The first 15,000 qualified unemployment insurance claimants who return to work in Kentucky between now and July 30 will be eligible for a one-time $1,500 payment through a new incentive program announced Thursday by Gov. Andy Beshear.
Qualified applicants must not already have a return-to-work date. Individuals must be 18 years of age and currently an unemployed Kentucky resident. Applicants must also have an active unemployment insurance claim, among other qualifications.
The full eligibility requirements and other details are available here.
To receive funds, applicants must be among the first 15,000 that accept their employment and that are able to be verified. Beshear said the verification will occur between Aug. 1 and Oct. 1.
Additionally, employers will be responsible for completing an online application verifying that employees accepted employment between June 24 and July 30 of this year. They must also verify that employees worked 120 hours in the four weeks following the new employment.
“This arose from numerous conversations with business leaders,” Beshear said. “This ties them directly to this incentive to bring people back to work. It helps us on the verification side so we’re not having to verify 15,000 individual claims.”
Beshear said the incentive program “is a positive step towards getting some people off unemployment and back into the workforce.”
The state has set aside $22.5 million coronavirus relief money in order to fund the program.
