Career Path > Money Matters
Unemployment Claims
stownsend:
I was filing combined wages for multiple states and I had the UI office tell me if there was a time I thought I would run out of benifits I could apply to each state, example I worked eight weeks in Mass.,seven in Fla and twelve in VY.What she said to do is file for the first state I worked in and get how many weeks I was eliglible for,then when that ran out file for the second state and get the weeks there and so on.You have to work a certain length of time to get the max weeks or combine them to get that States max amount and weeks.She said it may work in my favor but I never did.It doesn't hurt to ask.
Already Gone:
The reason why most people find it best to combine the wages and file in Mass. is that Mass. pays a maximum benefit of over $550.00 per week for up to thirty weeks. No other state pays nearly as much since Washington lowered their benefits.
If you claimes against each particular state, they would pay you very little for a very short while, you cannot use those wages again to claim from another state, and you cannot have two claims open at the same time.
There is no good reason to file anywhere except Massachussetts if you qualify. It may be a bit of trouble to get there and to reopen your claim after each layoff, but it is worth it. You'll net thousands of dollars more every year by going there, especially if you have dependent children.
stownsend:
Am I missing something here. I thought you could only claim UI against the state with which you worked and paid state taxes(if any). Just because you work for big blue in South Dakota does that allow you to file in Mass?
Rennhack:
--- Quote from: stownsend on Nov 29, 2006, 04:33 ---Am I missing something here. I thought you could only claim UI against the state with which you worked and paid state taxes(if any). Just because you work for big blue in South Dakota does that allow you to file in Mass?
--- End quote ---
Big blue has nothing to do with what they are talking about. Please re-read the posts, in detail, there is a lot of good info in them. If you work in multiple states, you can file anywhere and get a combined state claim, where the state you claim in gets the money from all the states you worked in (combined-wage claim). If you work in one state, you can file any where, and they will draw the funds from the one state you worked in (intrastate claim). WHO YOUR EMPLOYER IS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT, AND WHERE YOUR EMPLOYTER’S CORPORATE HQ IS HAS NOTHING TO DO WIHT IT, it’s just a coincidence. To claim in Mass, you have to have worked there, or lived there. Some people get a PO Box in Mass for their first claim, or use a friend’s address as the 'lived' there part is very loosly defined. After that, it's on file, and you can have the checks sent anywhere...
Already Gone:
Mike is right, except that you do not have to live or work in Mass. to file a combined wage claim there. You do if you are filing an interstate claim other than a combined wage claim.
Here's the deal, if you worked at Pilgrim and live in Tampa, you file an interstate claim against Massachussetts. You can do this in Florida. Just call Florida Unemployment.
If you worked it TWO STATES, that is ANY two states (even including your home state) during your eligibility period, you can file a Combined Wage Claim in any state. To do this in Mass. you must physically visit an employment center in Massachussetts. Then, when you get home (the next day perhaps) you have your state's unemployment office file an IB1 to start your payments. As long as that claim is open (one year) you call your state to file a new IB1 every time you get laid off. You never have to have an address in Massachussetts in order to file this type of claim - you just have to go there to open it once each year.
Normal people (those not privy to these nuggets of knowledge) just file UI claims in the place where they live. These claims may be interstate or combined wage claims too. If you work outside your home state, they are going to do an interstate or combined wage claim - maybe without bothering to tell you.
WARNING!!!
Where you work, and where you pay state income taxes has NOTHING to do with your eligibility to file an interstate or combined wage claim. What matters is where your employer REPORTS your earnings.
My current employer reports all my earnings to New York. They are not required to report my earnings to any state just because I worked there. The requirement to pay taxes to any of those states has absolutely nothing to do with where your wages are reported for unemployment purposes. Unemployment is a federal program, administered by the states. State income taxes are completely separate.
Some of you may remember a company who reported all their employees' income to Oklahoma, because the company was located there. The obvious answer was to collect at least one paycheck from some other employer in any state other than Oklahoma. Eventually, that employer stopped reporting only to OK. They no longer exist.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version