CNMI Department of Labor Secretary Vicky I. Benavente on Friday said 1,200 claimants had already been issued payments amounting to roughly $700,000 through the Lost Wages Assistance program.
Throughout this week, she said, 6,000 LWA claims will be processed.
LWA is a program available to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claimants who received PUA payments or were cleared for payment from Aug. 1 to 15 of last year.
Funding is made available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which provides a $300 weekly supplement to each qualified individual.
CNMI DOL utilizes its HireMarianas portal to determine individuals eligible for LWA before processing payments.
Secretary Benavente said due to issues with the portal, there was a delay in LWA disbursements.
“We did come to a point in the portal system where things were not cooperating online, but we are going to try and resolve all those portal issues so that LWA claimants can continue to receive their payments,” she said.
CNMI DOL is also processing payments for the PUA program.
Benavente noted that each qualified individual can expect up to $900 from the LWA program, as it is only for a three-week period.
“This is just a three-week benefit period, so the [maximum] amount is $900. I received reports that there were many LWA claimants who received the $900 payment through direct deposit,” she said.
Secretary of Finance David Atalig, for his part, assured eligible claimants that the funds are available.
Once issues have been cleared up, he said, Finance will begin processing and issuing checks as soon as possible.
Payments will be given as one lump sum check, he added.
“We’ve drawn down the funds from FEMA for LWA. [We are] ready to disburse these funds…. It looks like the challenge is separating the LWA from the regular PUA applicants. I believe we had a little glitch in our system in terms of our portal that tracks all those claimants who are eligible for LWA, so we’re hoping to get that list finalized,” he said.
In early April, Secretary Benavente said 6,909 of 8,473 applicants were eligible for the LWA program.
She said a list of the 6,909 eligible claimants was sent to the Department of Finance.
“Essentially, we have about $6 million in benefits to be issued to these applicants who are eligible for the Lost Wages Assistance Program,” she said.
She added that the 1,564 who aren’t eligible may have been disqualified because of their employment status.
Several have been denied due to fraudulent claims, she added, noting that some claimants are not in the CNMI.
The CNMI government began distributing the $7.7 million that was approved for the local LWA program after President Joseph Biden approved the Commonwealth’s request to waive the 25% matching fund requirement on March 23, 2021.
Vicky I. Benavente
