Governor Andy Beshear announced Thursday that his office has applied for disaster unemployment assistance through the U.S. Department of Labor — following Kentucky’s destructive bout with tornadoes on the night of December 10.
With damage recorded in at least 18 of the Commonwealth’s 120 counties, Beshear noted that several Kentuckians aren’t just without homes, belongings and vehicles after these storms, but also jobs — as scores of industries, small businesses and everything in between were affected in varying degrees.
And no job, means no income to rebuild.
Beshear added he already has personnel tagged to man makeshift unemployment office across the state, which if approved will be established at the Trigg County Library, the McCracken County Library, the Mayfield Wal-Mart location, the Butler County Library, the Hardin County Library and Bowling Green’s GM Plant.
Typically, those who efficiently file for unemployment under the best of circumstances have to wait one week before payments start to arrive.
Beshear is hoping to have that week waived, as well.
These complications come as the unemployment system has faced extreme overload, insecurity and at times complete failure during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic — as several thousand Kentuckians remain backlogged within the system from previous layoffs and business closings.
