Unemployment insurance aims to provide laid-off workers with temporary financial assistance. Each state administers its unemployment insurance program based on federal unemployment guidelines and requirements.
How To File For Unemployment
You will need to file for unemployment online, by telephone, or in person at your local unemployment office. Be prepared to provide them with information such as your former employment dates, wages, contact information, and brief employment history.
Failure to provide them with complete and accurate information means risking lengthy delays before you can receive your benefits.
It generally takes three to four weeks to receive your first unemployment check once your completed claim has been filed.
Determining your base pay period
The states must establish a base pay period for the wages they earn. This varies by state, but most usually consider the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the time your first file your unemployment claim.
States must follow federal guidelines
Under federal law, each state must determine how it will administer its unemployment insurance programs. This is because eligibility requirements vary from one jurisdiction to another.
Employed workers who lose their job through no fault of their own may be eligible to receive money through the government’s unemployment insurance program. The actual amount the employee will receive depends on the employee’s past earnings.
Number of weeks of benefits
While benefits will vary, workers in most states can receive up to 26 weeks of unemployment benefits.
Some States Provide Fewer Weeks
Some states provide fewer weeks. The normal range covers up to 50% of the person’s previous wages and a limit of about $500 per week. However, the maximum amount an employee can receive each week varies significantly from state to state. In most states, you may refile for extended benefits after your initial benefits period has ended.
Eligibility to receive benefits
- Your state must determine if you are eligible to receive unemployment benefits. This can turn on several different factors:
- You may not have worked enough hours in your previous job to qualify for help.
- You may have been working as an independent contractor.
- You may not have been employed for the required time to qualify for unemployment benefits. Still worse, you may have been working under the table when you were laid off, and now you cannot be eligible for unemployment benefits because you did not pay your taxes.
Termination must not have been for cause
To qualify for unemployment, your termination must not have been for cause. In other words, if you were terminated from your previous job for reasons other than lack of work, there is a fair chance your unemployment claim will be denied.
You had good and lawful cause for resigning from employment
To collect unemployment compensation while quitting your employment, you will need to establish a good cause. You must show there were compelling reasons to leave the job.
The following reasons are considered good causes:
- You were a target of unlawful discrimination.
- You were forced to resign because of a substantial reduction in your pay.
- Your company threatened to terminate you if you did not voluntarily resign.
- You were the target of discrimination.
- You quit because you were forced to do work under dangerous conditions.
Right of appeal if your claim was denied
If your unemployment claim is denied, you have the legal right to file an appeal. Your previous employer can also appeal if your employer disagrees with determining the state of your eligibility to receive unemployment benefits.
It might not even be considered the employee’s fault, even if the employee decided to quit the job – so long as there was a compelling reason for leaving. But if an employee terminates without a good reason or was fired for misconduct, the employee probably won’t be entitled to unemployment benefits.
Taxes on unemployment income
Unemployment benefits are considered taxable income. However, it should be noted that during active periods of the COVID lockdown, under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, you were allowed to exempt some unemployment benefits from federal income tax.
Specifically, the American Rescue plan exempted amounts under $10,200. Over that amount, each individual was still taxable. This meant that if you’re modified adjusted gross income was $150,000 or more, you could not exclude any of your unemployment compensation from your taxes.
Finding other work
You should also be aware that if you earned additional income while receiving unemployment benefits, you would be required to reduce the number of benefits you are receiving. To find information on how your state administers its unemployment insurance program as well as assisting in finding work, visit the following state resource finder.
State Labor Offices
AL | AK | AR | AZ | CA | CT | CO | DC | DE | FL | GA | GU | HI | IA | ID | IL | IN | KS | KY | LA | MA | MD | ME | MI | MN | MO | MP | MS | MT | NE | NC | ND | NH | NJ | NM | NV | NY | OH | OK | OR | PA | PR | RI | SC | SD | TN | TX | UT | VA | VI | VT | WA | WI | WV | WY
Reference Source: U.S. Department of Labor
