PIERRE, SD – Governor Kristi Noem and the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation have announced South Dakota will terminate its participation in the federal government’s pandemic-related unemployment assistance programs.
In a release, state Labor and Regulation Secretary Marcia Hultman says ending the programs is a necessary step toward recovery, growth and getting people back to work.
South Dakota was the only state to not apply for the federal Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) supplement last fall. Additionally, South Dakota did not opt into the federal Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation (MEUC) program in December 2020.
South Dakota elected to participate in three unemployment-related programs in connection with the CARES Act and Continued Assistance to Unemployed Workers Act of 2020.
The termination will be effective on the week ending June 26, 2021, for all three programs.
It means South Dakotans on unemployment will no longer receive the supplemental $300 weekly payments on top of what they already received.
South Dakota will continue to pay regular State claims.
