Who is unemployment for

The main reason low-wage workers do not qualify for unemployment benefits is not low hourly wages per se. Rather, low-wage workers also tend to work intermittently, and most states require laid off workers to have minimally steady earnings over the previous year to qualify for benefit payments. What did Congress do during the pandemic crisis? During past recessions, Congress funded additional weeks of UI benefits for those who exhausted their regular state benefits.

This time it did more. That expansion expired on July 31, The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance PUA program extended benefits to previously ineligible workers, including part-time workers, freelancers, independent contractors, and the self-employed. This provision expired on September 6 th , This provision was set to expire on December 31 st , ; however, in December , Congress extended the PEUC through March 14, and increased the number of weeks that workers could claim PEUC benefits from 13 to 24 weeks.

Twenty-six states withdrew pandemic-era jobless support before the September 6, expiration of the federally-funded extra benefits, arguing that the benefits were dissuading people from returning to work. There were 5 million people receiving jobless aid as of September 11, down from This investment is in response to a major problem with the UI system that emerged during the COVID crisis: state labor offices with outdated computer systems were overwhelmed by the volume of claims.

Andrew Stettner, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, estimates that by the end of May , only about For people who rely on UI to meet basic needs, waiting weeks or even months to get their checks creates many hardships, even though the benefits are retroactive to the time of filing.

In this scenario, John has lost work through no fault of his own. He has a legal right to unemployment. Sally has been unhappy working for ABC Company for some time. Because of this, she has decided to seek employment elsewhere. Sally receives an offer of employment from another employer and submits a letter of resignation to ABC Company.

A week after leaving ABC Company, Sally learns that her offer with her new employer has been rescinded. She files for unemployment. In this scenario, Sally has willfully left her employment with ABC Company, and ABC Company should participate in the fact-finding hearing and explain to the unemployment commission that Sally would still be employed with ABC Company had she not voluntarily resigned from her position.

Bob is currently going through a divorce and now has child care issues that he did not experience previously. He has asked ABC Company if it would consider reducing his hours from full time to part time so that he can care for his children. ABC Company agrees to the reduction in work hours. Once Bob begins working the new schedule, he realizes that he cannot afford to work only 20 hours per week.

He files for partial unemployment. Bob has willfully reduced his hours; therefore, he would not be eligible for unemployment compensation. ABC Company is experiencing a slowdown in sales and would like to temporarily reduce the hours of the sales team from full time to part time.

This loss of wages causes several members of the sales force to apply for partial unemployment. Because the sales team has lost hours and wages through no fault of its own, team members may be eligible for partial or supplemental unemployment income. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Please enable scripts and reload this page. Reuse Permissions.

Page Content. Step 1: Receive Notification of a Claim When an employee files for unemployment, the employer will receive a notification from the state unemployment commission. Step 2: Verify Details of the Claim The separation report from the unemployment commission typically contains general facts regarding employment and the event that resulted in the claim.

Employers should follow these steps: Check to ensure that the individual on the claim was, or is, an employee of the organization. Step 3: Determine Whether the Employer Wishes to Appeal the Claim Generally, when an employer decides to participate in a fact-finding hearing conducted by the unemployment commission, it does so because it feels the claim is unwarranted. However, it is important to remember that an employee has a legal right to receive unemployment if: The employee has lost work through no fault of his or her own, such as through a layoff.

An employee generally does not have a right to receive unemployment benefits in the following circumstances: The employee voluntarily left his or her job. Examples of willful misconduct include: Intentional violation of company policies or rules. These are standards that any workplace would require but may not be explicitly stated in company rules, such as: Sleeping on the job.

Being intoxicated or testing positive for illegal substances. Lying or falsifying information. Using abusive or offensive language. Step 4: Gather Evidence If the employer has determined that the employee does not have a right to unemployment based on its understanding of the facts surrounding the claim, the next step is to gather the evidence necessary to make its case to the unemployment commission. The employer should gather all written evidence pertaining to the facts of the case such as the following: Attendance records.

For example, if your employer allows you to telework and you are caring for a more mature child who is able to care for him or herself for much of the day, you likely would not qualify for PUA because you are still able to work.

A school is not closed as a direct result of the COVID public health emergency, for purposes of a 3 A ii I dd , after the date the school year was originally scheduled to end. That means that, once the school year is over, parents should rely on their customary summer arrangements for caring for their children, and will not, absent some other qualifying circumstances, be eligible to receive PUA. If, however, the facility that they rely on to provide summer care for the child is also closed as a direct result of the COVID public health emergency, they may continue to qualify for PUA.

Similarly, if there is some other reason under which they qualify for PUA, they will continue to be eligible to receive benefits. You may be eligible for PUA, depending on your personal circumstances. A gig economy worker, such as a driver for a ride-sharing service, is eligible for PUA provided that he or she is unemployed, partially employed, or unable or unavailable to work for one or more of the qualifying reasons provided for by the CARES Act. For example, a driver for a ride-sharing service may be forced to quit his or her job if he or she was diagnosed with COVID by a qualified medical professional, and although the driver no longer has COVID, the illness caused health complications that render the driver objectively unable to perform his or her essential job functions, with or without a reasonable accommodation.

Similarly, under an additional eligibility criterion established by the Secretary of Labor pursuant to a 3 A ii I kk , a driver who receives an IRS Form from the ride-sharing service may qualify for PUA benefits if he or she has been forced to suspend operations as a direct result of the COVID public health emergency, such as if an emergency state or municipal order restricting movement makes continued operations unsustainable. As a general matter, individuals receiving regular unemployment compensation must act upon any referral to suitable employment and must accept any offer of suitable employment.

Barring unusual circumstances, a request that a furloughed employee return to his or her job very likely constitutes an offer of suitable employment that the employee must accept. While eligibility for PUA does not turn on whether an individual is actively seeking work, it does require that the individual be unemployed, partially employed, or unable or unavailable to work due to certain circumstances that are a direct result of COVID or the COVID public health emergency.

In the situation outlined here, an employee who had been furloughed because his or her employer has closed the place of employment would potentially be eligible for PUA while the employer remained closed, assuming the closure was a direct result of the COVID public health emergency and other qualifying conditions are satisfied. However, as soon as the business reopens and the employee is recalled for work, as in the example above, eligibility for PUA would cease unless the individual could identify some other qualifying circumstance outlined in the CARES Act.

No, typically that employee would not be eligible for regular unemployment compensation or PUA. Eligibility for regular unemployment compensation varies by state but generally does not include those who voluntarily leave employment. Similarly, to receive PUA, an individual must be ineligible for regular unemployment compensation or extended benefits under state or federal law, or pandemic emergency unemployment compensation, and satisfy one of the eligibility criteria enumerated in the CARES Act, as explained in Unemployment Insurance Program Letter Quitting to access unemployment benefits is not one of them.

Individuals who quit their jobs to access higher benefits, and are untruthful in their UI application about their reason for quitting, will be considered to have committed fraud.

States must have a process for determining that Pandemic Unemployment Assistance PUA applicants are ineligible for regular unemployment benefits, which may not include filing a regular claim as a first step. States are not required to take and adjudicate a full claim for regular unemployment insurance benefits to meet this requirement. While states are not prohibited from taking a full claim, to facilitate expedited claims processing the U. Department of Labor has discouraged states from doing so.

It can help with unemployment insurance benefits, job training, and finding a job. Unemployment insurance programs pay you money if you lose your job through no fault of your own. You must meet your state's eligibility requirements. Each state runs its own program. Select your state from this map to find out how to apply. You may be able to file online, by phone, or in person.

Some states provide extended benefits when there's high unemployment. Extended unemployment insurance benefits last for 13 weeks. You can apply for extended benefits only once you've run out of regular benefits. Check with your state; not everyone qualifies.

You must report unemployment benefits as income on your tax return. Federal agencies offer many unemployment education and training programs.