Does this happen? They’re unemployed for reasons that most people would be allowed to file for unemployment-- well, as long as they didn’t quit or get removed from office for criminal reasons.
Does losing an election count as being fired? Because you don’t generally get unemployment if you’re terminated for cause.
Of course not. Not anywhere.
It usually takes, at least in Michigan, fraud, theft or some other serious misconduct to be denied unemployment. Most times termination due to poor performance or bad attendance or other non-criminal problems won’t get you denied benefits.
Interesting. Thanks for the links.
Does anyone know of any other states’ policies on this? I am struggling to find anything via Google. All the results are on laws governing unemployment benefits.
“All the results are on laws governing unemployment benefits.”
Damn! And you’re trying to find out if someone can do what? Oh, right, collect unemployment benefits. Well, the laws governing unemployment benefits would clearly be of no use in finding out about receiving unemployment benefits.
Wish I could help.
Meaning: the laws that politicians pass regarding unemployment benefits in general. Not whether or not THEY are allowed to collect benefits upon losing re-election. Sorry I wasn’t clear.
I can’t offer a factual answer - it would differ by state anyway - but I would be surprised if politicians met all conditions to claim unemployment, even if they were considered “fired” from their position.
Most states require that you be actively seeking work. In Washington, that means you send out at least three applications per week, and that you did not turn down any reasonable job offers. I would expect even a losing politician to have enough connections and name recognition that they’d get plenty of job offers.
In addition, most states reduce or eliminate benefits if you have other sources of income, like the speaking and consulting fees that many politicians can count on.
Not every elected official is a US Senator/Congressman, an Illinois State Senator from Chicago, a senior Florida State Assembly committee chairman, mayor of a midsize city in California or a NYC Borough Commissioner. The junior member of the State House of Delegates from the blighted 31st District (who was in the minority both 2-year terms he served and was primaried out by a hardliner) will likely not be flush with honoraria and will have to reinsert himself into whatever was his former field of employment before entering office.
As it stands a majority of politicians who make up state legislatures and municipal councils in the USA are legally “citizen legislators” who are expected to continue their regular business/trade just as long as it does not conflict with their public duties; one extreme example being the New Hampshire State Legislature who are paid one hundred dollars ($100)* A YEAR * – though in a whole lot of the statehouses there’s enough workload so members become de-facto full time officials while the legislature’s in session.
IIRC politicians in Canada CANNOT collect UIC.