Gov. David Ige confirmed on Tuesday that Hawaiʻi will apply to participate in a new unemployment insurance plus up program called the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) Program. The program, under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), was created by President Donald Trump via a memorandum earlier this month in response to the July expiration of the unemployment $600 weekly benefit.

Initially, Gov. Ige had said he wanted to see if Congress would reimpose an additional benefit, and then needed to make sure the money would be there and understand the conditions for using it.   But with Congress not approving any additional unemployment benefits after the $600 added Federal unemployment expired July 31, families in the state have just not had enough money to get by.

Once the Federal Government approves, Hawaiʻi will offer an additional unemployment compensation benefit of $300 per week to eligible unemployment recipients. To qualify for this benefit, recipients must be eligible for at least $100 in weekly benefit and must certify that they are unemployed or partially unemployed due to the disruptions caused by COVID-19. Payments would be retroactive to August 1, 2020.

When FEMA exhausts the grant funding, the additional payments will stop.

The Hawaii State Unemployment Division’s website says it’s waiting for guidance on how to administer the program so people may apply.