本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Unemployment Insurance Answers to Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat is Unemployment Insurance?
Unemployment Insurance (UI) is designed to assist workers unemployed through no fault of their own. UI is 100% funded by employers through payroll taxes. It is not based on financial need. Although weekly benefits are not meant to completely replace your regular earnings, the benefits can help you meet expenses until you find a new job. You are encouraged to apply during the first week you are laid off or your hours of work are reduced.
Am I eligible for Unemployment Insurance Benefits?
Eligibility is based on your employment history and the reason you're unemployed.
If you had 680 hours of covered employment in your base year you meet the employment threshold. From wage information reported by your employer we will calculate your weekly benefit amount and your maximum benefit amount.
You can also calculate your own weekly and maximum amount of benefits
The second eligibility item involves the reason you're unemployed. If your employer laid you off for lack of work, you are likely eligible. If you voluntarily quit your job or were discharged by your employer, we will have to make a formal decision about your eligibility. We will get information from both you and your employer. Both you and your employer will have an opportunity to rebut each other's version of the separation. Following that, we will issue the written decision.
You also need to be physically able to work, available for work, and actively seeking suitable work. Suitable work is employment in an occupation in line with your prior training, experience and education - unless your regular work does not exist in your area. Work would not be considered suitable if the wages, hours or working conditions are not as favorable as most jobs in your occupation in the local labor market or if you are not physically able to perform the work.
How do I apply?
You can apply for unemployment insurance online at www.go2ui.com or by calling your Unemployment Claims TeleCenter.
Why do I have to give you my Social Security number?
Federal law [42 U.S.C. Section 1320b-7, and 20 CFR 603.3] requires you to provide your Social Security Number as a condition of eligibility for Unemployment Insurance. Here is the text of the statute: "Unemployment compensation agencies shall require, as a condition of eligibility for unemployment benefits, that each claimant furnish to the agency his/her social security number. If an individual refuses or fails to provide the social security number, then that individual shall be ineligible to participate in the unemployment compensation program."
In addition, WAC 192-110-005(3) says, in part, that you must provide your legal name and your Social Security account number in order for us to process your application.
I have already applied, now what?
Length of Claim
Benefit Amounts
Unemployment Insurance Information and Weekly Claims Line Phone Numbers
PIN
Job Search
Your Rights and Responsibilities
Questions about eligibility
What is a waiting week?
The first week you are eligible for benefits is your waiting week. You will not be paid for your waiting week. You must file a weekly claim to receive credit for your waiting week, even though you will not receive a check.
Can I file my weekly claims over the phone?
Call one of these phone numbers:
Seattle: 206-340-0300 Spokane: 509-892-6888 Tacoma: 253-305-0300 All other areas: 1-800-318-6022 Español: 1-800-319-1664 TTY: 1-800-318-1665 (requires a TTY device for hearing or speech impaired and a touch tone phone) After you call, select Option 1 to file your weekly claim. Enter your Social Security Number. Enter your PIN. Select Option 1 again to file your weekly claim.
How do I get a PIN number?
You must select your own PIN (Personal Identification Number) which you will use each time you file your weekly claim. Use a 4-digit number that you can remember, but one that is not easy for anyone else to guess. Your same PIN may be used with either the telephone or the Internet filing method. Please do not use your birthday, repeating numbers (such as 5555) or numbers in sequence (1234) for your PIN.
On your first call, you will be asked to enter your two-digit birth month and four-digit birth year using the keypad on your phone, e.g., 07 1956. You will then be asked to establish a PIN. Select and enter the 4 numbers you have chosen for your PIN. When asked to do so, re-enter the 4 numbers to verify. When you have successfully entered your PIN you may go to the next step to file your weekly claim.
The Employment Security Department does not have access to your PIN number. It is confidential and should not be shared with anyone.
Can I use the Internet to file my weekly claims?
Go to the Washington Employment Security Department Unemployment Insurance web site: www.go2ui.com. If you have not filed a weekly claim before, you are strongly encouraged to read the Weekly Claim Instructions, which are linked from the web site. Read the instructions, click on the "Close" button to close the new window and return to go2ui.com. Select "File Your Weekly Claims". You will arrive at "Welcome to the Washington Unemployment Information and Weekly Claims Line Web Page", and click "Continue". You will arrive at "Social Security Number" web page. Enter your Social Security number and click "Continue". You will arrive at a request for your "4-digit PIN". Enter your 4-digit PIN. This is a 4-digit number you have created. You will arrive at the "Services currently available for your claim" page. Select an option. Read the page and click "Continue". The next several pages will provide you with important information about the claiming process. Read each page carefully, answer any questions and click "Continue". For both the telephone and Internet, you will be asked a series of questions. You are responsible for the answers you give. False answers may result in overpaid benefits, which you must pay back. If you provide information that you know is false or misleading, it is considered fraud and is punishable by law.
When will I get my first check?
See Waiting Week See First Pay See Possible Lost Check
My check did not come in the mail. What should I do?
We usually mail your check the day after you file your weekly claim; however, if you file your claim after 5:00 p.m., we usually mail your check two days later. Do not expect your check the same day every week. Mail delivery may vary.
If it has been seven mail delivery days since you filed or called in your claim and you have not received your check, call the Weekly Claims Line to see if it has been mailed. If the check was mailed, and it has been seven postal mail delivery days and you have not received it, call your Unemployment Claims TeleCenter. To replace lost or stolen checks will take time. In the meantime, continue to file your weekly claims. Direct deposit of unemployment benefit checks is not available.
How long can I get my benefits?
Your claim is established for a "benefit year," which is 52 weeks beginning with the week in which you file your application. You cannot file a new claim with Washington as the paying state until your benefit year is over, even though you may have collected your maximum benefit payable. If you claim full benefits, the maximum length of time your benefits would last is 30 weeks.
If you have an opportunity for part-time work and your "earnings deduction" (gross earnings minus $5 times 75%) is less than your weekly benefit amount, you could receive partial benefits to extend the period of time that you could draw benefits. Additional earnings may also help you qualify for a new claim when your benefit year ends.
How do I stop claiming UI benefits? Do I need to let you know I returned to work?
The way to stop your claim is simple: Do not file your weekly claims. If you do not claim a week, this will stop your claim.
You may stop claiming at any time during your benefit year and resume claiming the balance of your benefits until your benefit year ends, as long as all eligibility requirements are met. For example, you may take a vacation, have full-time temporary work, or you may become ill. There may also be other reasons you are not available for work or looking for work.
However, if you stop claiming, even for one week, you must call your TeleCenter to reopen your claim during the first week you are eligible and want to begin claiming again.
For purposes of filing UI, you do not need to notify the department when you return to work. If your WorkSource office requested this information, please notify them.
Are extended benefits available after I exhaust my maximum regular benefit amount?
Currently, there are no state or federal extended benefits available to Washington claimants.
The federal extensions were authorized in March 2002 and extended twice by Congress and the President. They ended December 27, 2003, though claimants with a balance in their federal extension as of that date can continue to receive the balance.
The state/federal extended benefit program (EB) "triggered on" in Washington in January 2002 because of the high unemployment rate and "triggered off" effective January 10, 2004. Whether or not we trigger on or off of EB is governed by federal and state laws. No EB payments can be made for any week after January 10, 2004.
If new extensions become available, potentially eligible claimants will be notified by mail. We will also update this information on our internet site.
How does severance pay, pay in lieu of notice, or continuation pay affect my benefits?
Severance payments do not usually have any effect on receipt of benefits. However, "Pay in Lieu of Notice" or "Continuation Pay" with full benefits that are guaranteed can affect the receipt of unemployment benefits. Report any separation-related payments you receive or are entitled to receive to your Unemployment Claims TeleCenter.
Do I have to accept any job that is offered?
You do not have to look for or accept work that is not suitable. Work is not suitable if:
The work is not in line with your training and experience. (After a period of time, any job you are qualified to do may become suitable work.) You would be forced to join or resign from a labor union. The hours or working conditions are not as favorable as most other jobs in your occupation in your area. The work is farther than the usual commuting distance for people in your occupation in your area. The wages offered are lower than the wages common for that occupation in your area. The work is unreasonably dangerous. You cannot physically do the work. The work would offend your religious beliefs or moral conscience.
Do I have to accept any bump option that I am offered?
If you or your employer reports you refused a bump option (moving to another job), the department will determine if the refusal is considered a voluntary quit or a job refusal of new work with the employer. (Note: a bump option generally results from a collective bargaining agreement providing more senior employees the opportunity to ?bump? less senior employees during a lay off.) The department will investigate the circumstances of the bump option, taking into account work related factors that may include, but are not limited to, changes in wages, hours, benefits, and/or distance to work.
Can I go to school and still get UI benefits?
Unemployment insurance (UI) law requires that you must be able, available and actively seeking work every week in order to receive benefits. Attending school calls into question your eligibility for UI benefits because of the time involved in attending classes and studying. However, if you need training to find new work, you may be eligible for one of the two programs shown below:
Training Benefits Commissioner Approved Training
Can I work part-time and still receive benefits?
If you were unemployed and get a part-time job, you may continue to receive partial benefits. It will depend on:
Your weekly benefit amount and Your gross earnings for the week.
You must also continue to make an active search for work each week you claim benefits.*
We deduct approximately 75% of your gross earnings from your weekly benefit amount. You can view an "Earnings Deduction Chart" (requires Acrobat Reader) to estimate how much you would receive each week.
A benefit year lasts 52 weeks but your benefits will not last that long if you draw the maximum amount each week. Working part-time may extend the number of weeks you can receive benefits and may also help you qualify for a future new claim.
*Note: You do not have to look for work if you were a full-time employee, you continue to work every week for the same employer, but your hours have been temporarily reduced to less than full-time.
Can I still claim wekly benefits if I am moving out of Washington State?
If you are currently filing weekly claims in Washington, file a change of address after you move. You can do this in three different ways:
online, by calling the Weekly Claims Line, or by calling your Unemployment Claims TeleCenter.
Continue to file your weekly claims as you do now. Although you are living in a different state. Washington will continue to pay you benefits. You are required to register for work at your local employment center.
How do I file a new claim if I have moved or am going to move out of Washington State?
While still residing in Washington (WA), you may choose to file a new WA claim online at go2ui.com, or by calling your Unemployment Claims TeleCenter. If you have worked in WA and another state(s) in the past two years, you might be better off applying for a new claim against WA and combining your wages from the other state(s). Therefore, you may want to file your claim before you leave Washington State. You need to call your Unemployment Claims TeleCenter to file your new claim. You MAY NOT use the online application if you worked in 2 or more states during the last 18 months.
After moving to the new state, you will be eligible to file a claim based only on WA wages. You can file online at go2ui.com or by calling your Unemployment Claims TeleCenter at 1-800-362-4636. However, if you wish to file a claim using wages from more than one state, you must file the claim with the state in which you are physically present. If you are no longer in WA, you cannot file a claim against WA State using wages from more than one state. If you are collecting unemployment benefits from WA, you arerequired to register for work in the new state at the nearest employment office. Checkthe government pages of your local telephone directory for the location of the nearest office.
After your new claim is filed and you move, file a change of address. You can do this in three different ways:
online, by calling the Weekly Claims Line, or by calling your Unemployment Claims TeleCenter. Once you establish a Washington claim, you will continue to draw from that claim, even when you move to a different state.
If you have specific questions regarding your individual situation, call your Unemployment Insurance Claims TeleCenter
Why did I get a paper claim form in the mail?
Did you file a paper claim form for the last week or weeks to get caught up? When you submit a paper claim form, our computer system is designed to send you a new paper claim form for the following two weeks. If you have been told to use the paper claim forms to file your claims, continue to do so. Please disregard the paper claim forms if you plan to file your weekly claim by using the Internet at www.go2ui.com or the Weekly Claims Line. If you file electronically, you will get your benefit payment faster.
Are my UI benefits taxable?
Yes.
The federal income tax law does not require us to withhold taxes from your weekly unemployment benefits. However, you may choose to have 10% of your weekly benefits deducted for income tax.
Should you choose to have income taxes taken from your benefits, this may help you avoid a large tax bill.
We cannot refund any money we withhold for income tax purposes. If we overpay you, and the payment includes an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) deduction, you will have to repay the benefits you received, along with the amount we have withheld and sent to the IRS.
If you choose to have taxes taken from your benefits, and did not tell the Unemployment Claims TeleCenter when you filed your claim, complete the Voluntary Withholding Form below and send it to the address listed or call your Unemployment Claims TeleCenter.
You may discontinue withholding taxes from your weekly benefits at any time by calling the Unemployment Claims TeleCenter, but only the IRS can refund your withholdings for income tax. The IRS can only refund your money if you qualify for a refund on your annual federal income tax return. Created by uimaster1更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net