Workers may be eligible for aid

SCOTT WYLAND, THE OLYMPIAN

THURSTON COUNTY -- Business owners and workers who suffered loss of income because of last week's earthquake might be eligible for state and federal aid.

Starting today, employees who were sent home because the earthquake left their workplaces unsafe can apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency funds known as "disaster unemployment assurance."

The state Employment Security Department will administer the federal funds.

Workers also can apply for state jobless benefits. But they can't receive state benefits and FEMA money at the same time.

"This (FEMA) program is designed to cover people not covered by unemployment," said Mel Hurd, an Employment Security agent who helps administer the program.

Earthquake victims can collect between $120 and $478 a week in FEMA money, the same as jobless benefits, Hurd said. The funds also will cover business owners and those injured so badly in the quake that they can no longer work.

The one catch is that the program doesn't kick in until Sunday, which means it won't cover work missed Wednesday through Saturday, Hurd said.

However, that's still better than regular unemployment benefits, which require workers to wait a full week before applying, he said.

To apply for assistance, a person must call FEMA's toll-free number, (866) 416-7274, and request the necessary forms, Hurd said.

Small-business owners who were forced to shut down can also apply for low-interest loans up to $1.5 million to help pay their bills, said Rick Jenkins, spokesman for the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The interest rates are set at 4 percent, and the payments can be stretched out over 30 years, he said.

Jenkins said he suspects the earthquake hit mostly modest-sized businesses in South Sound.

"When you're talking downtown businesses -- main-street businesses -- they're small businesses," he said.

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