S.C. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT: UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS TO RESTART

The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce has a target date of September 22, to implement a new federal unemployment benefits program, for thousands of South Carolinians waiting for relief.

Retroactive to Aug. 1, are three weeks of $300 payments. The payments are only for those eligible to receive at least $100 in state or federal unemployment benefits each week.

It is unclear how many people are eligible for the payments, since nearly 153,000 people were unemployed in August. Since the Coronavirus shut down the states’ businesses in March, nearly 740,000 initial claims for unemployment insurance have been filed.

SCDEW announced they have added new “fraud security measures,” including new identification verification questions, fraud analysts and an exchange of information about fraud schemes with other labor agencies around the country. In a statement SCDEW executive director Dan Ellzey added the timeline of around September 22 was still viable and added “We want to be very clear; there are individuals and groups who are intentionally seeking an illegal opportunity to profit from the Lost Wages Assistance funds, directly stealing money from deserving, unemployed South Carolinians in need”. Elizey said, “Some states who have already implemented LWA programs are experiencing this type of fraud, on significant levels in some cases.”

South Carolina didn’t immediately apply for the $300 weekly benefits from FEMA, known as the Lost Wages Assistance program. LWA is a grant, and once the money runs out, the program is done. South Carolina has been approved for only three weeks of the program thus far, while others have already finished their six weeks.

South Carolina has applied for an additional three weeks, but has not been approved as of late.