Here's what to do if your employer lays you off
If your employment has been impacted for reasons related to COVID-19, review this information about the available assistance, the Louisiana Workforce Commission said.
Do any of these situations apply to you?
—Your work hours have been reduced because of lack of work due to Coronavirus.
—Your workplace closes tempo-rarily, and you are not being compensated.
—You have been in-structed not to go to work, and you are not being paid while at home.
You may be eligible for unemployment insurance. You can file a claim at www.louisianaworks.net/hire or by calling our Claim Center at 866-783-5567. Effective March 17, 2020, we have extended our Claim Center hours to 8 a.m.-7 p.m.
Be sure to answer “yes” to the question, “Are you filing for Unemployment Insurance benefits for reasons related to COVID-19 (Coronavirus)?” This will provide needed information to the LWC to help process your claim.
If your work hours have been reduced, partial benefits could be available to you up to a maximum of $247 a week. You must report any earnings for the week that you work, even if you’ve not yet been paid. Report the gross amount before deductions.
These earnings would be factored into the amount of unemployment benefits paid to you for that week.
A number of factors deter-mine eligibility for benefits. The LWC reviews each case separately.
The maximum number of weeks that unemployment benefits can be paid per claim is 26 weeks in a 12-month period.
Wages and vacation pay (received or will receive) must be reported when you file your unemployment claim. Sick leave and PTO do not need to be reported. Important: As per the governor’s proclamation, for individuals whose employment has been im-pacted due to COVID-19:
—Work search requirements are waived
—Week of waiting is waived.
Employers
If you are temporarily closing or reducing your hours of operations due to COVID-19, please contact the LWC to discuss how we can provide assistance and answer your questions about unemployment insurance and other programs and resources available.
Contact EmployerServ-ices@lwc.la.gov with your unemployment insurance questions. Be sure to provide your company’s name, a point of contact, telephone number and email address, as well as specifics on the assistance you are requesting. The Employer Call Center, 225-326-6999, is also available.
For other programs and assistance, contact the American Job Center in your area. To find the closest American Job Center, go to http://www.laworks.net/Downloads/WFD/AJC_Contacts.pdf