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Adventures in Unemployment

They don’t make it easy to collect unemployment. First, you file right after losing your job. A few days later, you’ll get a letter telling you how much money you qualify for (there’s a formula involved), but also stating that the determination letter doesn’t mean that you’ll definitely qualify to collect unemployment compensation. They also give you a PIN number you’ll have to use when you file bi-weekly.

The first time I filed for unemployment compensation, it was all done through phones, but now you can check the status and pending payments online, which makes it much easier. No one likes waiting on hold or pressing numbers correlating to various options on a phone system. Still, there can be problems, and it’s hard to know how to resolve them. At one point, my Mom and I were both working at the same school district. Someone told her that employees can file for unemployment over the Summer, when we’re technically laid off because school is not in session. Others said we didn’t qualify, but my Mom thought, “What’s the harm in trying?” So she filed her initial claim, got her determination letter, and then waited.

She ended up calling the office and was told that she qualified. A few days later, she called back and was greeted by a hostile man who asked, “Who told you that you can collect when you work at a school? You can’t collect!”

Meanwhile, I was collecting unemployment after being off for the Summer. I have no idea why should couldn’t collect when I could!

This last time that I got laid off, I filed my initial claim again, collected my first check after three weeks, but then the next time I filed, when I went to view my pending payment, it said there was “an issue” and I had to wait until they investigated. There was nothing I could do but wait. Then a week or so later, I got a letter saying that I was terminated from my last job due to “willful misconduct” and that I might not get to collect. This was news to me! I was told that I was being let go due to lack of work, not through any fault of my own.

They sent me a questionnaire to explain my side of things, but first I had to correct their information since they had incorrect dates and jobs listed on the letter sent to me. The day after I mailed the questionnaire, however, I received a second letter that the issue was resolved. It was found that 1. I was dismissed from the job due to inadequate job performance (again, this was news to me); and 2. I did the job to the best of my ability. Therefore, I was still able to collect.

Boy was I mad when I got that letter. When I was laid off, I was told that it was due to lack of work and they told me they had no plans to replace me, that they just didn’t have the work for the position. So I don’t know if they changed their story after I was gone or if the unemployment agency got the wrong information. All I knew was that I had to wait weeks for money I deserved. It’s not cheap to look for a job!