Gov. Doug Ducey issued an executive order Friday afternoon that loosens restrictions on who can access unemployment benefits during the pandemic.

The governor’s order waives a rule requiring workers to wait one-week after losing their job to apply for unemployment benefits.

It also waives a requirement that to receive those benefits, they must actively be searching for work.

Benefits will now be available to people at businesses that have temporarily closed, even if they weren’t let go. 

Individuals who still have a job, but have been forced into quarantine, will also be covered.

Ducey’s order doesn’t change how much the state offers the unemployed.

At $240 a week, Arizona’s benefits are among the lowest in the nation.

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