VIDOL Administers Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation
Public partnership encouraged to continue monitoring the system and help share information.

USVI-May 27, 2020- The Virgin Islands Department of Labor (VIDOL) has launched the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program. This will provide an additional $600 dollars per week in benefits to those who are eligible.

“We are happy to announce with the implementation of Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program under the CARES Act, today VIDOL has issued over $8.5 million dollars in payments to Virgin Islands residents. This represents over 3,000 checks for the largest one day check run within the Virgin Islands Department of Labor’s Unemployment Insurance program. This will assist in the re-stablization of the Virgin Islands economy,” commented VIDOL Commissioner, Gary Molloy.

These payments are the start of the FPUC program in the Virgin Islands. The program period runs from April 4, 2020 to July 31, 2020.

This marks the second program that the VIDOL has administered under the CARES Act. FPUC will continue to bring relief to residents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As reminder, the first program implemented was the waiver of the waiting week.

The next program to be launched is the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which includes the self-employed, independent contractors, taxi drivers, gig workers and other individuals who would not normally qualify for regular unemployment insurance benefits. PUA will assist those who are directly impacted by the Cornavirus in at least one of the ten COVID-19 related areas.

At this point, VIDOL has received over 8,000 applications. We are diligently processing the applications and converting them into claims, processing continued weekly claims, and issuing checks daily. In addition, VIDOL acknowledges that many individuals have not received assistance to date. The Department is working feverishly to ensure that only those who are eligible to receive benefits do so but in a more timely fashion.

The public is invited to contact the Call Center, which can be accessed 24/7, at telephone number: 1-877-374-0356, for assistance with filling out the online application. For answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) regarding expanded benefits please look on our website at www.vidol.gov and/or our Facebook page: @USVIDOL.