EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Doña Ana County residents are now eligible for federal disaster unemployment assistance following the severe storms, flooding, and landslides that affected residents this summer, the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions said on Tuesday, Aug. 19, in a news release.
Disaster unemployment assistance (DUA) is available to individuals whose employment or self-employment was lost or interrupted as a direct result of the declared disaster in the areas of Lincoln County and Doña Ana County.
The process to apply for DUA benefits includes two steps:
- An individual must first apply for Standard Unemployment Insurance. This may be done online anytime 24/7 here, by visiting an America’s Job Center New Mexico location, or by calling the Unemployment Insurance Operations center at 1-877-664-6984, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
- If an individual is not eligible for Standard Unemployment Insurance, they may then apply for DUA by calling the Unemployment Insurance Operations Center and selecting option 5.
Individuals who lost work or employment due to the designated disaster must file DUA applications by established deadlines, according to the news release.
DUA is available to those who:
- Worked or were self-employed or were scheduled to begin work or self-employment; and
- Do not qualify for regular unemployment benefits, or Extended Benefits (EB) from any state; and
- Were unable to reach their job or self-employment location because they must travel through the affected area and are prevented from doing so by the disaster; or
- Can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage or destruction to the place of employment as a direct result of the disaster; or
- Cannot physically access the place of employment due to its closure by the federal, state, or local government in immediate response to the disaster; or
- Can establish that the work or self-employment they can no longer perform was their principal source of income; or
- Cannot perform work or self-employment because of an injury as a direct result of the disaster; or
- Became the breadwinner or major support of a household because of the death related to the disaster.
Applications filed after the deadline will be considered untimely, and DUA benefits may be denied unless the individual provides good cause for filing after that date. Therefore, claimants should file as soon as possible.
Proof of employment/self-employment must be submitted no later than 21 days after filing for a DUA claim.
The following documents are examples of documents that may establish sufficient proof of employment, depending on the individual’s case, according to the news release:
- Payroll voucher closest in date to the last work week
- Employment and earnings statement from employer with name, address and contact information
- Statement written from employer
- Business records (bank statements, business receipts, licenses, advertisements, invoices, appointment books, financial statements)
- Notarized statement from the person with name, address, and contact information who can verify your self-employment and unemployment
If an individual is self-employed, their 2024 federal income tax return and schedules can serve as proof of prior wages, but they do not substantiate their proof of employment at the time of the disaster.
Individuals should refer to the list above of acceptable forms of proof of employment.
DUA is available for weeks of unemployment beginning June 29 until January 24, 2026, as long as the individual’s unemployment continues to be a direct result of the disaster.
Additionally, DUA applications are only being accepted by phone. If an individual applies for benefits, they will automatically receive their benefits via debit card unless they had a previous claim where they received direct deposit.
A claimant may change their payment method to direct deposit at any time by logging onto their claimant homepage on the Unemployment Insurance Tax & Claims system at https://www.jobs.state.nm.us.
For more information on the DUA program, visit here.
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