If anyone has questions about how Unemployment works feel free to ask here. Although I’m still in training I can answer most questions. My answers will pertain to how things are in NJ but should be accurate for other states
Hi there…
My adjunct instructor colleagues and I just want to know why some of us get such a hassle when we apply for unemployment during intersessions. (Since I filed an appeal and won it back in 1993, I haven’t had any trouble, but others are not so lucky.)
Much of the time, it seems that the EDD representatives don’t know what we’re talking about when we tell them that we have no reasonable assurance of work for the next semester. Sometimes we wind up filing an appeal and the administrative law judges don’t even seem to understand the law. The one I refer to is here:
http://www.faccc.org/edd_cerv.htm
(We are not K-12 instructors, nor are we subs. )
Thanks for any light you can shed on what has become an ongoing problem.
Hi Vivalostwages, in New Jersey anyone employed by a school board is ineligable for unemploymet compensiation during times the school is not in session. If you work at a school but are not employed by the school board you are eligable to collect unemployment
Example
Person A is a Food services worker employed by the Some County Board Of Ed, School closes for Thanksgiving so they are off Wed, Thursday, Fiday and go back to work Monday, they can not collect
Person B is employed by Some Really Big Food Services Company™ and they work at a school. Person B is off the same days because the school is closed, they can collect partial unemployment.
The situation in your state may be different than New Jersey. I do not adjuciate claims but I have to know what situations may cause a problem in collection and set the claimant up for appointmentsto determine if they are eligable. Nothing I said above should be considered advise about unemployment, your milage may vary, do not taunt Happy Fun Ball ™
Hiya Manny, you’re just the person I need to talk to. As an employer, that is. I have an employee that will most likely need over six months leave for medical reasons. Can I just “lay her off” for that period of time so she can collect unemployment? I do want her to come back to work when she is well again. Is this kosher, or what would you advise?
I’ve been an employer for 12 years, and this is the first time I have been faced with this situation. Of course, I will consult with my CPA before I take any action, but an “off the cuff” answer will appease my curiosity before then. Oh, and I’m under Oregon jurisdiction if that is germane.
Truthbot, I do not know the regulations in Oregon, but in New Jersey one must be able and available for work to collect unemployment. If Oregon has any regulations like NJ I think your employee would be covered under disibality.
With that said, when someone files a claim in NJ we ask the employer the reason they are no longer working there. If the employer reports back lack of work, there is no issue at all and the person can collect. In NJ the maximum amount of time someone can collect (forget about any extensions) is 26 weeks.
Hello unemployment guy!
Having been unemployed for 5.5 months this year (ugh!) I was astonished at the low level of job search required to make the Virginia Employment Commission happy that I was looking for a job. The one time I went in to meet with them I was told that they wanted to see at least 3 job contacts per week. That seems ludicrously small. I made an average of 18 job contacts per week and some weeks exceeded 25.
Heck, even the automated call in system (to make my weekly claim) wouldn’t accept more than a single digit answer (0-9) in the ‘job contacts’ field. And the time they gave me to recite the names of the companies I contacted was about 5 seconds. I never did get to name them all.
So what’s the deal with that? Is it standard procedure to not want to hear about more than 9 contacts per week?
I can’t speak for Virginia but in New Jersey, the telephone claim system does not ask how many jobs you applied for, Three of the seven questions you are asked when you call in are
Are you able and available for work
Are you activily seeking work
have you refused any work
You answer yes or no using the phone pad. Some people are randomly selected to see an examiner to show they were looking for work, (3 contacts a weeks is the mnimum) but to be honest with the volume of people collecting unemployment right now they have suspended that.
OK, here’s the questions asked in Virginia:
Enter SS#
Enter PIN
-
Were you able and available to work during the week?
-
Were you actively seeking work?
-
Enter number of contacts.
-
Recite contacts (5 seconds, like I said).
-
Did you refuse any work?
-
Did you enter of discontinue school or training?
-
Did you begin receiving or change the amount of any type of pension?
-
Did you receive holiday, vacation or Workers Comp?
-
Did you begin receiving or change the amount of any severance?
10: Did you do ANY work?
11: Did you return to full time employment?
I suppose my real question is:
Doesn’t requiring a minimum of 3 contacts per week seem absurdly low? Making a job contact can be as simple as going into a place of business and asking about opportunities.
If you are asking my opinion I’d require 5 contacts a week (one a day no weekends) looking for a job should be your job while you are on unemployment and you should treat it like a full time job.
You run a serious risk of violating the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Even if your employee doesn’t object to being laid off, just so she can claim unemployment, it is probably still illegal.
What’s worse, if anyone else finds out that you did it, they can probably file a discrimination charge against you.
This looks like a fun game, I want to play too!
My husband has been a musician for 20 years, and typically he works much more in the summer months than he does in the winter months due to lack of work in the winter months. Could he apply for unemployment as a seasonal worker during the winter months?
Thanks
Funions if your husband is not paid as a contractor but his employer withholds unemployment taxes from his pay you can claim lack of work during the winter. We have many people who work for landscaping and construction companies who do that. Their work gets slow or non existant in the winter so they file a claim.
Again you are not in NJ so I do not know what the regulations for your state are.
Hi, and thanks for your reply.
To clarify our situation: college districts do not give us contracts, only contract cards which state a number of contingencies upon which our employment for that semester or a future semester are based. As of my last final, I will no longer be employed. We actually become new employees every semester, and we can collect unemployment benefits during winter and summer intersessions. We do not have reasonable assurance of employment, and this is what the Cervisi case was all about.
I just don’t know why so many people here are encountering resistance and being made to file multiple appeals over something which is already a state law.
–Viva
Hi MannyL!
Just today, instead of my first unemployment check I got a notice saying that because of my “yes” answer to “Did you attend school or receive training during this period?” I may be ineligible. I’m not a full-time student – far from it. I only take one class a semester. I’m in Illinois, but within your knowledge, would that disqualify me from receiving benefits?
Thanks!
Gundy if you were in New Jersey taking one class generally would not disqualify you. If the class you are taking does not prevent you from being able and available for work it would not affect your claim in New Jersey. We would hold payment of benefits up until you spoke to a claims examiner and once a determination was made, you would receive a check for the held weeks if it was determined in your favor.
Generally if you are going part time it does not affect your ability to collect. If you were going full time even if it was over the internet then you might not be eligable to collect.
The laws and regulations in your state may vary but I’m fairly confident that the information I’ve provided you is accurate.
Most likely the people who are handling the claims do not know all the laws (it happens) and make a wrong determination. It should not go any further than the first claims examiner who should be made aware of the law so they can give a correct and propper answer.
That’s what I suspected. Thank you! I will pass along the info, since it will soon be time for us to file again.
I would simply like to point out that I find this to be the most interesting and useful of all the “Ask The…” threads. Way to go.
Tell me about extensions.
I’m one check away from the end of my alloted funds.
I was laid off six months ago, and my boss keeps telling me to give her one more week. I’m actively looking for other jobs as well.
Still… nothing yet.
So what happens after the money is gone? I was told I might be able to get some sort of extension. True? If so, does the money come from future withholdings?
Mr Cynical thank you for the compliment. I know other Ask The … threads have a better view to post ratio heck they all have more views at the same age as this one, but hearing someone say it is a useful thread has made my day and made this worth it.
Rushgeekgirl-Sorry to hear you are still unemployed. New Jersey has a program called the TUC. It is a federally-funded benefit extension program. I do not know if TN is offering a TUC if they are, and they are working it like New Jersey works it you should go on it automaticly. I know that the leglisation that created the TUC program mandated that it ends as of December 28th so there will be no payments beyond that. As of now there are no other extensions that I know of. Again I only know of the Federal Extension and the one from the State of New Jersey. I just did a google search for you and found the following site www.state.tn.us/labor-wfd but everythng is comming up 404 so I don’t know what information it holds.