BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Workforce Commission has made information available for people who are out of work amid business closures because of COVID-19.

New details released Wednesday, April 8th

Federal money earmarked to add $600 to unemployment funds has been provided by the U.S. government.  The additional $600 will begin to be deposited to people Monday (April 13).

Also on Wednesday (April 8), the governor said new federal funds also earmark unemployment benefits for "gig workers.  People should continue to apply and update application information. 

Click HERE for an overall explanation by the state.

Click HERE to begin the application for employment assistance.

Click HERE to sign up to be contacted by the state.

Click HERE for a memo from the Workforce Commission to workers about assistance. 

Click HERE for for details about the Bartender Emergency Assistance Program

The Claim Center hotline is: 866-783-5567. Hours were extended from 8 a.m.- 7 p.m.

Last night, state received funding from CARES Act to pay
additional unemployment benefits

Those will now include an additional $600/weekly through July @LouisianaGov says. Includes gig workers, 1099 workers, self-employed people.

Payments will start Monday.

— Johnston von Springer (@johnstonvon) April 8, 2020

If you are already receiving unemployment in Louisiana, you don't need to do anything else (besides re-certify that you are out of work EACH week) to receive the $600/week federal unemployment.

For gig workers/self employed/1099 APPLY NOW even if you've been denied previously

— Johnston von Springer (@johnstonvon) April 8, 2020

The state said it has more than $1 billion in its trust fund and may have benefits on-hand for every employee for more than a year.

A stay at home order that began on Monday, March 23, at 5 p.m. significantly increased the number of people out of work. 

March 1 through April 4 - 277,000 residents filed with LWC for unemployments benefits

In all of 2019 - 103,000 people filed for benefits

April 5th through 8th - $25.5 million in unemployment benefits

The previous two weeks: $21.2 million and $4.8 million had been paid out

— Johnston von Springer (@johnstonvon) April 8, 2020

When wide-spread closures were announced amid the growing virus situation, area business associations reported there were more than 1,600 restaurants and bars in the Baton Rouge area with about 29,800 employees. The businesses reported $583 million in earnings in 2019 and paid nearly $110 million in taxes.

If you have trouble filing claims

Some people have found difficulty in resetting a previous password for the state's unemployment setup online.  The state asked for anyone experiencing trouble with a reset to send an email to hire@lwc.la.gov.  The subject line should be Password Reset.  The email must contain the person's name, phone number, and last four digits of their social security number. 

Get the latest information about COVID-19 cases in Louisiana HERE.