Just a general question, no particular state in mind, if they differ. Say your company goes tits up and you start getting unemployment checks- at some point do you have to prove to the govt. that you are actively seeking work to keep receiving checks, and if so, how do you prove this? Someone told me this is true, and I am just curious, is all.
It depends on the state. In Massachusetts you basically just say you are seeking work any time they ask on any forms, automated telephone systems, or in person. I don’t know if there is a process where they can make you prove it but they generally don’t. I have loosely heard of some states that make you give lists of companies that you sent resumes to or some such but I have never witnessed that in person.
Here is the FAQ response by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services as to what you have to do weekly to keep a claim going. Basically, you are trusted to tell the truth, and if you don’t and they find out, you get the hammer dropped on you.
I’ve been on it briefly. It was from DC (though I live in VA) because that’s where I worked. Anyway, back then, you filled out a form and you had to list the name/address of a couple places you applied to. This was no problem for me, as I was applying at least to a couple of jobs a day.
Here in NJ, you have to fill out a form, either paper or on-line, asserting that you have indeed been available for work, looking for work, and not able to find anything comparable to your previous employment. In other words, if you were let go from your job as a programmer, teacher, medical technician, etc., you don’t have to accept a job as a janitor or a burger-flipper. However, at any time the unemployment bureau can ask you to substantiate the truth of your assertions by providing the specific places that you applied to, or inquired of, in a specific week.
When I had been unemployed for about 5 months, I was required to attend a meeting at the UI office, at which we were given a form to fill out and mail in with precisely that information. Had I been unable to supply it I would have been dropped from UI. It also turned out that we were supposed to have been mailed those forms in advance and to bring the filled-out form to the meeting, at which time, if there were not 3 specific appropriate contacts listed we would have been dropped. This was also supposed to have happened much earlier. Some bureaucratic screwup caused us to not be called to answer for ourselves at the appropriate time and manner.
In the old days people had to actually show up in person at the office every 2 weeks and stand in line to answer questions. The person asking the questions got to be as snotty and condescending as they wanted to because, after all, they were responsible for deciding if you got to continue your benefits. And, truth be told, some of them were receiving a paycheck for not very much more for a 40-hour week than the applicants were getting for coming and standing in line twice a month.
In California, you have to register on their employment database. Then, every two weeks with your check you get a new form that asks whether you have been searching for work and has spaces where you have to list what companies you have applied with, who the contact was and what the outcome was. I was never questioned about any of the information I provided.
[Bea Arthur]
“Did you kill anyone this week? Did you try to kill anyone this week?”
[/Bea Arthur]
“Occupation?”
“Stand-Up Philosopher”
“Oh, a bullshit artist!”
Gotta take my wine break…
In Missouri, when you first file, the state tells you what your weekly payment is and how many potential employers you’re supposed to be contacting. Each week, you go online and tell them how many potential employers you actually contacted. The state unemployment web site says that they can demand proof of your contacts (e.g., copies of applications, etc.) at any time.
Same thing in Washington. When the dot com I was working for went belly up, I had to keep a record of my job search. I was required to apply for three jobs a week. And every so often people were called and required to show up at the unemployment office for a talk and a check on your log. Well, it’s trivial to apply to any number of jobs online. When I was called in I printed out my giant log of job search and the guy glanced at it for about half a second, thanked me, and went on to the next person.
It would have been a pain in the ass if I had to actually walk from office to office handing out resumes and filling out forms, but complying with the formal requirements took only a few minutes a week.
As an employer in Wisconsin I can tell you that every once in a great while the unemployment office calls and asks if a certain person has applied, and if so why they weren’t hired, I presume it’s to make sure that that person is actively looking for work. They must not check very often since in all my years they’ve called with that question like twice.
In Minnesota, when you check in by automated phone system or website every two weeks, you have to state that you have been looking. In my last go-around through the life of the unemployed I was never asked for details or specifics, but I did keep track because I always assumed that they could ask at any time. Previously (10+ years ago) they did want documentation about places applied to, but not this time. I just figured it was not worth the State’s efforts to check.
Did you bullshit last week?
No.
Did you try to bullshit last week?
YES!
In Michigan you need to provide the places you contacted. But when work is scarce they wave it off. Unemployment is done by phone.