Rhode Island Unemployment Benefit Questions

How much will be my benefit amount?

Your benefit amount is usually 3.85% of your earnings in the highest two-quarters of your base period but will not exceed the fixed upper limit as per that state’s laws.

As of July 2018, the minimum benefit amount is $53 per week and the maximum is $576, and $720 for beneficiaries with a maximum five dependents. 

If you have children who are listed as dependents, that will qualify you for dependency allowance, provided the kids are below 18 years. Handicapped children who are above 18 years will also qualify for the allowance.

A claimant can have a maximum of 5 dependents and the dependency allowance will be 5% of your Weekly Benefit Rate. Minimum dependency allowance is $15 per dependent.

The number of dependents cannot be changed for a benefit year. If there is a change in the number of kids anytime during the year, it cannot be added to your claims. If 2 parties make a dependency claim for the same child, the party with primary custody will receive the dependency allowance.

  1. I have been told my claim is flagged for fraud , I have called the number in the letter dedicated to this issue . I have been on hold 1 hr 2 min , 1 hour 17 min , and currently 35 minutes. This is a pretty serious thing to send people and have no one to answer a call on hold for 1 hour ? I have an active claim although not currently collecting because I work part time in a temporary role ,. How do you get through to someone , have sent e-mail to Governor office as well. absurd

  2. I am self-employed in Rhode Island the gig economy without work since COVID began. If & when I land a one-time gig – can I make a certain amount of money in a week without losing my UI Claim Status?

    • Nikki,

      The Unemployment Office will issue a “Letter of Determination” to confirm your eligibility. If you haven’t received it, please wait.

  3. Can you collect unemployment after 8 weeks if you voluntarily left an employment? I left my employment and have been searching and applying for jobs. I had 2 job interviews but was not hired and am still searching. Can I collect unemployment now after 8 weeks?

  4. If you are let go from your job but they say you can stay for 2 more weeks till you find another job…do you have to stay for 2 weeks in order to file for unemployment?

    • Tina,

      Its good to complete the remaining obligations before moving out of it. Please call the Unemployment Office for clarification.

  5. We work at Honeywell and it is closing down and we are getting a severance pay 4-26 weeks and some of our co-workers that have already been let go said a meeting was held with them and they were told the number of weeks of severance would be deducted from the amount of weeks of our severance, is this true/

    • I don’t think so. Please check with the Unemployment Office in your state.

      You can only apply after the severance pay period is over.

  6. Hi,
    I work for Honeywell and the plant I work in will be closing my exit date is some time in March or April now and we were told that we were going to close on December 24th for a week or so returning to work on January 4th I will file a claim for this time and it will be my waiting period. So my claim will be open December 2015- December 2016. I have 26week severance pay that would bring me to September 2016 if I do not find a job does that mean I only have till December to collect because my claim will close in December? Can I open a new claim and be able to collect 26 more weeks? the reason I am asking this is should I open a claim for the week I am off in Dec.2015 because if I don’t find a job I will be with out a pay

    • You can only claim and receive up to 26 weeks of benefits, only once. Please wait until the severance pay period is over.

    • Depends. Unemployment benefits is generally not provided to those who quit voluntarily.

      Please call the claims center/customer service of the labor dept. in your state for further information.

  7. I work out of CT , RI Tax taken out but no TDI, I have a medical problem that may stop me from working at this job. If i am release because of these medical conditions will i be able to collect unemployement until I find another job.2

    • If the medical condition is work related,you may look at exploring Workers compensation.Otherwise UI is extended to those citizens who are unemployed involuntarily.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

https://fileunemployment.org