As of last week, I am gettting unemployment benefits for the 2nd time in my life, the last time in 2013 in Rhode Island for three months. Now I am in New Jersey, and I qualify for $603 a week. My question is about the extra benefit from the federal government, was it an “extra” $600 a week, in addition to what people who were getting it from the state, until it expired July 31? Or was it the sole benefit people were getting for people out of work because of COVID?
Right now we don’t know what the hell is going to happend with these exectutive orders, maybe Congress will make a deal. Maybe there will be anohter $1200 stimulus check, or maybe it will be $600 this time. Or maybe there will be no stimulus, but extra unemployment benefits. $300, $400?
I just want to know for my budget planning. I can make it for a while on the $603 I am now getting. But if I don’t find a job in the next couple of months, I will have to borrow money from my family. Thank God I have that option, and fuck the Republicans who have created a system where people have to go bankrupt because they lost a job through no fault of their own, if they don’t have familes that can help them.
Another question. I am required by NJ, as I should be, to look for work. Am I required to look for work that pays what I used to make, or am I required to take a job at Walmart for $8 an hour, and if that is so, do I get to keep benefits from NJ to make up the difference? I take home $300 from Walmart, $300 from NJ?
I have gone on the NJ Unemployment website, and they have a general FAQ, but they don’t answer specific questions like these.
I’ve never been on UI in NJ, but I’m familiar with the PA system. About getting a new job - you have to be actively looking, and yes, you should look for a job to replace the one you lost. Here, you call in every week and answer questions on an automated system, and one of the questions asks if you’re looking for work and if you’re available to work.
If you took a job for less pay, you’d lose the UI benefit altogether.
For your last question, while accepting any full time work will remove your eligibility for benefits, you are only required to accept “suitable work”, the definition of which my vary by state, but is usually defined as something similar in pay and skill set to your previous role. New Jersey defines suitable work as, among other things, paying at least 80 percent of your previous wage: Section 12:17-11.2 - Suitability of work defined, N.J. Admin. Code § 12:17-11.2 | Casetext Search + Citator
I’m not sure about other states, but in Texas, the definition of suitable work broadens the longer you’ve been unemployed.
You may be able to accept part time work and not lose your eligibility. Texas allows you to take part time, contact, or seasonal work and remain eligible for unemployment, with just a reduction in your benefit for any week you work. In that case, your benefit for the week is (1.25 x usual benefit) - (pay earned that week). If you earned more than 1.25x your benefit amount, you would not get a benefit for that week, but remain eligible for future weeks.
During the covid relief, if you received at least $1 in state benefits in a week, you got the full $600 extra.
The $600 was $600 in addition to regular UI benefits, but for a decent number of people they qualified for the extra benefit but not regular UI. Benefits are administered by state, and IIRC NJ is has one of the higher regular benefits.
Every state that I’m aware of requires you to look for work that is similar in pay and type to what you were doing before, there’s no requirement to look for entry level jobs. The idea is that you should be looking for a new job like your old one, and should find it before UI benefits run out (and that if you can’t find one before benefits run out, you need to look for something else). Just look at the form you have to fill out about searching for work, the ones I’ve seen just need you to record that you looked for work at X number of specific businesses. It shouldn’t be that hard to find X number of open positions to apply for to put on the form and satisfy the job search requirement without having to apply at Walmart.
Thanks. I will look for a job in my field, but a couple more weeks not working I will start to go stir crazy. I’ll take anything that pays what I am getting in unemployment benefits.