WHO IS COVERED?
Ninety-seven percent of workers are eligible for unemployment benefits (sometimes called unemployment insurance or unemployment compensation). Although the requirements very slightly from state to state, in most states to be eligible for unemployment benefits you must meet the following qualifications:
- You must have worked at least six months in one more jobs;
- You must have earned a minimum amount of pages (see table 1.1 for your state).
- You must be able to prove you have a legal right to work in the United States;
- You just remain available to start a new job (your benefit will end if you take a new job or travel away from home for an extended period of time);
- You just remain mentally and physically capable of performing your old job or a comparable position.
EXCLUDED EMPLOYEES
Certain types of employees are categorically excluded and unable to receive unemployment insurance. These categories include employees of small farms, employees who are paid 100% commission, casual domestic workers, babysitters, newspaper carriers whom are under 18, family members who are employed by other family members, employees of religious organizations, corporate officers and elected officials.
DISQUALIFIERS
Even if you meet all the above qualifications, you can be denied unemployment benefits for any of the following reasons:
- You are terminated from your position for deliberate or repeated misconduct. Examples can include absenteeism, tardiness, sleeping on the job, violating reasonable work rules.
- You refused an offer of a similar position without a good reason. A good reason to refuse a job offer include: 1) you are physically capable to do the work; 2) the position was too far geographically from your home and your current job; 3) the new position would cause you to violate a firmly held religious belief such as working on days prohibited by your religion;
- You are applying for unemployment benefits because you went on strike or refused to cross a picket line;
- You quit your job without a good reason; this is the area where contested claims of unemployment occur most frequently. An employee resigns their position feeling they are justified in quitting their job, but the employer does not feel the employee left for an acceptable reason and contests the award of unemployment benefits.
ALLOWED REASONS FOR RESIGNING YOUR JOB
Your employer recruited and hired you for a position or job duties that were substantially different from the duties position or pay that the employer gave you once you started work.
Your employer failed to maintain safe working conditions to such a degree that your health was jeopardized, and you have evidence of it.
Your wages and/or hours were substantially cut without your consent.
Your employer maintained illegal working conditions that you were subjected to such a hostile work environment based on gender, race or other unprotected class; you will be more likely to receive benefits if you can show your employer in lieu of the situation and failed to correct it.
Your spouse had to relocate and you resigned in order to follow your spouse to their new position. This does not apply to all states but can be a crucial factor in some states.
HOW MUCH WILL MY BENEFITS BE?
Weekly benefits can vary from a low of $5 to a high of just under $1,000. Where you fall in this range will depend upon how much money you earned in your last position during your “base period.”
Base period means the first four out of the last five calendar quarters you complete working before you file your claim. Your benefits will be a percentage of your earnings during this base period. To find your state’s current benefit calculation formula go to table 1.2 (www.dol.gov).
Unemployment insurance benefits last for 26 weeks. However during the current economic crisis many states have extended benefits in additional 13 weeks. You can be eligible, therefore, for up to 39 weeks of unemployment compensation.
GATHER THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTATION
- Recent pay stubs of W2 forms, or other documents your employer has used to report your income to the IRS;
- Your social security card, or other document that shows your social security number;
- Any documentation that proves your unemployment – this can be a termination letter from your employer, a notice of layoff, a letter of dismissal.
- If you know it, your employer’s unemployment insurance account number.
IF YOU SAY THE WRONG THING YOU WILL LOOSE BENEFITS
Your unemployment insurance application will ask questions about your work history, your rates of pay, and other identifying information such as your address, telephone number, and social security number. However, the most important question on your application for unemployment benefits will be one that goes something like this:
“State in your own words what the final incident was that caused you to leave your job.”
You should keep your response short, succinct, and never use the word “fired.” Also avoid the word “termination.” Instead use a word that does not imply that your boss chose to let you go for unsatisfactory performance, such as “separated.”
You also want to avoid using the words “quit,” or “resigned.” Instead, use a phrase like “discharged despite positive appraisals.” You may also use the phrase “forced out.” Such as, “I was forced out due to the sexual harassment by my boss.” Other acceptable reasons to resign, which you state in terms of “being forced out” include being “forced out due to my membership in a protected class.”
After you complete the form, and do not admit that you were terminated for misconduct, or resigned and walked away from a good well-paying job without a good reason, you will either be interviewed in person or, perhaps over the phone. The interviewer will ask you questions about why your last job ended. Again, you just emphasize that you did not loose your job or walk away from your job due to any fault of your own. You were either laid off or you were forced out by a supervisor’s potentially illegal behavior.
During the interview do not be combative, or argumentative. Instead, see the interviewer as someone who will be helping you and taking your side once they understand your story. Keep in mind, however, that your answers must be grounded in the truth. The interviewer will also call your employer, or send written inquiries to your old boss.
While this process is continuing and wrapping up, your state may either begin sending you unemployment benefits, or require that you wait until final approval. In either case, you will be required to confirm to the unemployment office that you are looking for a new job and remaining available for work.
As a result, it’s crucial that you update your resume and spend each morning looking at Help/Want ads in the newspaper and online and sending out at least one resume. Keep a copy, or send out the resume’s return receipt requested, that way you will have proof that you have been looking for work actively.
After your claim is approved you will receive a check every two week until your benefits have exhausted, unless you are able to file for an extension, and extension are available in most states at this time.
Be sure to not only keep copies of resumes you sent out but also keep a log of the names and addresses you sent those resumes to. You will most likely have to list the companies that you applied to and indicate whether or not you had any interviews. The unemployment program cannot require you to accept your job that is unlike your regular filed of work and outside your normal range of pay. That said, it will look bad if you have repeatedly turned down job offers because the pay was too low, or the job not “responsible enough.”
To avoid this scenario make sure that you apply to positions that are within the field and pay range of those you are willing to accept.
TIPS FROM THE FRONTLINES
Enter story from the forum regarding not getting bad jobs here.
FILE AN APPEAL IF YOUR BENEFITS ARE DENIED
If the unemployment department denies your benefits you have the right to file an appeal. Your employer, likewise has the right to file an appeal if your employer believes you were improperly awarded unemployment benefits. True facts of what happened, some of these companies hire lawyers or specialized companies who work full-time are arguing against the award of unemployment benefits.
If your employer appeals your award of benefits you will receive notice in the mail. You will be able to continue receiving benefits even after your employer files the appeal. Your benefits will not stop unless the Appellet Tribunal denies your benefits and reverses the initial decision.
If your decision is denied you should receive written notice in the mail with reasons explaining why your benefits were denied. You will have one to four weeks to file an appeal. A hearing will be scheduled a few weeks after you file your appeal. You can represent yourself, or hire a lawyer to help you. The cost of a lawyer, however, can outweigh the benefits you will receive.
The hearing is typically conducted in an informal setting before an administrative law judge, whom is not a real courtroom judge. Rather the administrative law judge is an employee of the unemployment department in your state who is trained to sort out disputed claims. Before the administrative law judge at the hearing, both you and your former employer will be able to bring witnesses such as former co-workers or even a medical expert such as your doctor. Don’t worry about rules of evidence or courtroom procedures like you may have seen on TV. This will be more like a conversation around a conference table. It will not be a courtroom drama. One way that unemployment hearings are different is that a time restriction is imposed. Make sure you can tell your story clearly within the allowed time. When the hearing is over be polite to whomever appeared to represent your employer. Also be polite and thank the administrative law judge. Act like a professional and you will be treated like one.
FILING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AFTER YOUR MOVE
If you become unemployed and then moved into a new state you are allowed to file an unemployment claim in your new state. Whether or not you are awarded unemployment benefits, however, it will be determined based on the rules of the state where you lost your job. Your new state will then charge the cost of your benefits to your old state. Your unemployment claim will also take a few weeks longer.
PAYING TAXES ON UNEMPLOYEMNT AWARDS
Unemployment insurance benefits are taxable income. The benefit amounts are frequently below the taxable earning level, so many states do not take the automatic deductions and prepay your taxes for you out of your benefit check. State unemployment departments will, however, report the income they paid to you to the IRS and your state’s revenue service. In other words, you should be prepared to set aside money from your unemployment check to pay taxes. Or, if you’re confident you will begin working again during the same tax year, you can increase your withholdings in order to prepay those extra taxes before the come due.
SEVERANCE PAY CAN AFFECT UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
Accepting a severance package voluntarily in exchange for signing a release can delay unemployment benefits. Some states will not pay you unemployment benefits until after your severance pay has expired. Furthermore the unemployment department will expect that you will have been seeking a new job and have resumes and a log companies you applied to, to turn in, or you could be denied on that ground as well.