The Guam Department of Labor (GDOL) has received its first allotment of $276 million from the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) for pandemic unemployment benefits.
According to the Joint Information Center, USDOL transferred $174 million to Guam’s pandemic grant for the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program and $102 million for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program.
This initial allotment is part of the $924 million supplemental budget request USDOL approved for Guam’s pandemic unemployment benefits.
As the funds draw down, JIC said USDOL will post another allotment to PMS.
Originally slated to be in Guam’s account last week, USDOL experienced system issues when trying to process the first allotment.
The funds have now been processed and posted into the Health and Human Services Payment Management System (PMS).
GDOL is preparing to launch the PUA and FPUC online application shortly. More information on the application process will be published once available.
“The federal government has been trying to transfer the money into our payment management system since last week, but ran into system issues,” said Guam Labor Director David Dell’Isola. in a news release. “U.S. Labor apologized for the delay. Multiple systems are involved, but I stressed the urgency all the way up to the highest levels as USDOL. I’m pleased to see they were able to solve the problems so we can get the
people of Guam the financial relief they need.”
Guam Labor is preparing to launch the PUA and FPUC online application shortly to help individuals whose income has been reduced due to COVID-19. As of 6 a.m. Saturday, 1,052 employers registered separation notices for 20,123 employees on hireguam.com.
The Department is troubleshooting the system and is in the final stages of programming.
“Please stay tuned to the media for the announcement of when the application process opens,” Dell’Isola said.
In preparation for applying for PUA and FPUC, the department recommends claimants to gather the following documents.
Employees:
● a photo I.D.;
● recent pay stubs;
● a letter from their employer;
Self-employed:
● current business licenses, contracts and invoices;
● 1099 tax forms;
● billing statements to their customers;
● mayor/client verification;
● recent advertisements or articles related to their service.
● and bank receipts showing deposits.
Not all documents are required, but more will strengthen the application.
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(JIC, GDOL news release)
