WASHINGTON -- FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor approved West Virginia for a FEMA grant under the Lost Wages Assistance program. FEMA’s grant funding will allow West Virginia to provide $300 per week -- on top of their regular unemployment benefit -- to those unemployed due to COVID-19. FEMA will work with West Virginia Governor Jim Justice to implement a system to make this funding available to West Virginia residents.
On Aug. 8, 2020, President Trump made available up to $44 billion from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund to provide financial assistance to Americans who have lost wages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the state of West Virginia agreed to administer a lost wages program for its citizens who are unemployed due to COVID-19.
FEMA looks forward to working with the governors of additional states who agree to administer a lost wages program to bring financial relief to unemployed Americans.