April 2, 2024
(Colorado) — The Colorado Office of New Americans and the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment are pleased to announce the opening of applications for the Benefit Recovery Fund (Fund).
Colorado employers pay unemployment insurance premiums for Colorado workers who do not have work authorization. Yet these workers have historically been ineligible for unemployment assistance when they lose their jobs through no fault of their own. In 2022, Colorado established the Benefit Recovery Fund to remedy this inequity. The law allocates some of the dollars already paid on behalf of undocumented W-2 workers who have earned wages in the past 15-18 months to create the Fund. The Benefit Recovery Fund is an unemployment assistance program separate from the state unemployment insurance fund.
Managed by the Office of New Americans, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and administered by AidKit, this Fund results from collaborative efforts between community-based organizations and government agencies to support the undocumented workforce in Colorado.
Those seeking support can apply online through AidKit at https://brf.aidkit.org/apply
Contact Information:
Office of New Americans/Colorado Department of Labor and Employment
Joshua Loya
Benefit Recovery Fund Manager
303-610-0675
joshua.loya@state.co.us
For more information about the Benefit Recovery Fund application process, please visit the Benefit Recovery Fund webpage.