Iowans who don’t return to work because of fears of coronavirus safety may lose jobless benefits if their employer resumes business, Iowa Workforce Development director Beth Townsend said in a press conference with Gov. Kim Reynolds Wednesday.

Townsend provided a list of conditions that qualify people for pandemic unemployment assistance through the state, but claims of an unsafe workplace alone are not enough to keep benefits.

28,827 new unemployment claims were filed last week in Iowa, for a total of more than 170,000 Iowans claiming jobless benefits according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Townsend said more than $327 million has been paid in federal pandemic unemployment compensation payments to Iowans since April 4.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance is a program that allows workers to claim unemployment benefits that would otherwise not be eligible. Workers can qualify for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance if they meet one of the following conditions:

• They have been diagnosed with COVID-19
• A member of their household has been diagnosed with COVID-19
• Themselves or a member of their household are at a high risk for COVID-19
• They lack childcare due to COVID-19
• They can’t reach their place of employment due to COVID-19

If workers don’t meet one of these conditions, they may stand to lose their benefits if they don’t return to work out of safety concerns. Iowa Code allows workers to collect unemployment benefits if they quit their job due to “unsafe,” “intolerable,” or “detrimental” working conditions, but Townsend said claims from the employee alone are not enough to meet this requirement.

“If an employer establishes that they have taken the necessary steps, such as following industry standards established by OSHA guidelines…and following appropriate social distancing recommendations, it may be difficult to establish a good faith basis to quit due to safety concerns,” she said.