Governor Larry Hogan today announced that the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) has approved the state’s application to provide unemployed Marylanders with an additional $300 per week in benefits under the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program. The Maryland Department of Labor will now work with the federal administration to implement this program, with a plan to begin distributing the additional benefits by late September. 

Eligible claimants will receive the $300 per week in benefits retroactive to the week ending August 1, 2020 and ending no later than December 26, 2020. To qualify for the additional $300 per week, claimants must be eligible for a weekly benefit amount of at least $100 and must self-certify that they are unemployed or partially unemployed due to disruptions caused by COVID-19. Claimants will not have to file a new application to receive LWA benefits.

This is an important step that needed to be taken, and I thank Governor Hogan for moving swiftly on this. The full release on today’s announcement can be found here: https://governor.maryland.gov/2020/08/20/fema-approves-marylands-application-for-additional-300-per-week-in-federal-unemployment-benefits/