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First round of $1000 'Back to Work CT' bonus payments go out this week

The program will give a $1,000 bonus payment to the first 10,000 unemployed qualified individuals who land a job and keep it for two months.

HARTFORD, Conn. — Editor's Note: The video above is from May 2021.

The long-awaited payments of $1,000 part of the state’s “Back to Work CT” initiative are set to be mailed out this week to more than 1,500 people, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday.

The state launched the program back in May as part of a campaign to motivate people on unemployment during the pandemic to begin looking for jobs again. The program will give a $1000 bonus to the first 10,000 unemployed qualified individuals who land the job and keep it for two months.

The money for the program comes from Connecticut’s Coronavirus Relief Fund, which uses federal funding obtained through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). About $10 million has been allocated for the program and it runs until Dec. 31, 2021.

RELATED: $1,000 back-to-work 'signing bonus' launches Monday, but some doubt it will inspire job-seekers

“Many workers who were displaced during the early months in the pandemic and faced long-term unemployment are now transitioning back into the workforce and starting to rebuild,” Lamont said in a statement Monday. “This one-time bonus payment will help some of those workers pay for the critical things they need to get back to work, including childcare. This is the latest tool in our toolbox to maximize our state’s recovery from the pandemic.”

According to Jim Polites of the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services, more than 7,000 applications have been submitted for the "Back to Work CT" program.

To be eligible for a “Back to Work CT” payment, a person must:

  • Have filed an unemployment compensation weekly claim with the State of Connecticut for the week May 23-29, 2021
  • Have filed an unemployment compensation weekly claim with the State of Connecticut for 11 additional weeks between December 27, 2020, and May 22, 2021
  • Obtain and maintain a full-time job for eight consecutive weeks between May 30 and December 31, 2021   
  • Not file an unemployment compensation weekly claim with the State of Connecticut for any portion of the required eight consecutive weeks of employment

To claim the $1000 bonus payment, a resident who meets the criteria is required to complete the “Back to Work CT” application electronically. No paper applications are accepted.

Click here for the online application.

RELATED: Revised telework agreement reached between CT state employees and Lamont administration

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