Unemployment Insurance benefits when no longer employed

by trudi_lynn » Thu Dec 11, 2008 07:53 pm

Unemployment insurance is designed to provide individuals some financial protection when they become unemployed through no fault of their own. These benefits continue till a specific period of time or until the individual finds a new job. The federal law establishes guidelines for the State unemployment insurance programs that in return provide the unemployment benefits.

Who is eligible for unemployment insurance?

The most important factor that makes you eligible for unemployment benefits is that you should lose your job not due to your own fault. If you lose your job because of your own fault you will be disqualified from unemployment benefits. You may also not receive unemployment benefits if you:

Quit your job on your own without a good reason
Are self-employed
Are involved in labor dispute
Are fired from your job as a result of misconduct
Resign from your job because of illness
Quit your job to get married
Quit because you want to attend school

How would you receive unemployment benefits?

Unemployment insurance benefits are usually paid for a maximum of 26 weeks in most of the states. However, if there is a high number of unemployment then additional weeks of benefits may be available. Benefits in many states mean that you can receive compensation that is half of your earnings up to the maximum amount available in each state. These unemployment benefits are, however, subject to Federal income taxes and you must report them to your Federal income tax return.

When should you file for unemployment?

You should file for unemployment benefits if you have been laid off for no fault of yours. The sooner you file the better for you since benefits might take 2-3 weeks to come. To be able to file a claim you will need the following:

Details like names, addresses and dates of employment of all your employers in the past 2 years
Your Social Security Number
Your mailing address with zip code
If you are not a US citizen, your Alien Registration Card
Telephone number

Some states also have a waiting period after unemployment benefits are claimed. Once you have your claim approved, you can then file weekly by mail or even a phone call.

Can you collect unemployment and disability at the same time?

To claim disability insurance you must be unable to work but willing. To claim unemployment you must not have a job but must be in a health condition suitable for a job as soon as you get one. Since both are in contradiction, you may contact your local attorney to help you in this regards. So, can you file for medical disability while collecting unemployment benefits? The answer would be a little tricky. It largely depends on the kind of work that is defined in the programs. Disability insurance is not directly connected to Employment Security Commission. This might be reason enough for you to file for medical disability while collecting unemployment benefits. However, when you file for unemployment you make an unspoken statement that you are ready and available for work (full time) and are willing to find jobs that suit you. On the other hand when you filed for disability, you state that you are unable to work (at all) due to a disability.

These two conditions have a huge disparity between themselves and hence it might be a problem if the Employment Security Commission finds out that you have filed for disability benefits while on unemployment benefits. You may not know but there can be various ways by which the Commission might get to now of this dual benefit that you are receiving.

If you are caught receiving and accepting both benefits, then you will be required to repay all unemployment / disability benefits because you will not be eligible. You could also be charged with fraud.

Total Comments: 101

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 09:43 pm Post Subject:

I know of no mechanism to "pay back" unemployment insurance benefits, unless ordered to make restitution in a case of fraud.

You will not be eligible to collect both unemployment and state disability insurance at the same time. If your eligibility for UI is exhausted, pregnancy (and post-partum care for your baby) allows you to collect a limited duration of state disability insurance benefits.

File your claim and see what happens.

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 08:10 am Post Subject: ei after disbility

my disability runs out in august, there are ni jobs and my mployeer terminated me while on disability can i apply for unemployment then if i am ready to go back to work. since i got fired so to speak. i live in california

Posted: Sat May 01, 2010 04:22 am Post Subject:

Without being too nosy, what is the nature of your disability, and what type of disability insurance benefit are you receiving until August? Is it CA State Disability Insurance (SDI), or a personal short-term disability insurance policy?

If your disability is work-related, and you are receiving benefits under WC, it is unlawful for your employer to terminate you as a result of your disability. Under the CA Labor Code, it may still be an matter of unlawful termination as a result of certain defined disabilities, which would be a cause of action in civil court.

If you are currently receiving benefits under SDI, you probably do not want to apply for simultaneous unemployment insurance benefits. SDI begins with the presumption that you are unable to work, as certified by a physician, and requires periodic recertification by your attending physician that you are unable or only partially able to work. To qualify for unemployment insurance benefits, you must be capable of and actively looking for work. If you are not capable of working at all, then you are not eligible for UI benefits.

As a result, the two programs are nearly mutually exclusive.

If your physician releases you to work on a limited basis, and you begin to work and earn any amount of money, those earnings directly affect and reduce your SDI benefit $ for $. Unemployment insurance benefits = income and have the same effect -- so there is no advantage to applying for UI unless you are ready to terminate your SDI benefit and attempt to go back to work.

If your weekly unemployment insurance benefit would be less than your SDI benefit, and you are not capable of working full-time, then it would be possible to collect both benefits, but the total amount you are eligible to receive would not be more than the SDI benefit by itself (in other words, if your SDI benefit is $700 per week, and your UI benefit would be $600 per week, you cannot collect $1300 per week. You will receive $600 from UI and $100 from SDI, for a total of $700 -- same as the receiving SDI alone). If your UI benefit is greater than your SDI benefit, the SDI will not be paid for any week in which your "income" exceeds the SDI amount.

Now, when your SDI/disability benefit is within two weeks of being exhausted and you are ready to resume looking for work, then it would be prudent to apply for your UI benefit. UI has a one week exclusion period, so the timing of the ending of your SDI benefit would essentially coincide with the commencement of your UI benefit. Both UI and SDI are paid "retroactively" so if there is no overlap in the two benefits, you will not have any duplication of benefits to worry about. Your last week of SDI payment will come for the week prior to your first UI benefit check. (But if for any reason the two benefits are paid for the same week, you'll owe money back to SDI in the amount of your UI benefit, not to exceed the full amount of your SDI benefit for the affected week.)

Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 03:29 pm Post Subject: Unemployment benefits after disibility

Is there a time limit to file for unemployment benefits after being released from disibility in Oklahoma. I have been on disibility for about 19 months

Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 03:25 pm Post Subject:

If you've been on disability for that length of time, you may not be eligible for unemployment benefits since you did not have any "earnings" that qualify in the required period.

Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 02:00 pm Post Subject:

Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 03:21 pm Post Subject: pregnant and no job

Is it possible for a pregnant person to recieve unemployment if she is not working at the time, and she does not have no other type of income?

Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 03:00 am Post Subject:

Sorry to have to be the bearer of what may be bad news.

Generally, speaking, you will not be entitled to unemployment for what is really a disability leave of absence. Some states, like California, have a state disability insurance program that workers fund through payroll contributions to provide income for such time off.

The main reason you will not qualify for unemployment is the definition of what it means to be unemployed. You must be able to work and actively looking for work. That usually does not describe a woman in the last few weeks prior to giving birth, nor does it describe a woman in the several weeks following the birth of her child either.

If you have been fired from your employment, you might qualify for a limited benefit, but I doubt it. There may be other "public assistance" programs in your state that can help. But none truly provide "income".

Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 09:18 pm Post Subject: disability and unemployment

i am currently umemployed due to my famiy medical leave running out. i now receive short term disability. can i also receive unemployment as well?

Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 03:24 am Post Subject:

i now receive short term disability. can i also receive unemployment as well?

NO! To be disabled means you cannot work (or cannot work full time). To be unemployed means you are able to work and actively seeking work.

Which one applies to your situation?