PUA disbursement extended anew

The CNMI Department of Labor has been given another extension on its Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which would allow DOL to continue to adjudicate and disburse PUA to eligible beneficiaries past the end of this month.

Labor Secretary Leila Staffler said the U.S. Department of Labor has granted the CNMI’s request for another extension on its PUA program. This means DOL will continue to adjudicate and disburse PUA funds for another year.

PUA was initially supposed to expire on June 30, 2022, but was extended to June 30, 2023. However, following the request for an extension, the program has been extended anew.

“We got a renewal for PUA. This month, PUA was supposed to come to an end but because we still have like 3,000 clients who have not received their money yet, and because of the long arduous process it takes to go through all of that, the U.S. government did give our PUA program an extension of another year so we are working diligently to continue trying to get those numbers as far down as we can,” she said.

Staffler said she is hopeful her team will be able to get all eligible applicants their PUA benefits before the end of the extension. However, in the event that DOL can’t, she assures the community that she will ask USDOL for another extension.

The DOL secretary continues to ask the community to bear with the PUA program as the men and women on the team work to get payments out as soon as possible.

“Im really proud of our PUA team and how hard they work. There wasn’t a lot of communication in the beginning but now we’re being more transparent about how the process works, and how it has changed. I know that they’re feeling a different work flow as well,” she said.

Meanwhile, DOL is reminding individuals who have received Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation benefits in the CNMI and were found to have been overpaid to contact DOL to settle the overpayment.

Recipients who have received a Notice of Overpayment are encouraged to promptly repay the overpaid balance.

To assist in the repayment process, DOL offers options, including making a one-time payment, setting up a scheduled repayment plan, or having the overpayment deducted from future PUA benefits, if applicable. To explore your repayment options, contact the DOL’s Benefit Payment Control Unit.

If you have questions about your PUA benefits or overpayments in the CNMI, contact the CNMI Department of Labor Benefit Payment Control Unit at (670) 322-9941, (670) 322–9943, or (670) 322-9944 for more information or email bpc.cnmidol@gmail.com.