I guess I should be very thankful that in the 18 years since I entered the workforce I never had to learn firsthand about unemployment, but I finally got my first layoff yesterday, with a few other guys at my shop. We were all so stunned we just left, and I never asked about unemployment or anything. How does it work? I understand the gist of it, I guess I have to get a form from my ex-employer, and go to some office with it. At that point do I start getting paid at that point, and how much is it? Half of my old paycheck or something? Do I have to prove to them that I am looking for a job or something? And does it somehow count against my ex-employer? The reason I ask that is I remember one guy who more or less got fired last year, and one day the company owner came in bitching about how the guy was trying to get unemployment. I guess any info I can get will help me understand what I’m going to go through. I’ve already got about 30 resumes in the mail. Anybody need a graphic designer/technical illustrator? I’ll work cheap!
This usually depends on the state you’re in. Sometimes you need to get a form from an employer, and sometimes you need to fill out a form at the unemployment office and they’ll contact your old employer. Usually your local (city/county) government office will be able to tell you what to do.
The boss was probably bitching because you usually can’t collect unemployment if you’re fired, as opposed to being laid off. This is because unemployment insurance is supposed to insure against market swings, not ineptitude.
I was laid off, too! Isn’t it fun!?! Well, the first weeks suck…you don’t get any money. First, you have to go to the office and talk to somebody. Then you go to a 1 hour class on how unemployment works. Then there is a processing time and a “waiting week” which seems like 3. Then you get a check every 2 weeks and you call into an automated service at a certain time and day to claim your next two weeks worth. Have fun.
-Morgan
Oh yeah…and if the company that laid you off/fired you doesn’t want you to collect unemployment by saying some nasty things about your work ethic. You have to go into the office yet again for yet another interview. The only things that can deny you of your checks I think are either you broke a company rule repeatedly with warnings or something illegal.
As other folks have pointed out, the rules vary from state to state.
In any event, your weekly benefit rate will most likely be somewhere between 1/3 and 2/3 of your previous pay, depending on what your earnings were. Note that U/I benefits are generally capped, so if you were earning lots of money, your weekly benefit rate might be a very small percentage of your pay.
As far as what documents you need, as other people said, your local unemployment office will know. You might consider going back to your former employer NOW and getting something in writing saying you were laid off. See, in a week or two when your former employer gets a bunch of surveys from the Labor Department, he or she might suddenly decide to get cute.
In my jurisdiction, unemployment claimants must call in every week and certify that they are ready, willing, and able to work and are looking for a job.
Also, in my jurisdiction unemployment claims do “count” against former employers. If enough unemployment claims are paid against that particular employer, its tax rate will go up. Thus employers have an incentive to fabricate stories. (And it happens all the time.) See, in my jurisdiction, employees who are terminated for “misconduct” cannot collect. It’s also common for unscrupulous employers to claim that the terminated employees resigned.
(Standard disclaimer about legal advice)
Oh, by the way, you might consider going to your former employer with a sob story and trying to squeeze some severance or other benefits out of them. Although this might affect your U/I, it may be worth a shot.
When the dot com I worked for went dot bomb, I used the toll-free 800 number to establish my unemployment claim. They asked for my details and a week later received my info-pack. I completed my biweekly forms and mailed them back. In return they sent me checks.
Never saw anyone, never attended any unemployment classes.
I was laid off in June. I went to the Dept. of Employment Security the day after my last work day, spent the entire day there, which really didn’t bother me because they had computers to goof on (ahem…after I looked at all the job listings of course!). I got one-third of my regular pay and a number to call every week to certify that I was still unemployed and still looking for work. After the first three months I had to reapply, which was more of the same.
They only had classes for those that lost their jobs for reasons other than lay-offs. Because I was expecting to get back to work they didn’t give me a hard time at all.
Oh, you don’t get paid for the first two weeks, but if you’re on unemployment for four weeks you get your first week’s compensation.
Good luck finding a job! If anyone knows where I can get a job as a teacher’s assistant, a nanny, or pretty much anything else that’s on a bus route, HOLLER!
Ilive in New York, and have been laid off a few times. (Incidentally, if by Monday I still have my current job, it will be the longest I’ve managed to keep a single job.) At no time was I ever required to get a form from my previous employer. I just had to go down to the local State Department of Labor office, fill out some forms (quite like a resume, actually), sit through a class on how to collect your claims (you have to call up a phone number at the same time every week to place your weekly claim), and that’s it…you’re on the rolls of the gainfully unemployed.
Except for the one-hour class on how unemployment works (for me, it was a mandatory but short video during my single visit to the unemployment office), my experience in Illinois is the same as CelraySoda’s.
Quick suggestion: hopping over to the website of your state’s unemployment insurance agency is very handy. I found the information at Illinois Department of Employment Security’s website useful before going into the unemployment office, including not only what office I had to go to (address and all that), but what information I had to bring, what my benefits could be, etcetera.
Anyone know of any openings for an attorney in downtown Chicago?
This seems easy to resolve. The employer thought the employee quit and the employee thought he was laid off. A misunderstanding. So, the employee gets his job back and if the employer refuses then unemployment is granted. If the employee refuses to go back to work, unemployment is not granted. Seems simple to me.
I have worked for smaller employers most my life and have seen them trying to get out of unemployment from time to time
I feel the burden of proof should be solidly with the employer and unemployment refused the ex-employee only if it is very obvious that the employee was in the wrong.
[sup]Unemployment? That’s when you don’t have a job.[/sup]