PIERRE, S.D. – Farmers and ranchers, employees and self-employed individuals in 16 counties and reservations across South Dakota who are unable to work as a result of the severe winter storms and flooding from mid-March to late April may be eligible for disaster unemployment. Funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in coordination with the U.S. Department of Labor, Disaster Unemployment Assistance is administered locally.
The state Department of Labor and Regulation is accepting applications through July 15, 2019 from all counties and reservations (except Turner) that have been declared for Individual Assistance. For those in Turner County, the deadline is July 26. Individuals can register by calling the Claims Call Center (605) 626-3179, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:20 p.m. CDT. Specify your claim is related to disaster unemployment and the severe storms.
Benefits are available for qualifying individuals in Bennett, Bon Homme, Charles Mix, Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, Dewey, Hutchinson, Jackson, Mellette, Minnehaha, Oglala Lakota, Pine Ridge Reservation, Rosebud Reservation, Todd, Turner, Yankton and Ziebach counties.
Among the conditions for eligibility: Applicants must not qualify for regular unemployment benefits from any state.
For further information, go to the Department of Labor and Regulation’s DUA webpage at https://dlr.sd.gov/ui/individuals/dua.aspx. For a Fact Sheet on FEMA’s Disaster Unemployment Assistance program, go on the agency’s website to https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/24418.