How Will Sandy Impact Jobs?

When it comes to the impact of hurricane Sandy some of the problems are really obvious, whole towns have gone missing, people have been without power and heat for days and there is a sizable death toll. That does not mean however that the physical damages are going to be the only casualties of the biggest storm to hit the North Eastern United States head on in a very long time.

For many workers Sandy is going to result in a loss of income. If you’re paid on a salary basis the odds are good that you have not given that much thought at all, after all you get the same paycheck each month. If you work on an hourly wage however, or on commission your pay situation may be a bit different. After all when an hourly worker is not at work they do not get paid. When a commission worker cannot make a sale they do not get paid.

Some states are making efforts to tame the impact of the storm and keep the workers who can get to their jobs going. The state of New York, for example, has set up a program for disaster assistance when it comes to unemployment. Here is a look at how that program works, “If you live or work in Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk or Westchester counties and you lost your income due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy, you may qualify for DUA. You may qualify for DUA even if you would not normally be able to get unemployment insurance benefits. To find out if you might be eligible for DUA, call the Telephone Claims Center (TCC) at 1-888-209-8124, or 1-877-358-5306 if you live out of state. Answer the questions to indicate that you lost your job as a direct result of Hurricane Sandy.  File your application with the New York State Department of Labor as soon as possible.  The application deadline is December 3, 2012.”

The program then went so far as to outline some of the way that impacted workers may be eligible for the benefits associated with this program “The following are examples of situations that may make you eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance: You were injured in the disaster and are unable to work, whether you are an employee or self-employed, Your workplace was damaged, destroyed, or you can’t work because of the disaster, Your transportation to work is not available because of the disaster, You cannot get to your job because you must travel through the affected area, and you cannot do that because of the disaster, You were about to begin working, but could not because of the disaster, You got most of your income from areas affected by the disaster, whether you worked for yourself or for an employer, and your business is down because of the disaster.” The state in encouraging those who are truly in need to apply as soon as possible in order to receive their benefits.