Filing for Unemployment....

[SRUAlmn]

My fiance' and I just moved to SC a few months ago, and we are having an AWFUL time financially. I have a teaching job, but my fiance can't find a job to save his life. He has a BA in Comm. and has applied for several available jobs in his field that he is very qualified for, but can't even get anyone to call him or email him or anything. Anyway, we were wondering what the rules are for filing for unemployment. I thought that you couldn't file if you quit your job, but my sister told me that since we moved out of state we may be able to If we could file, would he get back pay from the past 4 months that he hasn't been working? Does it negatively affect future employers' interests in hiring you? Can anyone help? Thanks so much!! We've never gone through something like this before and it's so hard when you don't know what to do.

 

[EthansMom]

It's been about 6 years since I had to file for unemployment... and boy, was it a hassle. I qualified for unemployment since I had been laid off. Since I had moved from one state to another 6 months prior, I had to file for unemployment with the state I was living in and I got paid by the state I had moved from.

When I filed, you had to have worked a certain number of weeks out of the last year or so. You had to get your previous employer to certify (directly to the state) the reasons you had lost/left your job. And you had to make at least 2 contacts each week, attempting to get employment. You had to keep copies of resumes sent out and/or a log of calls made in case the unemployment agency called you in to verify that you really were trying to find work.

Once, you went through all of those hoops, you got a check based on your income. My income topped out, so I got the maximum check allowed for the state and my recollection is that it wasn't a great deal... maybe ~$500 a month. I only collected for two months before finding a job.

You could try Googling the Unemployment Department for the state you live in to find out the requirements for your state.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Thanks. It does sound like a hassle, but I'm sure it has to be so that 'just anyone' couldn't try to do it. He really has been TRYING so much. Contacting at least 3 places a day, but no luck. It's so much WHO you know, not WHAT you know. I think maybe I'll try Google.
Thanks again!

 

[mickeyfan2]

You will not get back pay for UCI. I was under the impression that you don't get UCI if you quit the job, but I not 100% sure in your case.

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

I think that you can file because you have moved out of state. I drive a school bus and collect every summer. I drive some in the summer and collect partial unemployment. I do it right from the house on my own computer. Its very easy. I collect during all the school vacations also.

 

[tinatark]

It's not as hard as it used to be. You'll have to check with the local unemployment office to see the rules there.

In TN, the max weekly is $275 - it is based on your pay for the last 13 quarters - you will draw from the state you lived in during the past year. Most of them do have website reporting weekly.

 

[SRUAlmn]

It's not as hard as it used to be. You'll have to check with the local unemployment office to see the rules there.

In TN, the max weekly is $275 - it is based on your pay for the last 13 quarters - you will draw from the state you lived in during the past year. Most of them do have website reporting weekly.

$275 a week!?!?!? Wow, that comes out to about $6.87 an hour. He'd be better off just going to apply at McDonalds in the meantime or something. This is so frustrating.

 

[crazelion]

Yep that how much we get paid. Because most our jobs barely pays 7.00 hours here. Anything above 7.00 hours is considers good money here.

 

[mum4jenn]

Way back in the early 90's I lost my job and I went from over $30,000 a year to $135.00 a week. It is tough. You come no where near to what you did earn but it is something. If he is able to get some work ANYWHERE it is better because you have to report that income to IRS and taxes are not taken out(unless that has changed) The 7 months I collected we ended up owing the IRS exactly that much at the end of the year.

 

[Caradana]

Have you tried asking around with friends at your teaching job? You're right, it's often who you know ... maybe you can capitalize on that?

 

[barkley]

depends on the state regulations. in california you would not qualify for any ui as a contracted (salary vs. hourly) bus driver who worked the school calendar year and opted to be paid for actual work months vs. the calendar year (most districts offer salaried employees both options).

ui is generaly (in most states) a benefit that is paid by employer contributions therefore it is a benefit for employees who through no fault of their own or their employer have lost their employment.

my understand is that when an individual moves from one state to another they must first meet the minimum ui requirement of the original state ( minimum work quarters, non cause fire, layoff...) and then confirm some form of justification for the move (it can't be " we moved here for a lower cost of living" because the originating state who will be paying out the claim may have vast employment availability in thier field, and they don't want it to be beneficial financialy for a person to relocate to a lower cost of living state and recieve a higher cost of living ui benefit.

if the op's fiancee is eligible for any form of ui he will likely find that one of the requirements is to seek AND ACCEPT any employment he is qualified to accept (be it minimum wage, be it outside his field of chosen profession...).

 

[LoraJ]

What type of jobs is he qualified for and exactly which field?

 

[Poohnatic]

YMMV, but when DH moved from Chicago to Maryland, he was able to collect unemployment. It was paid by Illinois, not Maryland, though.

Good luck!

Suzanne

 

[disneymom3]

I have always thought that unemployment was tied to the previous employer somehow. Can't claim I understand it, but when I ran a daycare in a church we had someone who tried to file unemployment and the way I heard it was that because we were a nonprofit, she couldn't. At any rate, DH has been on unemployment before and at least in MN you collect 40% of your previous pay. I would imagine there is a cap on that, but we have never come close to that.

I am really surprised that driving a school bus you can collect unemployment during school vacations. That seems kinda odd.

 

[tar heel]

Being a nonprofit doesn't affect whether you can collect unemployment. The nonprofit I used to work for fought to not pay unemployment on a former employee while I worked there -- they lost and she collected.

Interesting about the school bus drivers. My mom works at a resort that's open about half the year and collects the other half.

 

[lulubelle]

I have collected UI for over four months. I get $450/week (paid every two weeks). I quit my job because my DH accepted another job in another county and we had to move. Since he is the main financial support for our family they called it "forced relocation". I wasn't sure when we moved if I could collect or not. That $$$ sure helped a lot. I checked the box to have 10% Federal tax withheld because you do have to claim this as income If you moved due to your job and you are the main support, he may have a claim. I was prepared to show his employment records and W-2's as support, but they never asked for any, just accepted the claim. Chin up girl, this will all be ok. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

$275 a week!?!?!? Wow, that comes out to about $6.87 an hour. He'd be better off just going to apply at McDonalds in the meantime or something. This is so frustrating.

It's better than nothing though, isn't it?? Why not try McDonald's or somewhere until he can find something better?

 

[Kay1]

Better than McDonald's would be subbing. Our school sytem is always looking for subs and that would buy him some time to look for what he really wants.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Better than McDonald's would be subbing. Our school sytem is always looking for subs and that would buy him some time to look for what he really wants.

She's the teacher, not him.

 

[BuckNaked]

$275 a week!?!?!? Wow, that comes out to about $6.87 an hour. He'd be better off just going to apply at McDonalds in the meantime or something. This is so frustrating.

If there are jobs at McDonald's available, he should be doing that anyway, rather than trying to file for unemployment.