Nearly 217,500 not eligible for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits, Nevada officials say

Officials at the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation say nearly 217,500 people who applied for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program will be notified over the next three weeks that they are ineligible for those benefits.

PUA is the program created to provide benefits to the self-employed and gig workers not otherwise eligible for regular unemployment benefits. But since those claims aren’t tied to a specific licensed business, there have been charges that thousands of scammers are abusing PUA to illegally get money.

According to a release by DETR officials, staff members have been working to verify the identity of PUA claimants and, if they can’t validate the ID, those cases are ruled ineligible for benefits.

Those who were wrongly ruled ineligible, have no verification issue or have already verified their identity are not required to appeal. They can contact the PUA call center at 775-298-6007 and address any issues with their claim.

But a spokesman said DETR has identified a large number of questionable claims. In each case, the claimant either did not follow through with an ID.me request for information or the claim was flagged for a questionable identity.

DETR contracted with ID.me to confirm claimant identities. Those who received a message requesting identity verification are urged to respond by clicking the green button and follow instructions. Information on how to file an appeal will be provided.

The appeal request must be filed within 11 days after the date or mailing of the notice of ineligibility. Appeals can be filed online at EmployNV.gov.