Some help is here for people who have had trouble trying to apply for the state's "Hero Pay" program online, according to the Office of the State Comptroller.
The program is aimed at providing up to $1,000 in pandemic pay for eligible, private-sector essential workers who were employed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state launched the application process for the program earlier this month, but many people have complained they have had trouble getting onto the site or completing the application process.
There has been a backlog of voicemails due to high demand, according to the Office of the State Comptroller.
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As of Monday, anyone who leaves a voicemail will get an automated callback with help for the most common issues people are calling about. Some of the tech issues are fairly easily resolved, and some can be fixed with a simple page refresh, the agency said. If users still need more help for an issue that may not be as common, they can press a button to request a call back from a person.
The Helpline number is 833-660-2503.
In addition, the vendor that is running the program has begun auto-confirming registrations for anyone who created an account during the pre-launch period but wasn't able to start an application at that time. People will be told to log in with their email and password to begin the process.
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In all, the Office of the State Comptroller says more than 221,000 users have registered for the program and more than 85,000 have completely finished their applications.
Workers are not in competition with each other for the funds. It's not a first-come, first-served program and everyone will have until Oct. 1 to apply.
Every application received before that deadline will be treated equally regardless of when it’s submitted, the agency said.
Are You Eligible to Apply?
You are eligible to apply if:
- You were employed as an essential worker in Connecticut between March 10, 2020 and May 7, 2022
- You were not able to work from home
- You were not employed by a federal, state or municipal government agency
- You earned $149,999 or less
A link is available on the Premium Pay Program website.
How Hero Pay Payments are Calculated
Full-Time Employees:
- $1,000 if you earned less than $100,000
- $800 if you earned between $100,000 and $109,999
- $600 if you earned between $110,000 and $119,999
- $400 if you earned between $120,000 and $129,999
- $200 if you earned between $130,000 and $149,999
Part-Time Employees:
- $500
Note: If the amount in the Connecticut premium pay account is not sufficient to fully fund all approved applicants according to this formula, then all approved applicants' payments shall be reduced proportionally.
Payments will be made in early 2023 after the submissions of all applications.
