Iowa Workforce Development is encouraging workers impacted by COVID-19 closures to apply for unemployment benefits online to reduce large gatherings at the office.
Customers who do not have online access can call the unemployment insurance customer service line at 1-866-239-0843 and staff can file claims for over the phone.
Iowa Workforce Development announced earlier this week that it will not charge claims filed as a direct or indirect result of the outbreak to the employer’s account and fact-finding interviews will be waived.
Iowa workers laid off during the outbreak or who have to stay home to self-isolate or care for family members are eligible to receive unemployment benefits if they meet other requirements. Those include including working for wages from an employer who claims you as an employee in six of the last eighteen months, and you have earned at least $2,500 in that same time period.
Those who file benefit claims can expect to receive their first payment within seven to 10 days, the agency said.
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