Unemployment Insurance

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

On Monday, February 5th, Joscelyn attended a basic benefits training on Unemployment Insurance, hosted by Mass Law Reform. The training covered eligibility requirements, required job training and job search and how and where to apply. Please keep in mind that in the interests of space and simplicity, this article does not cover all Unemployment Insurance issues. Please contact the Community Resource Center, or utilize the contact information of the presenters of this training (at the end of this article) to ask more in-depth questions.

OVERVIEW
Unemployment Insurance (UI) provides benefits to Massachusetts workers who are unemployed by no fault of their own. It is temporary income for eligible workers who are currently capable of, available for and actively seeking work. It is a federal system, but individual states exercise a sizable amount of control over it.

It is a non-needs tested program. Applicants must only have enough prior work. They must have earned at least $2,700 during at least 15 weeks in the last four completed work quarters. An individual's weekly benefit rate (WBR) is about half of their weekly gross earnings. The maximum WBR is $512. An employee is entitled to receive UI benefits for up to 30 weeks, although there is an opportunity to extend benefits through job training.

Employers pay for unemployment Insurance benefits, no deductions are ever taken from an employee's paycheck to pay for it. Employers pay quarterly contributions to the Massachusetts Division of Employment and Training (DET). An employer's contribution rate is dependent upon their experience with layoffs and the amount of UI collected by their former employees throughout the year. The more layoffs and UI collected, the higher the employer's contribution rate. This is why employers sometimes choose to protest a former employee's claim for UI benefits, particularly if the employee left the job voluntarily or was fired for good cause.

ELIGIBILITY
Almost every employer in Massachusetts participates in the unemployment program and almost everyone is covered. Workers in the following categories are not eligible:

Employees of churches and certain religious organizations
Trainees in a program administered by a non-profit or public institution
Real estate brokers or insurance agents who work on a commission-only basis
Consultants working independently
Elected officials and those in policy-making and advisory positions
Members of a legislative body, or the judiciary

As mentioned in the Overview section, employers sometimes choose to protest a former employee's claim for UI benefits, particularly if the employee left the job voluntarily or was fired for good cause. These two circumstances are common and may result in disqualification for UI benefits. If the employee quit the job, they must prove that they had good cause or a compelling personal reason. If the employee was fired, the employer must prove that the employee's performance was substandard.

AVAILABILITY FOR WORK
An employee need only accept "suitable work", meaning the employee must not feel that the work and/or workplace is detrimental to their health, safety, morals, etc. They do not have to accept the first job that comes along if it does not meet this definition. Sometimes an employee is only able to search for part-time work, or is able to work part-time and also receive benefits. Here are some brief instances:

If an employee is only able to engage in and search for part-time work, this is sometimes acceptable if the employee is disabled and/or has a history of part-time only work.
If an employee is currently working part-time, but previously worked only full-time, they can sometimes receive Unemployment Insurance and retain their part-time job, as long as they report all earnings to the DET.
If an employee has both full- and part-time jobs, and loses one but retains the other, s/he may still be able to receive UI.

The presenters at this training acknowledged that issues concerning part-time work are often complicated and difficult to analyze, and suggest calling or emailing them with any questions. Their contact info appears at the end of this article.

REQUIRED JOB SEARCH/JOB TRAINING
Those who are eligible for UI must be actively seeking work, and must be available for and capable to work. They must be unable to find work by the usual means and must perform job searches, the results of which must be documented and reported by the employee. UI is not for people who cannot work. If an applicant for UI is disabled, and is not working because of a disability-related episode, they must show that the disability-related episode was situational, and that they can still work.

Participation in a job training program can waive the job search requirement and add on 18 more weeks of WBR. The employee must apply for the training program within 15 weeks of receiving UI to receive extended benefits. The employee is eligible for job training if they may not obtain suitable employment at their current skill-level and require training to become re-employed.

A job training program must be approved by DTA. To be approved a program must:

Be at least 20 hours/week
Be intensive. It must take less than a year to complete
Have a job placement of 70%
Provide vocational/technical or basic-skills training
Clearly identify the occupation for which it is training

FILING A CLAIM (APPLYING FOR BENEFITS)
A worker whose employment is terminated should immediately file a claim with DET. The later the employee applies, the lesser their unemployment benefit will be. To file a claim, reopen a claim and/or obtain information, one may call the DET TeleClaim Center (877-626-6800 or 617-626-6800) or go to a Walk-In Center (go to http://www.detma.org/offices/multisearch.asp to find Walk-In Center locations throughout Massachusetts). Some Walk-In centers offer hour-long UI information sessions that are particularly helpful to those who are filing a claim for the first time.

If a claim is denied, the employee has the right to file for an appeal. The employee has 10 days after the date of hand-delivery or the postmark date on the notice of disqualification in which to request a hearing. If benefits are granted to the employee, the employer also has 10 days to appeal that decision.

CONTACT INFORMATION
For further information on Unemployment Insurance, contact Allan Rodgers or Monica Halas at Greater Boston Legal Services (617-371-1234), browse the UI section of the DET's website at,https://uionline.detma.org/Claimant/Core/Login.ASPX or request written information from the "Unemployment Advocacy Guide", available from the CRC by calling x6-5807.

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