Georgia was recently approved for the FEMA funds issued by President Trump on August 8th to supplement unemployment assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic. The grant, referred to as the Lost Wages Act, provides an extra $300 to unemployed workers effective August 24, with the only caveat being that only individuals receiving over $100 in weekly benefits qualify to receive funding from the Lost Wages Act.  This limitation on who can receive funding has insidious consequences for the families that do not make the cut.

Your weekly benefit determination is decided based on the wages you received whilst you were still employed. This means that the families and individuals who were underpaid while they were working, whose wages were insufficient even before the pandemic, are now being condemned to live on less than $400 a month. The people directly excluded from the Lost Wages Act are the people who need the funding the most.

The way FEMA funds are distributed is left to the determination of the state government. That is why we are calling for Governor Brian Kemp and Labor Commissioner Mark Butler to remove the minimum benefit amount necessary to receive the extra $300 so that our most vulnerable populations receive the financial assistance they need and deserve.