Lost Wages Assistance Program will provide temporary support for California workers

The “Lost Wages Assistance” (LWA) program provides grants to participating states in order to fund a $300 per week supplementary payment to individuals receiving unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, so long as they meet certain eligibility requirements. On August 22nd, the California Employment Development Department (EDD) announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had approved California’s application and would provide an initial amount of $4.5 billion and that the state would provide the benefits for a minimum of three weeks, and more funding was possible. This Data Point provides an overview of the impact of the LWA program in California as well as policy considerations for any additional federal unemployment supports.