Notification of Potential Eligibility for Federal Lost Wages Assistance Program

Subject: Notification of Potential Eligibility for Federal Lost Wages Assistance Program

Dear Unemployment Insurance Claimant: 

Upon review of your Maryland Unemployment Insurance (UI) records, you may be eligible for the federal supplemental Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program, which is federally funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The LWA program provides an additional $300 weekly payment on top of regular unemployment benefits for eligible claimants and will be available for claimants ahead of schedule on Friday, September 11.

After being initially approved for three weeks of LWA funding, Maryland has now been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for three additional weeks, for a total of six weeks of $300 federal payments. 

To qualify for the $300 in federal benefits retroactive to the weeks ending August 1, 2020 through September 5, 2020, you must:

• Complete a one-time self-certification that you are unemployed or partially unemployed due to disruptions caused by COVID-19 (you do not need to file a separation application); and
• Be eligible for at least $100 of unemployment compensation under any of the following UI programs:
• Regular Maryland Unemployment Insurance;
• Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE);
• Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX);
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC);
• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA);
• Extended Benefits (EB);
• Short-Time Compensation (STC) (“Work-Sharing” in Maryland); and,
• Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA).

If you satisfy the eligibility requirements above, beginning on Friday, September 11, you will be prompted to self-certify that you are unemployed or partially unemployed due to disruptions caused by COVID-19 upon logging into your BEACON One-Stop portal. You may also use the mobile app to complete the self-certification. The self-certification can only be completed once, so please review and answer carefully. If you complete the self-certification incorrectly, you will not be able to correct it without the assistance of an agent. An example can be found below.

After you certify that you have been unemployed or partially unemployed due to disruptions due to COVID-19, you will receive a lump sum payment within 1-2 days. This payment will be for all weeks that you are eligible for the LWA program. This payment may be on a different day than you regularly receive benefits. 

Per guidance from USDOL, FEMA will fund the $300 per week benefit and Maryland will fulfill the 25% state match through funding that is already paid to claimants in regular unemployment insurance benefits. LWA payments will be granted on a first-come, first-serve basis until the federal funds are exhausted. 

If you have not activated your BEACON portal, please do so by visiting beacon.labor.md.gov/claimant and selecting “Get Started with BEACON One-Stop.” If you require additional technical assistance, please email ui.inquiry@maryland.gov or contact an agent at (667) 207-6520 or (877) 293-4125. You will not be able to complete the required certification through the automated phone process used to complete regular weekly claim certifications.

For more information about the LWA program, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions.

• Babel Notice.pdf