For the record, unemployment is complicated.
Most of us don't consider unemployment until we need it. Unemployment compensation carries with it a certain level of shame in America. Of course you'll be out there working. That's the American dream, after all, to be out in the world working and earning money for yourself. Of course, it isn't that easy right now.
So, in case anyone needs to know, I'll sketch out some basic details about how Unemployment Compensation works in the state I live in. I'm sure it varies from state to state, but hopefully it will give people a good starting point.
Every state is going to have a website. I had to Google for mine. It falls under my state's Labor and Industry Department, though that might not be true of every state. Within that website will be something about unemployment. From there, it's just a matter of red tape. Basically, you file a claim. It has to get through a lot of people. I know that for my state, if I'd been laid off, I'd have been able to skip a step. Since I was officially fired, I had to fill out a paper that acknowledged that I knew the reasons my employer had given for firing me, and then giving my side of the story.
From there, it's up in the air. The department has to go through their evidence and documents from both me and my employer and decide what to do. Assuming I qualify, I have to file every other week for unemployment, and make sure that I document every extra bit of income that comes in.
I don't have to put in a certain amount of applications every week to retain my unemployment. Which is good, because I can focus on getting quality jobs then. I get something like 80% of my regular income, and I can work a part-time job to make a certain extra percentage above that. If I make more though, it'll be taken out of my check. I only get a certain amount total, but I'm hoping to have a job long before that runs out.
It's a little more complicated than this, and there are certain requirements you have to meet before they'll even consider giving you unemployment. But as terrifying as it was at first to deal with this, I think it's almost more the fear of not knowing what you're getting into, than anything really worth fearing.
Most of us don't consider unemployment until we need it. Unemployment compensation carries with it a certain level of shame in America. Of course you'll be out there working. That's the American dream, after all, to be out in the world working and earning money for yourself. Of course, it isn't that easy right now.
So, in case anyone needs to know, I'll sketch out some basic details about how Unemployment Compensation works in the state I live in. I'm sure it varies from state to state, but hopefully it will give people a good starting point.
Every state is going to have a website. I had to Google for mine. It falls under my state's Labor and Industry Department, though that might not be true of every state. Within that website will be something about unemployment. From there, it's just a matter of red tape. Basically, you file a claim. It has to get through a lot of people. I know that for my state, if I'd been laid off, I'd have been able to skip a step. Since I was officially fired, I had to fill out a paper that acknowledged that I knew the reasons my employer had given for firing me, and then giving my side of the story.
From there, it's up in the air. The department has to go through their evidence and documents from both me and my employer and decide what to do. Assuming I qualify, I have to file every other week for unemployment, and make sure that I document every extra bit of income that comes in.
I don't have to put in a certain amount of applications every week to retain my unemployment. Which is good, because I can focus on getting quality jobs then. I get something like 80% of my regular income, and I can work a part-time job to make a certain extra percentage above that. If I make more though, it'll be taken out of my check. I only get a certain amount total, but I'm hoping to have a job long before that runs out.
It's a little more complicated than this, and there are certain requirements you have to meet before they'll even consider giving you unemployment. But as terrifying as it was at first to deal with this, I think it's almost more the fear of not knowing what you're getting into, than anything really worth fearing.
"The God of heaven will give us success. We His servants will start rebuilding." Nehemiah 2:20
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