Workers who lose their employment may receive monetary payments through their unemployment insurance. Employees should have become unemployed not because of their own fault. Those who become unemployed and are covered by such insurance terms may collect unemployment benefits. We’ll cover several pointers on collecting any of the said benefits.
Eligibility
In order for you to collect any unemployment benefits you should pass certain eligibility criteria. Depending on the insurance you signed up for, you either have to meet certain wages earned or have a certain number amount of years worked with the company or both.
Disqualification
There are some governing factors that can make you become disqualified from collecting your unemployment benefits. These are quitting your job without a valid reason, fired from your job due to misconduct, filed resignation due to an illness, left the job to get married, become self-employed, become involved in some labor dispute, and left job to attend school.
Unemployment Benefits
Most states in the US are paying unemployed individuals their regular benefits for 26 weeks at the most. Each state has the jurisdiction to pay you some additional weeks of your unemployment benefits for periods of high unemployment. Most of the states are going to pay half of the amount of your maximum earnings. Unfortunately, these benefits are being subjected to Federal income taxes thus you need to report them on your annual income tax return.
Extension of the Benefits
Beginning after the 26th week of receiving your unemployment benefits, you can avail of the extended benefits of up to 13 weeks. This is only granted if you are among the eligible unemployed workers that are affected of the high unemployment periods. It is still best to consult your local State Unemployment Office to gain additional knowledge of what are the benefits you qualify for.
When to File
The first thing that you got to do after being laid off from your job is to file for your unemployment benefits. The filing process will usually take up to two or three weeks before you can get your check. Therefore the sooner you file for the benefits, the faster and sooner will then be the payment.
Receiving Your Payment
You may be able to receive your first unemployment benefits check after a few weeks have passed. The usual scenario is that the first check of benefits usually arrives at the second week after the filing. The moment that your claim was approved, filing for you unemployment benefits can already be done through mail or telephone.
