UN-EMPLOYMENT COMPESATION FOR AMERICAN CITIZEN

                            Unemployment benefits

Unemployment benefits (depending on the jurisdiction also called unemployment insurance or unemployment compensation) are social welfare payments made by the state or other authorized bodies to unemployed people. Benefits may be based on a compulsory para-governmental insurance system. Depending on the jurisdiction and the status of the person, those sums may be small, covering only basic needs, or may compensate the lost time proportionally to the previous earned salary.

Unemployment benefits are generally given only to those registering as unemployed, and often on conditions ensuring that they seek work and do not currently have a job.


In the United States unemployment benefits generally pay eligible workers between 40-50% of their previous pay.Benefits are generally paid by state governments, funded in large part by state and federal payroll taxes levied against employers, to workers who have become unemployed through no fault of their own. This compensation is classified as a type of social welfare benefit. According to the Internal Revenue Code, these types of benefits are to be included in a taxpayer's gross income.

The standard time-length of unemployment compensation is six months, although extensions are possible during economic downturns. Once this six-month time period elapses and payment ceases, an individual who remains unemployed is left with little means of a social safety net other than through help from charities, family or friends. This contrasts with the situation of the unemployed in many of the European countries (such as France, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom), where, once an unemployed individual is no longer eligible (or was never eligible to begin with) for contribution-based unemployment benefit, the individual then becomes eligible for a standard non-contribution unemployment benefit, which lasts either until the worker becomes employed or enters retirement.

The Supreme Court held that federal unemployment law is constitutional and does not violate the Tenth Amendment in Steward Machine Company v. Davis, 301 U.S. 548 (1937).


In the United States, there are 50 state unemployment insurance programs plus one each in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and United States Virgin Islands.

Unemployment insurance is a federal-state program financed through federal and state payroll taxes (federal and state UI taxes).In most states employers pay state and federal unemployment taxes if:

(1) they pay wages to employees totaling $1,500 or more in any quarter of a calendar year; or,
(2) they had at least one employee during any day of a week during 20 weeks in a calendar year, regardless of whether the weeks were consecutive. Some state laws differ from the federal law.


Eligibility and amount

In order to receive benefits, a person must have worked for at least one quarter in the previous year and have been laid-off by an employer. Workers who were temporary or were paid under the table are not eligible for unemployment insurance. If a worker quits or is fired they are not eligible for UI benefits. There are five common reasons a claim for unemployment benefits are denied: the worker is unavailable for work, the worker quit his or her job, the worker was fired, refusing suitable work, and unemployment resulting from a labor dispute. In practice, it is only practical to verify whether the worker quit or was fired.

Generally, the worker must be unemployed through no fault of his/her own although workers often file for benefits they are not entitled to; when the employer demonstrates that the unemployed person quit or was fired for cause the worker is required to pay back the benefits they received. The unemployed person must also meet state requirements for wages earned or time worked during an established period of time (referred to as a “base period”) to be eligible for benefits. In most states, the base period is usually the first four out of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the time that the claim is filed. Unemployment benefits are based on reported covered quarterly earnings. The amount of earnings and the number of quarters worked are used to determine the length and value of the unemployment benefit. The average weekly in 2010 payment was $293.

As a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed in February 2009, many unemployed people receive up to 99 weeks of unemployment benefits; this may depend on State legislation. Before the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the maximum number of weeks allowed was 26.


Application process

It generally takes two weeks for benefit payments to begin, the first being a "waiting week", which is not reimbursed, and the second being the time lag between eligibility for the program and the first benefit actually being paid.

To begin a claim, the unemployed worker must apply for benefits through a state unemployment agency.In certain instances, the employer initiates the process. Generally, the certification includes the affected person affirming that they are "able and available for work", the amount of any part-time earnings they may have had, and whether they are actively seeking work. These certifications are usually accomplished either over the Internet or via an interactive voice response telephone call, but in a few states may be by mail. After receiving an application, the state will notify the individual if they qualify and the rate they will receive every week. The state will also review the reason for separation from employment. Many states require the individual to periodically certify that the conditions of the benefits are still met.

Disqualification

If a worker's reason for separation from their last job is due to some reason other than a "lack of work," a determination will be made about whether they are eligible for benefits. Generally, all determinations of eligibility for benefits are made by the appropriate State under its law or applicable federal laws. If a worker is disqualified or denied benefits, they have the right to file an appeal within an established time-frame. The State will advise a worker of his or her appeal rights. An employer may also appeal a determination if they do not agree with the State's determination regarding the employee's eligibility.


California Unemployment Benefits Disqualification

In California, a worker's separation from his/her most recent employer will impact the worker's potential eligibility for unemployment benefits.Retrieved April 25, 2015. If the worker was discharged or terminated by their employer, the worker can be denied unemployment if the facts surrounding the separation are sufficient to constitute misconduct with the work under California Unemployment Insurance Code Section 1256. On the other hand, if the worker voluntarily quit or resigned from their position, the worker's claim for unemployment benefits may be denied unless the worker can show good cause for his/her resignation.

Current data

Each Thursday, the Department of Labor issues the Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report.Its headline number is the seasonally adjusted estimate for the initial claims for unemployment for the previous week in the United States. This statistic, because it is published weekly, is depended on as a current indicator of the labor market and the economy generally.