Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) is a federal program. To qualify for PUA, you must be unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work because of one or more of the COVID-19 reasons prescribed by the United States Department of Labor.

Examples of reasons you may be unemployed due to COVID-19:

• You have been diagnosed with COVID-19or you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and are seeking a medical diagnosis. 
• A member of your household has been diagnosed with COVID-19. 
• You are providing care for a family member or a member of your household who has been diagnosed with COVID-19. 
• A child or other person in your household for whom you have primary caregiving responsibility is unable to attend school or another facility that is closed due to COVID-19 (and such care facility is required for you to work). 
• You are unable to go to work because you have been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine. 
• You are unable to go to your workplace because of a quarantine imposed as a direct result of the COVID-19 public health emergency. 
• You were scheduled to start a job but do not have a job or are unable to reach the job as a direct result of COVID-19. 
• You have become the breadwinner or major support for your household because the head of household died as a direct result of COVID-19. 
• You quit your job as a direct result of COVID-19. 
• Your place of employment is closed due to COVID-19. 
• You are self-employed (including an independent contractor and gig worker) and experienced a significant reduction of my customary or usual services because of COVID-19. 
• You were denied continued unemployment benefits because you refused to return to work or accept an offer of work at a worksite that, in either instance, is not in compliance with local, state, or national health and safety standards directly related to COVID-19. This includes but is not limited to, those related to facial mask wearing, physical distancing measures, or the provision of personal protective equipment consistent with public health guidelines. 
• You provide services to educational institutions or educational service agency and are unemployed or partially unemployed because of volatility in the work schedule that is directly caused by the COVID-19 public health emergency. This includes, but is not limited to, changes in schedules and partial closures. 
• Your hours have been reduced due to COVID-19 or you were laid off as a direct result of COVID-19.