The Guam Department of Labor (GDOL) is requesting staffing- and employment-related information from businesses who were affected by Typhoon Mawar. And Mary Rhodes, president of the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association – concerned for the welfare of the thousands of displaced employees who may benefit tremendously from this outreach through a possible 26-week provision of disaster unemployment benefits – is pushing businesses to cooperate.
The information collected will be used to estimate how much assistance Guam will need from the federal government to help maximize the funds Guam can request for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) and other funding opportunities.
GDOL received authorization late last week to submit data and justification for DUA funding following the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Notice of Major Disaster Declaration and is currently working with the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) to create the guidelines and application process for the Guam DUA program.
Authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, the DUA program will provide weekly benefit payments to workers who traditionally would not qualify for unemployment benefits, and who are unable to work as a direct result of the major disaster declared resulting from Typhoon Mawar. This includes those who are self-employed, unemployed self-employed, independent contractors, and farm workers.
Once the funding is approved by the USDOL and the DUA program is established, the weekly benefits will be available for up to 26 weeks with the benefit amount to be based on a formula that will be determined by the USDOL.
GDOL is requesting the following information from business who may have been affected by Typhoon Mawar:
- Employer name and location
- Number of employees laid off, anticipated to be laid off, or whose work was interrupted due to the disaster
- Anticipated date and length of layoffs (e.g., 1 to 2 weeks, 3 to 4 weeks, or unknown at this time)
Please email the information to [email protected].
