File Unemployment

Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits amount is determined by the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) after reviewing your eligibility and past earnings in your base period. The base period is the first four of the last five calendar quarters. Calendar quarters are three-month periods, starting with January of each year. When you become eligible for unemployment compensation, your weekly benefit amount will be conveyed to you, but you can estimate that amount in advance, if you prefer.

VEC calculates your compensation amount by taking your past salary and factoring it in the State’s maximum benefits guidelines. If you are eligible, then you will be sent with a determination letter of unemployment benefit amount.

How to calculate Virginia’s Unemployment Benefits Amount

We have developed a tool to calculate approximate benefits amount. Check Virginia Unemployment Calculator to estimate your compensation

Considering the base period (the first four months of the past five calendar quarters) you have worked, Employment Commission takes into the fact the amount of money you have earned during the past 12 months as an employee. Average weekly benefit earned during the two highest earning of the calendar quarters of your base period is very essential to calculate and consider your weekly benefit. Almost half of this is awarded as the weekly benefit amount by considering the earnings of $2,700 in 2 highest 2 quarters of Base Period [In short $2,700 in 2 HQs- To qualify for benefits, an individual must have earned at least a total of $2,700 in two quarters in the base period].

Your weekly benefit amount is calculated by using the formula 1/50 of 2 High Quarters or your minimum wage should be less than that of $18,900 in 2 Quarters.

Virginia UI Maximum Weekly Benefit Amount

Source of Virginia’s Unemployment benefit amount is the tax payment of each employee’s payroll. In order to keep track on claimants collecting huge amount on unemployment benefit, Virginia sets guideline on how much anyone is supposed to collect as benefits at the time of unemployment.

Though he/she has earned good amount in their base period on previous salary, you cannot afford to collect more than the determined maximum weekly amount. Maximum weekly benefit amount is $378 per week. Note every year the maximum set amount changes depending on the average number of the employees in Virginia.

Virginia UI’s Minimum Weekly Benefit Amount

The minimum weekly benefit is determined as $54. An individual should have earned at least $18,900.01 in two quarters during the base period to qualify for the maximum weekly benefit amount.

Duration of the benefit amount varies from 12 to 26 weeks, it also depends on wages earned in the base period.

Duration of the Unemployment Benefit

Duration of the unemployment benefit you will be collecting through Virginia Unemployment Compensation is calculated based on the number of credit weeks you have increased during the base period.

A credit week is considered for the week where the base period earning would be more than 50 dollars. If the credit week is less than 17 weeks then you will be receiving 13 weeks of benefits. If it is more than 17 credit weeks, then you will be receiving 26 weeks of payments.

Maximum Number of Payments

There is a limited number of unemployment benefit payments you can collect from the Virginia. From the beginning of the benefit year, [beginning of benefit year is the date you initially file for the unemployment benefit] out of the 52 week that follows, you are eligible to collect a total of 26 weeks of compensation regardless of how many times you have gone on and off unemployment during that benefit year.

After you exhaust your initial  unemployment benefits you can apply and collect the Emergency Unemployment compensation with continuation of extended unemployment benefits funded either by State or Federal Unemployment extension programs of Virginia.

This guide explains how to apply for unemployment in VA . Follow step by step instructions that will help you file for benefits through PA unemployment office.

Determine your eligibility to file for unemployment benefits in VA

There are some basic rules for eligibility. Even if you meet some of these rules partially, you should still apply for unemployment because state unemployment offices make a reasonable attempt to process your claim, as long as you provide a good justification.

1. You must have lost your job through no fault of your own.
2. You must be willing and able to work. If you are physically disabled, you do not qualify.
3. If you have received severance package when you lost job, you do not qualify.
4. You must have earned minimum wage credits set by the Virginia
5. You must have earned an average weekly wages of at least $50.00. This amount may change every year. You can get get complete eligibility criteria from state website mentioned in the next section.

Prepare documents required to apply for unemployment in

• Your name, address, social security number and other personal details such as telephone number, email address etc.
• Dependents name, date of birth and their social security number.
• Details of your previous employer. For each employer, you need to provide
  1. Name and address
  2. Telephone number
  3. Start and end dates of employment

• If you had out-of-state employment in the past 18 months, you also need to provide the employment details.
• Reason you lost the job – it has to be involuntary to be eligible to receive benefits.

You can submit your application for unemployment compensation online, off-line (by mail or by visiting local employment office) or through telephone. Online application is the quickest and most efficient option which would available 24×7, 7 days a week.

Basic requisite to claim the unemployment benefit from Vermont is that you must have worked in the past for about 18 months before you are considered as unemployed. You can apply for the unemployment benefit either when you are jobless or when you work less than 35 hours per week in the State Vermont.

If you quit your job on your own, you can file the claim and get the benefit only on the condition that you quit because of your employer’s faults (such as breach in terms of your hiring agreement.) Vermont Unemployment Insurance law states that if you were fired for the misconduct, you may be disqualified for receiving the benefit for six to fifteen weeks.

Duration of Vermont Unemployment Benefit

In general unemployment benefit in Vermont lasts for about 6 months, 26 weeks or until you find a suitable job. If Vermont unemployment bureau officials feel that you are truly not trying for a job or refusing the suitable job offers, then they have all rights to suspend all UI benefits immediately without prior information. However, it is possible to gain the 26 weeks slab of benefit without finding a job but it is essential to try for the job. After this you can still continue to claim the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) and Extended Benefit (EB).

If unemployment rate increases then special state federal programs will be effective which provide the additional week benefit or extended benefit programs. Such programs are funded partially or fully by the Vermont federal unemployment trust fund.
As stated above, the Vermont Department of Labor is authorized to pay unemployment benefits under two active extended benefit programs:

•  Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) and

•  Extended Benefit (EB)

Emergency Unemployment Compensation

Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) is completely funded by the Federal Government of Vermont. This program is comprised of four tiers, for which of the two is qualified from Vermont Unemployment Agency. After the expiry of every tier eligible candidates can move on for the next tier as per the rule of EUC program. Below mentioned chart details on the current EUC Tiers that provides the details on the weeks of extension benefit:

                     Available Weeks                 Trigger

Tier 1                  Up to 20 weeks                                     none

Tier 2                 Up to 14 weeks                                      none

Tier 3                 Up to 13 weeks                                      TUR > 6.0% or IUR > 4.0%

Tier 4                 Up to 6 weeks                                        TUR > 8.5% or IUR > 6.0%

Extended Program

Extended Benefits is the additional extension of benefits that is offered once EUC is exhausted. Extended Benefit program provides up to 13 weeks of additional benefits for the jobless individuals.

Intention of both the programs Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits and Extended Benefits is to assist the potential eligibles.

Intimation and Information about Future Extensions

In both the cases, notices for both extension programs will be mailed with filing instructions.  If a recipient’s mailing address changes, then such change must be submitted in written to enable proper notification.

Individuals who have already received their full regular and extended benefits entitlement will be mailed filing instructions, when their additional benefits becomes available.  In addition, information about future extensions will be posted on this web page.

Once your regular unemployment compensation benefits have run out, you should receive a note from your unemployment office alerting you the option of extending your benefits. Until you get that, you will not be able to get any extended benefits. You can, however, confirm the existence of an extended-benefit rule in your state by contacting the unemployment office in advance.

Apply to get extended benefits by filing the appropriate forms and make sure you provide all of the extra required paperwork. You can continue to enjoy the unemployment benefit till the time you get a suitable job.

Unemployment insurance is the temporary earnings for the eligible jobless or part time workers. Claimants should be unemployed through no fault of their own and must be either looking for full time work, in approved training, or awaiting recall to employment.

Utah Eligibility Criteria

Losing job won’t be the sufficient condition to receive unemployment insurance benefits. There are some additional criteria you should meet to be eligible to receive the compensation. Here are those conditions:

• You must be partially or absolutely unemployed through no fault of your own.

• You must be an US citizen or legally authorized to work in the US.

• You must have sufficient earnings in the base period to establish a monetary entitlement.

• You must have worked and was paid wages for employment in at least two of the base period quarters that are being used.

• You must have earned at least $3200 in total wages in the base period and earned 1.5 times the high quarter. If you do not have 1 1/2 times your high quarter wages in your current base period, you may qualify under the same conditions by using your Alternate Base Period, which would be the most recent four completed calendar quarters.

• You must have a valid Utah claim.

• You must file a weekly claim.

• You must be able and available for full-time work.

• You must be willing to actively seek full-time work in the US.

• You must reside in the United States.

• Officials of Utah Unemployment Insurance Agency will obtain necessary information from you and your employer and will determine your eligibility for benefits.

Source of Utah’s Unemployment Insurance

Funding source for unemployment insurance compensation is benefited from the quarterly unemployment insurance taxes paid by employers. Employees need not pay or contribute any fund for the unemployment insurance fund.

Filing the Claim

Utah Dept. of Unemployment Services expects employers to report all wages paid to each employee on a quarterly basis. Unemployment tax is not assessed on wages that exceed the annual wage base; on the other hand, the employer must report all wages paid to them regularly.

Every business must complete a Status Report, Form 1, which informs them of whether they are subject to state unemployment tax and allows them to register their business. If subject to the tax, the employer files her reports on Forms 3 and 3H — Employer’s Contribution Report and Employer’s Quarterly Wage List, respectively.

First and foremost thing is to go online to Utah Department of Workforce Services and click on the option File New- for new claim or Reopen Claim option to renew the UI benefit.

Online application section has got four sections. Click on continue to begin the procedure of filling the application from personal information section. After you complete every section you can’t go back and do any edits, so be conscious while filling the form.

Wait at least two weeks before contacting anyone if you do not receive your unemployment check; sometimes it takes that long for processing. You can call 801-526-WORK (9675) with any questions regarding your claim.

Duration of Utah Unemployment Benefit

A formula is used to determine benefits amount based on your earnings in the last 4-5 calendar quarters. Multiply your total wages for insured work paid during the base period by 27%, disregarding any fractions of $1 and divide by your weekly benefit amount, disregarding any fractions. The result will be a preliminary determination of the number of weeks you are entitled to receive benefits. Utah has a minimum of 10 weeks and a maximum of 26 weeks of regular benefits.

Utah Weekly Benefit Amount

The highest quarter during your base period divided by 26 determines the benefit amount you will receive per week of unemployment, up to a maximum of $467 for new claims.

Arizona Unemployment Compensation is the benefit provided to the workers who have lost their jobs. People who are capable of fulfilling the eligibility of Arizona’s Unemployment requirements are eligible to claim the unemployment compensation.

Arizona Unemployment Claimants Eligibility

The Arizona claimant eligibility is stated such as when the claimants would have lost their jobs with no faults of their own. He/ she should be efficient enough and readily available to work. In addition the claimants should continuously look and try for full time work unless defined by Unemployment Insurance as a part time worker and they should be willing to accept a job for which they are qualified.

Unemployment Benefit Amount of Arizona

According to State Arizona Unemployment Insurance Guide you can claim the minimum benefit of $60 per week and maximum upto $240 per week.

Calculating Arizona Unemployment Insurance

For calculating your unemployment benefit you need to know the base period first. Usually base period will be the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the date you first applied for unemployment benefit.

• The 1st quarter is January, February and March
• The 2nd quarter is April, May and June
• The 3rd quarter is July, August and September
• The 4th quarter is October, November and December

•  To calculate your base period first determine the quarter in which you filed your initial claim.
• If you filed your initial claim in the 1st quarter of 2012 your Base Period is the 4th quarter of 2010 through the 3rd quarter of 2011.
• If you filed your initial claim in the 2nd quarter of 2012 your Base Period is the 1st quarter of 2011 through the 4th quarter of 2011.
• If you filed your initial claim in the 3rd quarter of 2012 your Base Period is the 2nd quarter of 2011 through the 1st quarter of 2012.
• If you filed your initial claim in the 4th quarter of 2012 your Base Period is the 3rd quarter of 2011 through the 2nd quarter of 2012.
• Your new claims benefit amount will be based on where you worked during this 12-month period.

Source of Unemployment Insurance Fund

The revenue is funded by the employers as their quarterly unemployment insurance tax and note that nothing is contributed from the employee’s wages. This Unemployment insurance tax amount will be used to pay the compensation to the qualified employees of Arizona.

Arizona’s Unemployment rate and the Job Added

The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 8.7 percent as of February 2012 as most of the sectors are added for the additional jobs in order to improve the State’s economy.

State Government has organized some additional jobs over half of the additional jobs, mostly from the sector of good educational background.  The State Arizona has offered more than 42,600 jobs in the earlier year of February 2012.

The unemployment rate of Arizona has fell down to 8.7 percent with 260,443 Arizona unemployed rate since February 2012. The State Unemployment rate was 0.4 percent higher than that of nation’s rate for the month.

Many American who became jobless in the early days of recession remain unemployed and the practical and emotional toll is immense. The recent jobs report had mixed news. Overall unemployment levels have resolved at a relatively lower 8.5% percent but almost 5.6 million Americans have been out of work for more than 6 months and nearly 3.9 million for more than a year. Presently, employers are spoiled for choices. Many people are applying for the same job and unless you have a great work history, you have less chance of getting selected.

When someone who has been laid off for more than six months applies for a job, it’s hard to get back in. Employers look at the long term unemployed with a suspicious eye and have questions about that resume gap. Even if you have a great CV, the employer will think….if no one else is hiring this person, why should I? Moreover, they might also think that you are not motivated to find work and are not trying hard.

Long term unemployment leads to lack of confidence and once you begin to feel unworthy of a job, you stop bothering about your look and punctuality becomes less important. The more rejections you get the less confident you feel and the drive to live life can be exhausting…it’s a vicious circle.

Be positive while explaining long-term unemployment

The fact is that recruiters will presume that you have a fault or some other negative reason for your lack of work. Hiring managers will anticipate you to hold yourself accountable and at least be able to clearly give one or two genuine reasons for long- term unemployment. If you can’t confess to what has happened to some degree, then the supposition will be you are faulty in your ability to see the situation for what it is. In addition, you will be seen as someone who accuses others for setbacks.

Though the average length of unemployment in America is 10 months, you cannot mention down economy the only reason for your problem. This doesn’t make you look unlucky but you appear someone who feels offended and helpless.  So, a valid reason for being jobless for this long is a combination of the current economy and the mistakes made during the job hunt process. This will exhibit professionalism and the ability to learn from mistakes.

It’s very important to assure the interviewer that you’re not out of touch with your industry. For this, you should be capable of explaining the top trends, changes and challenges that are being practiced by your industry. This will explain your dedication to your field and your wish to stay in it. Emphasizing volunteer or the freelance work is the best way to clear that you have been making efforts to keep your skills up-to-date. Lastly, this shows that you understand the value of utilizing your time and energy as a way to continue growing yourself.

Many individuals have lost their job without any fault of their own, yet they are facing a crisis of confidence in their abilities. If you don’t deal with that fear, it will translate in your body language and facial expressions. Hiring managers will see through you, if you think you’re doing a fabulous job masking it. So, it is always good to work with an experienced career coach who can help you work through your feelings.

With unique personality humor can be used when discussing long-term unemployment. Too much joking and excuses will make it seem as if you don’t appreciate what has happened to you. Responsibility must be your mantra, when it comes to long-term unemployment.

Leave your past behind and keep your future growing

Keep yourself away from the people in the same boat. You need to surround yourself with people who are working in your industry. This can be done by joining groups on LinkedIn in your area of expertise, attending industry events and setting up interviews with people working in same domains that you aspire to. There are many opportunities to be to be found; but you must be looking in the right places.

If you knowingly receive benefits based on incorrect information that you purposely provided when you registered your claim, you are committing fraud. Anyone who commits unemployment insurance fraud is liable to be punished by law and could even face a variety of serious penalties and consequences.

For most jobless workers and their families, UI benefits are continued survival. Unfortunately, a few can ruin a good thing. If you file for unemployment benefits and try to receive income that in any way misguides the government, you could be guilty of fraud. Unemployment fraud is a crime in every state and the violators could be charged with fines and even imprisonment.

A nationwide suppression is coming for people unfairly drawing unemployment payments- those who were never eligible and people who have begun working in new jobs but keep getting their unemployment checks. With the poor economy remaining and the jobless rate remaining high, many states are stepping up efforts to stop the improper payments.

You’d think the debt crisis would result in crackdowns on government, but as the claims increase in this jobless recovery, blames in unemployment insurance have hit record levels. Last year, ineligible individuals were paid out a huge $16.5 billion. In the recent months, overpayments have jumped again to 11.6 percent. According to Labor Department’s estimation made in 2010, 30 percent were individuals who continued to cash their UI checks when on work and another 30 percent were people not properly or actively searching for work.

What is considered unemployment fraud

Unemployment fraud can be someone telling a white lie to extend their benefit or it can also include the fake policies being sold.

Here are a few of the most common examples in which you are held legally liable responsible for your insurance benefits:

Looking for Work – You are required to actively look for a work as a condition of unemployment collection and be mentally and physically able to work unless you’re on a temporary dismiss or a union worker. It is mandatory to attest to that fact each time you file a weekly payment claim. If you do not seek work and lie about looking for work or about being able to work…guess what? You’re committing a crime.

Personal Information –When you apply for an UI benefits claim, your application is a legal document. You are expected by law to provide your personal details like name, social security number, current phone number, current address and current employment information. Any misrepresentation of your identity and employment situation is considered fraudulent. Using anyone else’s personal information to collect benefits is identity theft.

Reporting Income – Besides being eligible and seeking work, you must also reveal any extra income you earned. For instance, if you earn from some freelance consulting or do part time job, you are required to disclose these wages. Any extra income you earn from part time or freelance work is figured out into your benefits claim. If you fail to report additional income while you are receiving state unemployment pay is an offence. It is advisable to give the most correct information you can when filing for your unemployment benefits.

Laid-off workers, Be Alert!

Some of the insurance companies and those who sell fake policies know it will probably be some time before you actually collect on your policy. This makes it very simple for them to take your money and run as by the time you actually claim on your policy they are gone. Do not give any personal details over the internet. Once they have your account numbers they can do far more damage than a fraudulent policy. If the company is registered in your state, then go ahead and purchase. Finally, it is good to purchase policies from large and reputed companies and avoid becoming victim of unemployment benefits fraud.

Online unemployment fraud

Any organization with a website is not a business. You are likely to deal with a scam company if the legal framework is not there. All authorized US companies have a federal tax ID number that are confidential and not to be shared with customers without reasonable purposes. The products offered by the illegitimate companies do not have any guarantee and the services are not insured. They are not paying taxes and therefore not contributing to the economy and encouraging illegal employment in the US or offshore.

An advantageous aspect of working for yourself is you almost never get fired. That’s one of the reasons why many people who have full-time jobs also have a side business on the side.

But unexpectedly, if you have lost your 9-5 job, you might want to think taking a gap from your business in order to maximize your unemployment benefits. The main point is, if you don’t want to deceive yourself or the system, it requires calling the local unemployment compensation office and asking lots of questions.

Some states support out-of-work individuals as they feel that some form of extra income is needed to stay afloat while other localities deduct a portion of money earned from the weekly benefits. It all depends on the nature of work and the law of each state.

If your gross earnings for a week equal or exceed your weekly benefit amount or if you work 32 or more hours in a week, you are ineligible for unemployment benefits for that week.

While if you work less than 32 hours and make less than your weekly benefit amount, you are eligible to receive only a fractional benefit payment. Moreover, your weekly compensation will be reduced dollar by dollar for every 55% of part time earnings in a week. Any money not paid due to a reduction remains in your account balance throughout the end of your benefit year.

The first concern of any unemployment insurance office is that your business doesn’t hamper your ability to find out and accept your next full-time job. The general rule for unemployment eligibility is that you must be able to accept work and must be looking for work.

State Specific Rules for Part-time Pay

Each of the states has different set of rules for mixing side income and UI benefits. With some states as long as you’re available full-time and looking for work, your part time self employment doesn’t affect insurance check. So if you do some consulting work or want to run an online store on weekends, your benefit check won’t suffer.

While selling your own goods is often considered converting your existing assets to cash, some business activities could be seen as earning a salary. So, depending on how your state views it, the activity may not your benefits at all.

The start of your unemployment benefits is also delayed by severance pay. For example, if you collect ten weeks of severance pay, you will be ineligible for receiving UI benefits for the first ten weeks after your last day of work. Moreover, if you want to stop receiving benefit payments, simply stop requesting payment and your account will become inactive. But keep your unemployment debit card and password in a safe place in case you need to reactivate your benefit account.

Pension Payment and Unemployment Compensation

Pension payments from a fund your base period employer contributed will reduce your UI benefits unless:

• You roll the pension into another retirement fund without taking a taxable payment or,
• You have to pay a penalty for early withdrawal.

According to one of the experts, “A person has to make out a mental plan,” “No multi-tasking.” If you analyze how much your part-time employment generates and what it costs can help you out in making some important decisions while you’re looking for your next job. Moreover, it will also give some realistic expectations for how you want to schedule your time and what you want to do next. Don’t use the same block of time for both job hunt and your business but switch back and forth between the two.