Over $50M in unemployment aid disbursed to 5,000 claimants

Saipan-- The CNMI Department of Labor (CNMI DOL) announced on Tuesday that more than $50 million in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) payments have been disbursed to eligible and approved claimants as of Aug. 18.

Based on CNMI DOL data, all of the claims that were processed for payouts were those that were complete and without issues.

The CNMI government said DOL continues to work diligently and expeditiously to get unemployment benefits out for eligible applicants in the CNMI.

The Torres-Palacios administration has shifted personnel from other Commonwealth departments and agencies to assist CNMI DOL with this important priority of getting assistance to eligible individuals.

The labor department also announced that through its Benefits Payment Control (BPC) Unit announced on Tuesday that it has collected $108,522.46 in PUA and FPUC overpayments from ineligible CNMI-Only Transitional Workers (CW-1).

To date, 59 out of 75 identified individuals have returned PUA/FPUC benefit payments.

Over the last several months, the CNMI government has continued to work with non-profit organizations to provide humanitarian relief for CW workers, as well as residents affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Office of the Governor is monitoring federal legislation in Washington, D.C, which would enact a second stimulus check for all taxpayers in the CNMI. Updates on this will be provided by the Office of the Governor and the Department of Finance.

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