Don’t Leave Your Unemployment Benefits on the Table

Can I collect unemployment?

While eligibility to collect unemployment payments varies depending on the state you live in, there are three general rules:

1. You are available to work.

2. You earned money from a job during a specific time period.

3. You must be out of work involuntarily.

Yet many people don’t apply for unemployment, because they believe they’re not eligible.

Apply for unemployment, even if you’re “fired.”

Losing your job doesn’t prevent you from collecting unemployment. In every U.S. state except Montana, employment is “at-will.” This means that you can quit anytime and the employer can let you go for any reason or no reason at all. (Except in cases where you and your employer have signed a contract that states the length of your employment, or the reason is against the law, like discrimination or retaliation.)

It doesn’t matter whether your employer lets you go because they don’t have enough work for you, are unsatisfied with your performance, or just don’t like you – you should still submit a claim to your state unemployment office.

When an employer lets a lot of people go at once, this is often called a “layoff,” “reduction-in-force” (RIF), “downsizing,” or “rightsizing.” In some cases, like in the recent pandemic, a company might furlough employees, dismissing them temporarily with the intention to hire them back.

You cannot collect unemployment if you quit your job or if you are fired for certain serious types of misconduct at work. After you apply, your employer may claim you aren’t eligible. If that happens, you can appeal the decision in front of an administrative judge.

When to file your unemployment application

You can file your application – online, over the phone, or in-person – the first day you’re out of work. If you wait, your payments won’t be retroactive. Depending on the state you live in, there may be a waiting period between the time you file your claim and the first week you’ll be paid.

The amount you’ll receive is based on your earnings from a window of time that can be several months back.

For example, imagine you picked up some extra hours at a well-paying seasonal job for a few weeks in December and lost your regular job the following March. Depending on the cutoff date for calculating your benefits, you might want to hold off on applying for benefits so that your December income will be used to set your weekly check amount.

Keep job search records to share with the unemployment office

Unemployment benefits are intended to tide you over while you look for work. Many states require that you make continuous efforts to find a new job. You need to certify (weekly or biweekly) that you are still unemployed, and list the places you’ve applied.

Keep track of applications submitted online, resumes mailed out or delivered in person, and phone calls you’ve made to employers. This is also a good practice to help stay organized and improve your job hunting, like tinkering with your resume to gain more interviews.