Unemployment Benefits Available to Videographers, Including Self-Employed Affected By Katrina
September 04, 2005
Sarasota, FL - Federal welfare and unemployment benefits, including unemployment benefits for those who are self-employed, are available to victims affected by Hurricane Katrina, according to the The Times-Picayune, the daily newspaper for the greater New Orleans area.
The report says the Louisiana Department of Labor has announced that federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance is being offered to residents or workers in 31 parishes if they can show that they have lost their jobs or self-employment income due to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
Claims are already being accepted by the Department of Labor (DOL) at DOL job centers located throughout Louisiana, and will continue to be accepted until a 30-day filing period ends October 30. News sources are indicating Katrina has left upwards of 750,000 at least temporarily jobless.
To qualify for benefits, the report says, "applicants must have worked or been self-employed in one of the affected parishes, prove that they have lost their main source of income because of the storm and that they do not qualify for regular unemployment insurance from another state. The program will run through March 4, 2006."
In contacting the DOL, the WEVA Disaster Response Committee (DRC) has learned that, "Disaster Unemployment Assistance provides financial assistance to individuals whose employment or self-employment has been lost or interrupted as a direct result of a major disaster declared by the President of the United States. The program is administered by states as agents of the federal government."
The WEVA DRC has found that videographers in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi who have been displaced by Katrina, including those who are self-employed, may file claims at any local unemployment office in all 50 states. However, out-of-state applicants filing in their temporary locality are advised to ask to file an "interstate claim" in order to avoid being declared ineligible when state records in the temporary location are checked. Benefits for self-employed persons vary by state.
For more information, and to determine eligibility and locate the nearest unemployment center, go to the Disaster Unemployment Assistance section of the DOL website. Videographers from around the globe are posting offers of support for fellow videographers affected by Katrina on the WEVA Hurricane Disaster-Industry Outreach Forum.
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WEVA News is a service of the Wedding & Event Videographers Association International (WEVA). For more information regarding WEVA events and membership, visit www.weva.com, or contact the association office at 941-923-5334 or email: [email protected]. |
