BATON ROUGE - More parishes are now eligible for disaster unemployment assistance with West Baton Rouge and St. James parishes now added to the list.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission is currently also accepting applications for DUA from workers and self-employed individuals who lost work or earnings as a result of flooding in the following parishes: Acadia, Ascension, Avoyelles, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson Davis, Livingston, St. Helena, St. Martin, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Lafayette, Pointe Coupee, St. Landry, Washington, West Feliciana and Vermilion.

The deadline for applications is Oct. 14.

Disaster unemployment assistance is available to people who meet the following conditions:

• Worked or were self-employed or were scheduled to begin work or self-employment;

• Can no longer work or perform services because of physical damage of destruction to the place of employment as a direct result of the disaster;

• Can establish that the work or self-employment they can no longer perform was their principal source of income; 

• Do not qualify for regular unemployment benefits from any state;

• 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 of the head of household.

Applicants must submit their Social Security number, check stubs and documentation to support the claim that they were working or self-employed when the disaster occurred. In some cases, additional documentation may be required. To receive DUA benefits, all required documentation must be submitted within 21 days from the date the DUA application is filed.

DUA is available from weeks of unemployment beginning August 14, 2016 and up to February 18, 2017, as long as the individual’s unemployment continues to be a result of the disaster.

Applicants are encouraged to visit www.laworks.net to complete the process.