, 2016 at 9:27 AM with the headline "Georgetown County residents eligible for unemployment assistance due to Hurricane Matthew."