(The Center Square)  – Kansas workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic will no longer have to wait a week to receive unemployment benefits.

Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday announced the signing of an executive order that provides temporarily relief from the requirement that Kansans wait a week before applying for unemployment benefits.

“Kansans who have a lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19 cannot afford to wait a week to receive the unemployment benefits they need to make rent payments or feed their families,” Kelly said in a news release. “This executive order will be crucial in our state’s ongoing response to the pandemic and to ensuring unemployed Kansans can access their benefits as soon as possible.”

The executive order temporarily waives what has been called the "waiting week" requirement for all new applicants for unemployment benefits. For states that have temporarily waived the waiting week requirement, Congress will pay for 50% of the first week of unemployment until March 14, 2021.