CNMI Department of Labor Secretary Leila Fleming Staffler said the approval process for Disaster Unemployment Assistance is taking longer than anticipated.
“We remain in close communication with federal partners and continue to provide the necessary information to support the review process. Following previous typhoons, approvals were received within approximately six weeks. However, we understand that in some states impacted by recent disasters, Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) approvals have taken several months to finalize,” Staffler told Marianas Press.
She added, “We remain hopeful that the CNMI process will move forward more quickly. At the same time, because the CNMI does not operate a permanent Unemployment Insurance (UI) program, establishing a temporary DUA program requires additional startup coordination, systems development, and administrative approvals compared to jurisdictions with existing UI infrastructure already in place.”
Staffler concluded, “We thank the public for their patience as we continue to pursue this post disaster program support.”
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