Yuma County COVID-19 Employment Resources

Unemployment Fraud Alert

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE FRAUD ALERT

This is a Fraud Alert from the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Labor. Be aware that your personal information may be used fraudulently without your permission.

Fraudsters are perpetrating numerous schemes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In one scheme, scammers have offered to help individuals file claims for unemployment benefits. The scammers then ask for personal information including social security numbers and dates of birth. The scammers may ask you to provide payment, or your credit card information, in assisting you in filing or qualifying for your unemployment benefits. You do not need to pay anyone to file or qualify for your benefits. Victims of these scams face potential harm. The personal information the scammers

collect may be used to commit identity theft to file fraudulent unemployment insurance claims. Unsolicited calls, social media platforms, and door-to-door visits are several ways that individuals have been targeted.

If you would like to report an allegation of fraud involving unemployment insurance or other U.S. Department of Labor activities or programs, please contact the OIG Hotline at: https://www.oig.dol.gov/hotline.htm or 202-693-6999 or 1-800-347-3756.

Resources for laid-off and Unpaid Employees

[email protected] County is working side-by-side with you as we work toward resiliency following the economic and workforce difficulties posed by COVID-19. The effects of “precaution” are being felt here in Yuma County. We are committed to do everything we can to help ease the burden of our businesses and workforce as we work through this together

[email protected] – Yuma County has access to federal and state Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding to assist in a variety of ways:

• [email protected] – Yuma County is a resource for employees laid off from their job. Reach out for assistance with Unemployment Insurance benefits by registering an Arizona Job Unemployment Insurance, www.azui.gov. NOTE – We recommend when applying include a reason for separation – “COVID-19”.
• [email protected] – Yuma County also assists employers with Layoff Aversion strategies and resilience planning.
• Employers (Dislocated Workers) who have been separated from income have access to WOIA services due to COVID-19 layoffs.

Employers: If you are facing closure, layoffs or furloughs, please contact us at (928) 329-0990 and ask for a Business Services Consultant or email us at [email protected]

Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act

EMPLOYERS REQUIRED TO PROVIDE WARN NOTIFICATION

A WARN notice is required when a business with 100 or more full-time workers (not counting workers who have less than 6 months on the job and workers who work fewer than 20 hours per week) is laying off at least 50 people at a single site of employment (see glossary and FAQs), or employs 100 or more workers who work at least a combined 4,000 hours per week, and is a private for-profit business, private non-profit organization, or quasi-public entity separately organized from regular government.

WARN ACT NOTICE LINK: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/Layoff/pdfs/_EmployerWARN2003.pdf

CONTENTS OF NOTICE TO THE DISLOCATED WORKER UNIT AND THE LOCAL CHIEF ELECTED OFFICIAL

Advance notice should be given to the State Rapid Response Dislocated Worker Unit as well as to the chief elected official of the local government where the closing or mass layoff is to occur. If there is more than one such unit, the "tiebreaker" is the local government to which the employer paid the most taxes in the preceding year. However, if many affected employees live in nearby local government jurisdictions, it is also helpful to provide notice to those additional local governments so that coordinated planning of services for those employees to be laid off may begin quickly. Notice to the State Rapid Response Dislocated Worker Unit and the local chief elected official must contain at a minimum:

• The name and address where the mass layoff or plant closing is to occur, along with the name and telephone number of a company contact person who can provide additional information;
• An explanation of whether the employment loss will be temporary or permanent, and whether the entire plant is being closed;
• The expected date of the first job losses, along with a schedule of any further employment reductions;
• The job titles of positions that will be affected and the number of affected employees in each job category;
• A statement of bumping rights, if any exist; and
• The name of each union/employee representative and the name and address of the chief elected officer of each union. The WARN regulations also allow employers to provide alternative notice to the State Rapid Response Dislocated Worker Unit and the chief local elected official. The alternative form must be a written notice that provides the following information:
• The name and address of the employment site where the plant closing or mass layoff will occur;
• The name and telephone number of a company official to contact for further information;
• The expected date of separation; and
• The number of affected employees. Employers who choose to provide the alternative form of notice must keep accessible all other information outlined above and provide it to the State Rapid Response Dislocated Worker Unit and local government upon request. Any failure to provide this additional information will be deemed a failure to give required WARN notice.

Send WARN Notices and direct questions to:

State Rapid Response Coordinator
Employer Engagement Administration
Arizona Department of Economic Security
P.O. Box 6123, Mail Drop 5574
Phoenix, Arizona 85012
Phone: (602) 542-7966
Fax: (602) 542-2491
[email protected]

Non-WARN Layoffs

Non-WARN layoffs are reported by employers who are experiencing plant closures or layoffs that are not required to report through the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN).

Under Governor Doug Ducey’s leadership, the State of Arizona is prioritizing the health and safety of its residents. Businesses in the state are adhering closely to the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Arizona Department of Health Services.

The Arizona Commerce Authority has gathered resources to support businesses and employees as they help combat the spread of COVID-19. This site will be updated regularly as new information becomes available.

Learn more at Arizona Commerce Authority