Unemployment Requirements
As the rate of unemployment in the United States rises, many people are questioning their eligibility for unemployment benefits in the event of a discharge. While every state has their own particular laws governing how UC benefits are paid, most states have many similarities.
Most states have a two-tier system of eligibility requirements. The first requirement is that you must be unemployed through no fault of your own. The second is that you must have earned sufficient wages in your base period in order to qualify. Base periods vary by state, but in general a base period is the first four of the last five calendar quarters, or the four most recent quarters. Most states require that you've worked a minimum number of weeks in that base year (16 to 20), and earned a certain amount of money in at least two of your quarters. If you are self employed or work on commission, you will probably not be eligible for unemployment benefits. Also, if you work for a tax-exempt non-profit organization, it's possible that your employer is not required to report your income to your state, and you would not be financially eligible for benefits. That's also the case with independent contractors. In most cases, if your employer pays you by 1099, you will not be eligible for unemployment, no matter why you were separated from employment. Workers who receive their payments under the table would also not be eligible.
If you worked in multiple states in your base period, you can file your claim in any state that you worked in. You don't have to live in a state to file a claim there - the only requirement is that you have wages reported to that state. Each state has a different weekly benefit amount. Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are the states with the highest maximum UC rates, so it may be beneficial to you to file in one of those states if you have worked there.
There is prorated system of establishing how many weeks of benefits you qualify for. For instance, if you worked at least 16 weeks in your base year, you would qualify for 13 weeks of regular unemployment compensation. If you had at least 20 weeks of work in your base year, you would qualify for the full amount of unemployment, which is usually 26 weeks. At times of high unemployment, federal and state governments can vote to extend unemployment benefits. Currently, most states have between 72 and 79 weeks of benefits available to people who qualify for the full 26 weeks of regular benefits.
Even if you worked 52 weeks in your base year and earned $1,000,000, you will not be eligible to receive unemployment benefits if you don't have a qualifying reason for being separated from work. Some examples of qualifying reasons would include being laid off, having your plant shut down, quitting because your spouse moved to another state or if you develop health related work restrictions that your employer can not accommodate.
In the event that you are fired from or quit your job, you may still qualify for unemployment. In general, states examine all of the facts surrounding your discharge to see if you blatantly disregarded the interests of your employer or coworkers. If you quit your job, you'll need to prove that you had no other option. For instance, if you quit your job because your car breaks down and you have no way to get to work, be prepared to show that there is no public transportation available to you, there was no one you could carpool with, and that a taxicab cost too much to make it worthwhile to keep your job.
If you are receiving severance, you may want to check with your filing state before you open a claim. Some states require you to report severance pay as income, and others don't. In the event that you have to report your severance, it may be in your best interest to not file for unemployment benefits until after your severance is finished.
One large misconception is that in order to qualify for unemployment, you have to be completely unemployed. All states have what is known as partial unemployment. If your hours are reduced due to no fault of your own, or if you lose your full time job but then get a part time job, you may be eligible to collect benefits. It won't be as much as you would have received if you were fully unemployed.
Once your claim is established, you have to continue to contact the unemployment office by phone, internet or in writing in order to file for benefits for that specific week or weeks. If you don't do that, you will not be paid for the weeks that you don't file for.
If you find yourself unemployed for any reason, contact your state's unemployment office immediately for more specific information on how to proceed. Most states have dedicated UC websites that offer a wealth of specific information and allow for online filing. Many also have handbooks made specifically to assist the newly unemployed in filing for benefits. If you're found ineligible, it's always possible to clear out the disqualification by working and earning a certain amount of money with a new employer. Even if you are ineligible for any reason, most states will still offer job search assistance, training, resume writing help and can point you in the direction of a new - and maybe even better - job.
