HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The Guam Department of Labor is doing its best to clear what it can among the thousands of Disaster Unemployment Assistance claims that have been submitted, so that it can begin batching cleared claims by this week, according to Janela Carrera, the special projects coordinator at the department.
“We have a team dedicated to looking at claims and processing them as efficiently as possible to make sure they are clean,” Carrera said Thursday.
Whether that will translate to checks in people’s hands by this week will depend on how fast subsequent steps will take as, according to Carrera, GDOL will still need to reconcile after batching the claims, before sending them to the Department of Administration for processing.
GDOL received more than 4,500 applications for the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program before the application deadline came to a close on Oct. 4.
DUA is a federal program administered through the U.S. Department of Labor and funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It offers weekly assistance of $384, and is retroactive to May 28. DUA is payable for all weeks up to Nov. 25, as long as an individual’s unemployment continues to be a direct result of Typhoon Mawar.
The application period for the program began in early September and lasted for 30 days. Residents were informed that there would be no extension for application submittals.
A few applications were received after the deadline, according to GDOL, but the department had stated that it was made very clear the deadline was on Oct. 4 and it would not be extended.
Submit all documents to qualify
GDOL is also reminding claimants that they must submit all documentation needed to support their claims, and must do so within 21 days of filing the claim.
“DUA adjudicators have been encountering problems in processing claims, and some of these issues can be resolved if they simply upload missing documents,” GDOL Director David Dell’Isola stated in a release on Thursday.
“We were informed by the federal government that nationwide, an average of 80% of claims are disqualified because of lack of documents or failure to meet the 21-day deadline to submit documents. We don’t want workers to be denied because they are missing documents but the Department does not have discretion on these policies as they are written in statute,” Dell’Isola added.
Supporting documents can be uploaded online at hireguam.com by clicking the “Provide Additional Documentation” button under the “Unemployment Services” section, according to the GDOL release. A step-by-step guide on how to upload documents is also available on GDOL’s YouTube page, the release added.
Documents can also be submitted in-person at the DUA Office located at the seventh floor of the GCIC Building in Hagåtña.
According to the GDOL release, examples of required documentation include, but are not limited to:
A government issued picture identification (driver’s license, passport, alien registration card, etc.)
Social Security Card
Copies of the most recent Guam income tax form(s), check stubs, and other proof of earnings
Evidence of self-employment earnings, business license, financial documents such as 2022 Guam income tax forms, profit and loss statement, and proof of business loss due to the disaster
Verification of Unemployment from your employer (a sample form can be obtained at dol.guam.gov/DUA)
Individuals must also provide proof of identity and U.S. citizenship, or proof that they are a U.S. national or qualified alien, and proof that they are legally authorized to work in Guam, according to the GDOL release.
“If it is later discovered that an individual is not a qualified alien and/or is not authorized to work due to a false statement made by the individual, any DUA paid will be (considered) overpaid. DUA payments are not subject to any waiver provisions and, therefore, any overpayments established must be repaid in full,” the release added.
Guam Department of Labor Director David Dell’Isola answers questions during the 2023 Guam Economic Forecast meeting Jan. 12, 2023, at The Westin Resort Guam in Tumon.
