Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced on Monday that she’s signed an executive order to provide temporary relief from the waiting week requirement for Kansans applying for unemployment benefits.
The “waiting week” is a required non-payable week that typically needs to be served on new benefit years. Gov. Kelly said Kansans who have lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19 cannot afford to wait a week to receive the unemployment benefits they need to make rent payments or feed their families.
For states that have temporarily waived the waiting week requirement, Congress will federally fund 50% of the first week of compensable regular unemployment until March 14, 2021. The Governor says the order is crucial in the state’s ongoing response to the pandemic.