Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)
Updated August 3, 2020
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
RS22022

Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)

Summary
Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits are available only to those individuals who
have become unemployed as a direct result of a declared major disaster and are not eligible for
regular Unemployment Compensation (UC). First created in 1970 through P.L. 91-606, DUA
benefits are authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Relief Act (the
Stafford Act), which authorizes the President to issue a major disaster declaration after state and
local government resources have been overwhelmed by a natural catastrophe or, “regardless of
cause, any fire, flood, or explosion in any part of the United States” (42 U.S.C. §5122(2)).
The DUA program provides income support to individuals who become unemployed as a direct
result of a major disaster and who have no remaining entitlement for regular UC benefits. DUA is
funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is administered by the
Department of Labor (DOL) through each state’s UC agency. DUA beneficiaries (because they
are not entitled to regular UC) are not eligible to receive Extended Benefits (EB).
On October 5, 2018, P.L. 115-254, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, was signed into law.
Among its many provisions, it temporarily extends the duration of DUA for an additional 26
weeks (up to 52 weeks total) for persons who were unemployed in Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin
Islands as a direct result of the 2017 Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria disasters.
On March 27, 2020, P.L. 116-136, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)
Act was signed into law. Section 2104 of the CARES Act created a temporary, additional,
federal y financed $600 benefit that augments weekly UI benefits including DUA. This $600
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefit was payable for weeks of
unemployment beginning after a state signed an agreement through weeks ending on or before
July 31, 2020. For most states, this means FPUC payments ended on July 25, 2020.
This report contains information on how to ascertain if an individual is eligible for DUA benefits.
For information on how unemployment and employment programs respond to disasters, see CRS
Report R45182, Unemployment and Employment Programs Available to Workers Affected by
Disasters.
Congressional Research Service

Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)

isaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits are available only to those individuals
who have become unemployed as a direct result of a declared major disaster and who are
Dnot eligible for regular Unemployment Compensation (UC).1 First created in 1970
through P.L. 91-606, DUA benefits are authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster
Relief and Emergency Relief Act (the Stafford Act), which authorizes the President to issue a
major disaster declaration after state and local government resources have been overwhelmed by
a natural catastrophe or, “regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion in any part of the
United States” (42 U.S.C. 5122(2)). Based upon the request of the affected state’s governor, the
President may declare a major disaster. The declaration identifies the areas in the state eligible for
assistance. The declaration of a major disaster provides the full range of disaster assistance
available under the Stafford Act, including, but not limited to, the repair, replacement, or
reconstruction of public and nonprofit facilities, cash grants for the personal needs of victims,
housing, and unemployment assistance related to job loss from the disaster.
The UC program general y does not provide UC benefits to the self-employed, to those who are
unable to work, or to those who do not have a recent earnings history.2 However, when the
President declares a major disaster, individuals who would typical y be ineligible for UC (or who
have exhausted UC benefits) may be eligible for DUA.3 In some cases, UC beneficiaries who had
an entitlement to UC benefits of fewer than 26 weeks and who had become unemployed as a
direct result of a disaster and exhaust their weeks of UC entitlement may be entitled to some
DUA benefits. No more than a total of 26 weeks of total benefits (UC plus DUA) are al owable in
this situation.
DUA Financing
DUA benefits are funded through the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) administered by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The DRF is funded annual y through discretionary
appropriations on a no-year basis, meaning that any unobligated funds from a previous fiscal year
may be used in future fiscal years. In general, when the balance of the DRF has become low,
additional funding has previously been provided through annual and/or supplemental
appropriations to replenish the account. The Department of Labor (DOL) administers the DUA
program and coordinates with FEMA to provide the funds to the state UC agencies for payment
of DUA benefits and payment of state administrative costs under agreements with DOL.4
DUA Eligibility
The individual eligibility requirements for DUA differ from the UC program requirements. First,
an individual general y must have no entitlement to UC benefits. (UC beneficiaries who had an
entitlement to UC benefits of fewer than 26 weeks and who had become unemployed as a direct
result of a disaster and exhaust their weeks of UC entitlement may be entitled to DUA benefits.

1 Authorization for DUA can be found in the Stafford Act, Section 410, P.L. 100-707, 42 U.S.C. §5177. Regulations
can be found at 20 C.F.R. Part 625.
2 For a basic summary of the UC program, see CRS Report RL33362, Unemployment Insurance: Programs and
Benefits.
3 For information on how unemployment and employment programs respond to disasters, see CRS Report R45182,
Unem ploym ent and Em ployment Programs Available to Workers Affected by Disasters.
4 For a description of the FEMA disaster declaration process, see CRS Report R43784, FEMA’s Disaster Declaration
Process: A Prim er. For a summary of federal disaster assistance programs, see CRS Report RL31734, Federal Disaster
Assistance Response and Recovery Program s: Brief Sum m aries.
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Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)

No more than a total of 26 weeks of benefits [UC plus DUA] are al owable in this situation.) For
example, eligibility for DUA benefits does not necessarily require that the individual have a
substantial work history and in some cases does not require that the worker be available for work
(unlike the UC program requirements). In particular, the DUA regulation defines eligible
unemployed workers to include
 the self-employed;
 workers who experience a “week of unemployment” following the date the major
disaster began when such unemployment is a direct result of the major disaster;
 workers unable to reach the place of employment as a direct result of the major
disaster;
 workers who were to begin employment and do not have a job or are unable to
reach the job as a direct result of the major disaster;
 individuals who have become the breadwinner or major support for a household
because the head of the household has died as a direct result of the major
disaster;5 and
 workers who cannot work because of injuries caused as a direct result of the
major disaster.
As with state UC programs, workers who do not have permission to work legal y in the United
States are not eligible for DUA benefits. Noncitizens must have a Social Security number and an
alien registration card number in order to apply for DUA benefits.
Time Limit
General y, applications must be filed within 30 days after the date the state announces availability
of DUA benefits. When applicants have good cause, they may file claims after the 30-day
deadline. This deadline may be extended. However, initial applications filed after the 26th week
following the declaration date wil not be considered.
Eligibility Clarification
On November 13, 2001, DOL issued a new interpretive rule clarifying the definition of the phrase
“unemployment as a direct result of the major disaster.” DOL issued this clarifying rule because
the September 11, 2001, disasters presented a number of exigencies not anticipated by the
existing regulations. The action by DOL amended 20 C.F.R. §625.5 by adding a new paragraph
(c) to read as follows:
§625.5 Unemployment caused by a major disas ter.
(c) Unemployment is a direct result of the major disaster. For the purposes of paragraphs
(a)(1) and (b)(1) of this section, a worker’s or self-employed individual’s unemployment
is a direct result of the major disaster where the unemployment is an immediate result of
the major disaster itself, and not the result of a longer chain of events precipitated or
exacerbated by the disaster. Such an individual’s unemployment is a direct result of the
major disaster if the unemployment resulted from:
(1) physical damage or destruction of the place of employment;

5 T he survivor who becomes the head of household is not required to have wage credits and could be eligible for DUA
independent ly of whether the deceased household head would have been eligible for UC benefits.
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Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)

(2) physical inaccessibility of the place of employment due to its closure by the federal
government, in immediate response to the disaster; or
(3) lack of work, or loss of revenues, provided that, prior to the disaster, the employer, or
the business in the case of a self-employed individual, received at least a majority of its
revenue or income from an entity that was either damaged or destroyed in the disaster, or
an entity closed by the federal government in immediate response to the disaster.
Prior to the construction of this new rule, the phrase “unemployed as a direct result of a major
disaster” had never been defined in the regulations. Although DOL issued the new clarifying rule
in the wake of the September 11, 2001, disasters, the rule applies to any subsequently declared
major disasters. The rule is intended to make clear a distinction between those individuals
unemployed as an immediate result of the disaster itself, and those whose unemployment may
have been caused by a long chain of events initiated by the disaster. The rule is also intended to
exclude from DUA those individuals whose unemployment is the result of general economic
decline that has been an indirect effect of a major disaster.
DUA Benefit Calculation
DUA benefits are general y calculated by state UC agencies under the provisions of the state law
for UC in the state where the disaster occurred. The maximum weekly benefit amount is
determined under the provisions of the state law. The minimum weekly DUA benefit a worker
may receive is half of the average weekly UC benefit for the state where the disaster occurred.6 In
al cases, workers wil receive a DUA benefit that is at least half of the average UC benefit for
that state and cannot receive more than the maximum UC benefit available in that state. DUA
beneficiaries (because they are not entitled to regular UC or have exhausted their entitlement to
UC) are not eligible to receive Extended Benefits (EB).
When a reasonable comparative earnings history can be constructed, DUA benefits are
determined in a similar manner to regular state UC benefit rules. Self-employed persons are
expected to bring in their tax records to prove a level of earnings for the previous two years.
These records would take the place of the employer-reported wage data in UC benefit
determination. Likewise, workers who would otherwise be eligible for UC benefits except for the
injuries caused as a direct result of the disaster that make them unavailable for work would
receive DUA benefits of an amount equivalent to what they would have received under the UC
system if they were not injured and were available to work.
Workers who do not have a sufficient employment history to qualify for UC benefits (either as a
new worker or as a recent hire) receive a DUA benefit equivalent to half of the average UC
benefit for that state. Unemployed workers could also be eligible for reemployment services,
which may include counseling and referrals to suitable work opportunities.
On March 27, 2020, P.L. 116-136, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)
Act was signed into law. Section 2104 of the CARES Act created a temporary, additional,
federal y financed $600 benefit that augments weekly UI benefits including DUA. This $600
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefit was payable for weeks of

6 For the minimum benefit level as of July 1, 2020, see Employment and T raining Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor, Unemployment Insurance Program Letter No. 26-20. Minimum Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)
Weekly Benefit Amount: July 1 - September 30, 2020, UIPL 26-20, Washington, DC, June 25, 2020,
https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=7999.
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unemployment beginning after a state signed an agreement through weeks ending on or before
July 31, 2020. For most states, this means FPUC payments ended on July 25, 2020.7

Temporary Extended Duration of DUA Benefits
DUA assistance is available to eligible individuals as long as the major disaster continues, but no
longer than 26 weeks after the disaster declaration.8 The duration of DUA has been temporarily
extended for certain disasters three times: after the September 11th terrorist attacks, after the 2005
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and after the 2017 Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
In the 107th Congress, P.L. 107-154 was signed into law on March 25, 2002, temporarily
extending the duration of DUA benefits from 26 to 39 weeks for victims of the September 11,
2001, terrorist attacks in the declared major disaster areas in New York and Virginia. This was the
first time the duration of DUA benefits was statutorily extended. This extension did not apply to
any subsequent major disasters.
In the 109th Congress, P.L. 109-176 was signed into law on March 6, 2006, extending the duration
of DUA benefits from 26 to 39 weeks for victims of the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita disasters.
This extension ended on June 3, 2006, for those qualifying for benefits on account of Hurricane
Katrina and on June 24, 2006, for those affected by Hurricane Rita. This extension did not apply
to any subsequent major disasters.
In the 115th Congress, P.L. 115-254, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, was signed into law on
October 5, 2018. Among its many provisions, it retroactively extended DUA for an additional 26
weeks for persons who were unemployed in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as a direct
result of the 2017 Hurricane Irma or Hurricane Maria disasters. (This created a total potential
entitlement to DUA of up to 52 weeks for some individuals.) Because the disasters had both been
declared more than 52 weeks before the enactment of P.L. 115-254, the remaining DUA weeks
were paid retroactively.9 Individuals who worked in these areas and who have exhausted
entitlement to UC or EB may also be eligible for DUA benefits for the remaining otherwise
uncompensated weeks in the disaster assistance period that were not covered by UC and EB.10

7 July 26, 2020, for the state of New York.
8 In 1970, P.L. 91-606 required that DUA benefits not exceed the maximum amoun t and duration of the state’s UC
benefit. T his generally required a duration of not more than 26 weeks. Section 407 of P.L. 93-288 in 1974 amended this
requirement to a duration not to exceed one year. P.L. 100-707 lowered the maximum duration to 26 weeks.
9 According to personal communication with CRS on January 31, 2019, the USDOL issued guidance letters regarding
P.L. 115-254 directly to Puerto Rico Department of Labor (PRDOL) and U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Labor
(VIDOL) on November 5, 2018. Subsequently, the PRDOL issued a press release announcing availability of the DUA
extension provided under P.L. 115-254 on January 22, 2019. VIDOL also issued a press release announcing availability
on March 26, 2019. T he press releases explained retroactive DUA extension potentially eligible individuals, filing
requirements, and deadlines. T he filing deadlines for the additional DUA benefits have been extended multiple times,
the final deadlines were until July 24, 2019, for Puerto Rico and August 30, 2019, for U.S. Virgin Islands.
10 In Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, up to an additional 26 weeks of DUA would be available for DUA and
UC exhaustees. Because EB was available in the U.S. Virgin Islands from December 17, 2017, through June 23, 2018,
some individuals in the U.S. Virgin Islands may have had up to 26 weeks of UC and an additional 13 weeks of EB. In
this case, P.L. 115-254 provided up to an additional 13 weeks of DUA benefits. (EB has not been available in Puerto
Rico since 2010.)
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link to page 8 Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)

Reduction in DUA Benefits
DUA benefits may be reduced by other income received by the DUA beneficiary. These
reductions are made in a manner similar to how such additional income reduces UC benefits (e.g.,
al states disregard some earnings as an incentive to take short-term work while unemployed
workers search for a permanent job), but do not mirror them exactly. The reductions are made for
additional income that includes
 benefits or insurance for loss of wages due to il ness or disability;
 supplemental unemployment benefits paid pursuant to a collective bargaining
agreement;
 private income protection insurance;
 worker’s compensation or survivor’s benefits if the DUA beneficiary becomes
household head due to the head of the household’s death because of the disaster;
 retirement, pension, or annuity income;
 earnings from employment or self-employment; and
 subsidy or price support payments, crops insurance, and farm disaster relief
payments.
Patterns in DUA Benefits
When the President declares a major disaster in a state and indicates DUA benefits may be
available, the state’s UC agency requests DUA funds from DOL, which in turn receives funds
from the Disaster Relief Fund administered by FEMA. The DOL obligates a portion of that
request to the state. The state may request more funding as a supplement if needed. Table 1
shows DUA benefit payments from FY2002 through FY2019.
Table 1. Disaster Unemployment Assistance Benefit Payments, FY2002-FY2019
(mil ions of dol ars)
Fiscal Year
Benefit Payments
2002
$15.3
2003
2.3
2004
7.4
2005
44.6
2006
401.1
2007
9.0
2008
7.0
2009
17.3
2010
1.4
2011
5.5
2012
7.2
2013
15.9
2014
0.9
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Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)

Fiscal Year
Benefit Payments
2015
0.4
2016
2.0
2017
4.9
2018
42.3
2019
8.6

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Workforce Security.
Figure 1 plots the number of individuals who applied for DUA benefits (Initial Claims) and the
number of individuals who received DUA benefits for at least one week (First Payments) from
January 2001 through May 2020. As with the UC program, many more individuals apply for
DUA benefits than receive them.
Figure 1. Disaster Unemployment Assistance: Initial Claims and First Payments,
January 2001-May 2020

Source: CRS figure from data provided by U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance.
There is a seasonal element to claims and payments that centers on the hurricane season (running
from June 1 to November 30). The one exception to the patterns of initial claims and first
payments centering on the hurricane season is the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Workers
continued to apply for and receive benefits stemming from the terrorist attacks in substantial
numbers through March 2002. This was attributable to the extension of benefits for an additional
13 weeks provided by P.L. 107-154.
The Hurricanes Katrina and Rita disasters overwhelm al other disasters in the amount of benefits
that were paid. The extension of DUA benefits for an additional 13 weeks al owed workers who
would have original y been receiving UC benefits and had exhausted them to file for DUA
benefits. This created a second wave of first filings and initial claims in March 2006.
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How to Find Out If DUA Is Available for a Major
Disaster in a State
To determine whether DUA is available in a state, disaster victims must ascertain
 whether the President has declared the event a major disaster;
 for which counties (if any) DUA has been made available; and
 how to contact the state UC agency.
FEMA maintains a list of disasters by calendar year, located at http://www.fema.gov/disasters.
Each disaster is given a contract number, which provides a link to relevant information pertaining
to each disaster, including a list of counties designated to receive assistance.
To determine if individual disaster assistance is available for a particular address (and the
potential availability of DUA), individuals should access http://disasterassistance.gov and follow
the instructions.
If counties in a state have been included in a major disaster declaration and have been designated
to receive DUA, it is necessary to contact the state’s unemployment agency to obtain the details
of how to apply for and receive DUA benefits. The DOL maintains a website with links to each
state’s unemployment agency at https://www.careeronestop.org/localhelp/unemploymentbenefits/
unemployment-benefits.aspx.

Author Information

Julie M. Whittaker

Specialist in Income Security

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should n ot be relied upon for purposes other
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Congressional Research Service
RS22022 · VERSION 41 · UPDATED
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