Wyoming Department of Workforce Services

Does your non-health-related business need personal protective equipment?

If your business is a non-healthcare industry and you need personal protective equipment (PPE) for your employees or clients, complete this form to apply for PPE from the Office of Homeland Security.

Did your company receive the Payroll Protection Program Loan?

Consider starting the pay with the most current pay period.

If your company received the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan and you intend to pay your employees for 8 weeks, consider starting the pay with the most current pay period rather than paying previous weeks. This will alleviate the establishment of large unemployment insurance overpayments, which your employees will be responsible to repay, and will help ease the financial burdens on your employees. Please contact us so that the claims can be adjusted to reflect any wages paid.

If you will be paying your employees wages with the PPP loan, please report the following for each employee who is filing for unemployment insurance by sending a spreadsheet with the following details to erin-adj@wyo.gov or calling 307-235-3236:

Employee Name
Last four of SSN
Pay Period Start date
Gross amount paid for each week
Number of hours paid per week

Have your employees been asked to return to work and refused?

Employees cannot refuse work to continue receiving unemployment insurance benefits, without "good cause." This includes all programs, regular unemployment insurance, PEUC, PUA and FPUC. Work Refusal issues must be adjudicated to determine the cause. Quitting work or refusing work without “good cause” to obtain UI benefits can be considered fraud. Work refusals can be reported by email to erin-adj@wyo.gov or call 307-235-3236.

LAYOFF AVERSION

The demand for the first round of the Layoff Aversion grants has exceeded the funding. Additional funding sources are being explored. When additional funding has been secured, the applications for Layoff Aversion grants will be reopened and a notification will be posted on this page.

• Layoff Aversion Grants
• Application for Layoff Aversion Funds

BUSINESS CLOSURES

If businesses are completely closing, business owners should inform their employees of this in writing and that all employees are laid off until further notice. It is very important for businesses to also file a WARN Notice. Both of these actions help track closures and provide workers with documentation to claim Unemployment Insurance. WARN Notices help trigger additional state and federal funding for our region that can be utilized in flexible ways to help people during this crisis.

RAPID RESPONSE

Rapid Response is a proactive, business-focused, and flexible strategy designed for two major purposes:

1. To respond to announcements of layoffs and plant closings by quickly coordinating services and providing immediate aid to companies and their affected workers to ensure rapid reemployment, and to minimize the negative impacts of the layoff.
2. To help growing companies access the resources they need to continue to be successful, including helping meet existing and future talent needs.

Our Rapid Response Team can provide services to help company leadership and affected workers through the painful transitions associated with job loss. We help affected workers apply for unemployment benefits, access other income support and healthcare resources, and connect to training and reemployment services.

In response to the current state of the workforce impacted by COVID-19, there is an option to conduct Rapid Response sessions virtually.

For assistance, please contact your local Workforce Center.

WYOMING BUSINESS COUNCIL

The Wyoming Business Council is offering a host of resources to businesses and employers. Learn more here.

CARES ACT

The CARES Act includes:

Increased Unemployment Insurance compensation benefits: This emergency benefit provides most individuals an emergency increase in traditional unemployment insurance benefits of $600 per week through July 26, 2020. This increase will be added automatically to claims that qualify. There is no need to apply for this benefit. These payments, and the back-pay for those who qualified between March 29 and the date the benefits are paid, will be processed beginning the end of the week of April 27, if not sooner.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA): This emergency benefit provides up to 39 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits to people not otherwise eligible for regular unemployment, including the self-employed and those who have exhausted their regular and extended benefits.

Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC): This benefit provides an additional 13 weeks of emergency unemployment insurance for people who remain unemployed after they have exhausted their traditional unemployment benefits. DWS is diligently working to create the system necessary to implement the PEUC, and a notification will be posted on wyomingworkforce.org when this system is open and ready for applications. Payments will be retroactive to March 29 for those who qualified before the system becomes open.

CARES claimants will be able to file Unemployment Insurance claims online at wyui.wyo.gov as soon as the system is in place.