Order Leads To Additional Assistance For Montana’s Unemployed Workers

Federal regulators approved Montana’s plan to provide an additional $400 per week in assistance to people receiving unemployment benefits due to COVID-19 related impacts, according to the Department of Labor and Industry.

A grant from the Federal Emergency Management Administration will cover $300 of the new weekly payments. The other $100 will come from Montana’s coronavirus relief monies.

The Lost Wage Assistance Payments were established after a program that provided an additional $600 weekly payment expired in late July. President Donald Trump signed an executive order suggesting a $400 payment, with states paying 25 percent of the cost. Federal officials said the states could meet that $100 requirement with the first $100 of their regular weekly payments.

With the new grant and coronavirus relief funding, weekly unemployment payments in Montana will range from approximately $560 to $950.

Montana is the only state so far that reports it is adding the extra $100, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

The first week that the additional payments are available is the week ending Aug. 1.