Benjamin “Benjie” Torres Jr., 59, is one of those still waiting for any payment at all on his Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, according to his wife Perla.
The week of Dec. 26 is also the last full week to claim PUA unless Congress extends the program right away, or with no gap.
“It’s almost Christmas, and still no PUA for my husband,” Perla Torres said on Monday. “He’s been stressed out. Everyone he knew got PUA or already have pay dates. He doesn’t even have a pay date.”
In this July 29, 2020 photo, people line up to enter the Guam Department of Labor Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Center at Guam Community College in Mangilao. Most of Guam’s pandemic-displaced workers have already received their federal unemployment aid payments, but some still haven’t for one reason or another. The Guam Daily Post photo
She said her husband’s hours were cut starting in March, and he was furloughed starting in June.
But it wasn’t until October that Benjamin Torres was able to successfully file his PUA claims, his wife said.
On Dec. 12, they got a notice from the Guam Department of Labor to submit missing pay stubs, which she said they submitted immediately. She said they are hopeful.
Despite some workers facing challenges with their PUA claims, overall, Guam Labor has been able to pay most of the estimated 27,000 individual PUA claimants since June, using most of the $514 million that the U.S. Department of Labor made available for Guam’s use.
There are some who, for one reason or another, fell through the cracks and so their PUA claims have not been paid.
Some of them were unable to file complete documents including a furlough letter or their latest pay stubs.
Massive fraudulent claims attacking the PUA system on a daily basis is also a major cause for the delay in getting to legitimate claims, Labor said.
Still thankful
Perla Torres had her own work hours reduced and was later furloughed because of the pandemic. She later got back to work, but with only about 20 hours of work a week.
From March to June, she and her husband didn’t have any income at all, until she started receiving PUA aid in June.
“It’s been hard on us, losing our income at the same time. But we’re so thankful at least one of us was able to get PUA right away. It would have been far worse for us,” Perla Torres, 59, said.
Thankfully, she said, her husband just recently got called back to work.
“But he’s hoping he will get his PUA to catch up on the bills he wasn’t able to pay for months,” she said.
Running out of diapers
Jennifer Paul, who lost her job as a housekeeper at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort in February, had challenges filing PUA claims, she said.
It wasn’t until Oct. 14, she said, that she was able to file her claim with the help of PUA staff.
But she had other issues with her application that required her to submit more documents.
“I have five kids and I’m behind on my rent for two months,” Paul, 33, said. “I have a 6-month infant. Sometimes we run out of diapers and everything.”
On Friday, she said Labor called her to upload her furlough letter and her latest pay stubs. This time, she said, she’s hoping she will finally get the help she applied for.
$11.6M this week
This week, another $11.6 million in PUA payouts is anticipated to reach pandemic-displaced workers for cleared claims filed through Dec. 9.
Jessie-Marie Mendiola, 18, also has yet to receive her PUA since filing in September, according to her mother, Rosie Taimanglo.
According to the mother, Mendiola started working on Aug. 3 and was laid off on Aug. 17.
Mendiola said on Sunday, her daughter finally saw a payment date on her hireguam.com account for her PUA, and for this, the family is thankful and hopeful.
“She had some difficulties making an account with hireguam.com so they scheduled her for an appointment sometime in August but it kept getting pushed back,” she said. “If I’m not mistaken, she made her first filing on Sept. 11 and filed for Aug. 17 through Sept. 11 and since then, she hasn’t received.”
Jessica Flores, 46, said she’s grateful for the initial PUA payments but for about three months now, she has yet to receive anything else.
“I’m so frustrated having to call DOL on a daily basis with no response,” she said. “It’s really something.”
Flores added that her rent and power bills are now “past due,” adding that she hopes Labor will let her know about any issues with her PUA claims.
Would be a ‘great birthday gift’
Labor will also be running another batch of Lost Wages Assistance today. LWA is an added $300 a week of unemployment aid for up to six weeks.
Jon Michael Villena said it would be a “great birthday gift” to get his LWA on his birthday, Dec. 22.
But on the eve of his 34th birthday, his LWA status still indicates “under staff review.”
“I haven’t gotten a claim number nor has my status changed,” he said on Monday.
‘Urgent: Initial Claim Payment Request’
Guam Labor Director David Dell’Isola said the department is calling on those who filed their PUA and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation claims in June, July, August and September to send an email to the department immediately.
Anyone who has yet to receive PUA and FPUC, but filed claims months ago, is urged to send an email to pua.hotline@dol.guam.gov, with the subject line, “Urgent: Initial Claim Payment Request,” with their full name and claim number.
