After you have lost your job, the last thing you want to have is a bunch of denial letters from your state’s department of unemployment informing you that your attempts to get unemployment have been denied. Learning how to get unemployment is a bit of an art form and you need to understand the basic rules and requirements related to receiving weekly compensation checks while you are out of work and looking for a new job. Although each state has their own specific set of requirements, there is a clear similarity and trend among all states when it comes to applying for and receiving unemployment benefits. We’ll discuss these trends and similarities below.
As you begin on your journey to get unemployment insurance payments you need to be aware of a few universal requirements. First, benefits are only paid on a temporary basis and are not provided to individuals as any type of entitlement. In other words, the state department of welfare wants you employed again as soon as possible after they start paying you and they won’t give you a dime unless you clearly show that you meet each of their individual requirements. Second, the state will look at why and how you lost your job. People who purposefully quit or were fired due to their own fault are excluded from ever getting paid. The unemployment insurance program is meant to help those who didn’t put themselves in that position with their own poor and/or purposeful choices.
Third, the state will want to know who you worked for before you began learning how to get unemployment and how much money you made with each employer. Typically your state will ask for 18 months of work history, but some states may go as far back as 24 months. The purpose for these inquiries revolves all around unemployment taxes (also known as payroll taxes sometimes too). Unemployment taxes are paid (in most states) by most employers each time an employee receives a paycheck. Those taxes are used to help make weekly claim payments to individuals who are currently on the unemployment rolls. The state wants to make sure that your employer was previously paying taxes on your behalf into the unemployment system and that the amounts paid meet certain thresholds put forth by Congress.
Finally, the state will want to know what your future employment intentions are. Unemployment benefits are only available to people who are truly intending to be out of work for a limited duration of time. Each applicant must show that he or she is willing and able to find a new job as soon as possible.
If you can demonstrate that you meet each of these requirements you should have your unemployment claim application approved.
Submitting An Unemployment Application
One of the easier parts to learning how to get unemployment is finding and submitting an application. In general, there are three ways to file your unemployment application. First, the easiest way is to go to your state’s department of unemployment website and complete the application there. Second, you can print an application from the state’s website, hand fill it out and mail it back to your unemployment office. Finally, you may also find your closest unemployment office and submit the application by hand.
Source: nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/unemployment-compensation-benefits-employee-eligibility-29898.html
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