Updated at 4:49 p.m.
Vermonters whose employment was impacted by flooding this July may be eligible for federal unemployment assistance, the Vermont Department of Labor announced Monday.
The Biden Administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency have greenlit federally funded Disaster Unemployment Assistance for Vermonters unable to work due to severe flooding on July 9 through July 11, according to a press release issued Monday.
The benefits will extend to eligible Vermonters who lived, worked or were scheduled to work in Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Lamoille, Orleans or Washington Counties during last month’s flooding event. Vermonters who are self-employed, contractors or agricultural workers may qualify for aid as well.
“Vermonters across the State have found their lives, homes, and businesses impacted again by this recent disaster,” Vermont Labor Commissioner Michael Harrington said in the press release. “Our immediate priority is to ensure that individuals whose employment was impacted by the flooding can receive the benefits they desperately need.”
In Monday’s press release, the department offered examples of situations in which Vermonters may qualify for the unemployment benefits — such as, if a worker was injured in the floods and unable to work as a result, or if their workplace or their method of transportation was destroyed. Or perhaps a Vermonter could not travel through flooded areas in order to get to work, or they lost income from disaster-stricken areas. Or maybe their job was eliminated entirely due to flood damage.
In order to receive Disaster Unemployment Assistance, Vermonters must first file for unemployment with the Vermont Department of Labor following its usual application process. In that application, the department said Vermonters should make clear that they were unable to work as a direct result of the floods.
The department will determine whether the claimant is eligible for regular unemployment benefits, and if they are not, the department will provide the claimant with an application for federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance.
Similar assistance was available for Vermonters hit by last summer’s floods. According to Department of Labor spokesperson Rachel Dumeny, 123 claimants received federally funded Disaster Unemployment Assistance due to the July 2023 floods. In total, Dumeny said that more than $430,000 in benefits were distributed to those Vermonters.
As of Monday afternoon, Dumeny said that 40 Vermonters have already filed for unemployment benefits due to last month’s floods. Nine of those applicants qualify for federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance, she said — meaning that the remaining 31 qualified for standard unemployment insurance.
The deadline to apply for benefits is Oct. 25. According to the department, the first payable benefit week is July 14-20 — the first full week after the floods hit.
Vermonters can learn more online at https://labor.vermont.gov/dua or by calling the Vermont Unemployment Insurance Claimant Assistance Center at 1-877-214-3330.
Correction: An earlier version of this story did not include all three days of flooding due to an error in the press release.
