Surprised, to say the least!

Nrdgrrl

My husband just lost his position from another company here in town and has applied for unemployment.

I have to say, I was totally shocked by how small the benefit is! And they tax it too! (You can delay until the end of the year, but it's still taxed)

Even though I'm in HR, I don't handle unemployment for our company, so everything I've heard about the benefit has been through forums or casual conversation.

I guess I just figured that with everything I've read about hearings and the company fighting against payment, and the associate fighting the company, etc, it would be more than the rather paltry sum he will receive.

Of course I realize that he will paid until he finds a new job,(up to 26 weeks I think) so I'm glad for every penny!

Anyone else find it to be low in their state? (I'm in AL) Am I just a greedy little lady?

Leslie

No, it is low in AZ as well...I think somewhere around $210 to $240...and that's the max benefit!

System

While some states are quite high in comparison and a few even have a sliding scale dependent on number of children, our state is very low, somewhere aroung 240-250. It will barely pay for resume preparation, stamps, gas for canvassing the agencies and Monster.com.

scottorr

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 08-25-03 AT 11:30AM (CST)[/font][p]I agree, it is very low. Here in NY the max is $420 and that includes NY city. The point of unemployemnt was not to be a welfare system. I think they keep it low so that people are motivated to find a job. I was laid off for a month about 5 years ago. I could barely pay my bills. It really stinks! Sorry to here that you have to go through this. x:-(

cebudragonlady

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 08-25-03 AT 11:16AM (CST)[/font][p]Here in California, unemployment payments are LOWER than Disability. I would not be surprised that some workers knowing that they are going to be laid off, for real - get themselves operated on! The last EE we had on [ NOT work related !] disability got $ 490 a week for six weeks , more than he was making while working. Believe it or not, I saw the disability check myself . And that was just back in January of this year...No wonder California has a big budget deficit!

Chari

Hunter1

In Wisconsin, the benefit is basically 50% of pay, to a maximum benefit of $329/wk. The reasons employers fight UC are: 1) The employee doesn't deserve it - terminated for misconduct, etc, or, 2) The employer's tax rate for UC is based on experience, and the more claims you have, the higher the tax rate. I'm sure that there are employers who would fight a valid claim, but generally, if an employer actually lays someone off, they won't fight the UC. There's no sense in it, they won't win anyway.

Balloonman

I only fight the ones where the employee is terminated for cause, like spitting on another employee. He filed, and I am about to fax in my protest. I anticipate winning. Only fight when they are termed for cause or attendance, though it is tough to win the attendance ones.
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman

PAhr

Here in PA it's about 60% of the employee's earnings based on the employee's highest quarter with a cap of $451. You also get dependant allowances but I think you can only claim a max. of two dependants for a total of $8. per week and you have the option of having taxes taken off.

Pork

BEEN AND DONE THAT THREE TIMES; The UI has received a raise since I last drew my paltry UI pay; $166. or there abouts per week and to then get a 1099 from the state, really hurt. Of course, if one does not have income greater than the $166. or whatever then you may not have to pay additional tax. My spouse was a volunteer and homemaker and it was TUFF to even get excited about going for an interview because one had to put out cash in a negative cash flow situation to even get or go to an interview. Money spent might not even bring a positive return.

May you have a Blessed day, keep your faith, and believe me the doors will open and he'll be better off.

PORK

moneyman

In Florida, the current maximum if $275. It does seem low, however, as someone mentioned, it is supposed to help the in between times and not support you. The one thing that I never liked about UC was how they used the look back period for gathering wage information. We had one employee who quit, it put us in a real bind, and then she quit 2 months later and most of her claim was charged to our account. It seems a real rip off when we didn't do anything to make her leave but her quitting affected our claims rating. Oh well.

For good or bad, I get to find out more about our UC system personally. I mentioned somewhere else a few weeks back that I just got hit with a reduction of hours, well just last Friday morning I was laid off. That was a surprise. I don't think they have a plan yet to keep their accounting going or any benefits administration (which I did for 4 of the owners companies, not just the one I was employed by). I guess that is not my concern anymore, but I do wonder who is going to send me my COBRA notice and 401(k) distribution papers. I wonder what kind of responsibility I have to let them know all of the things that they need to be doing now? Just a personal moral obligation? It's hard to think about when your last instructions were "clean out your office and go home".

E Wart

So sorry to hear about your situation. Hopefully the economy in FL is such that you will be able to find what you want quickly.
It sounds as if your "former" company wasn't as forthcoming and truthful to you as you would have liked them to be. Isn't it funny how we worry about things that are no longer "our problem" and is their loss. (Your worrying about COBRA and 401(k).
When I left my last job (voluntarily, but should have left sooner) I felt so bad because I was the only one who did HR and even cared about it for the 150 employees. I gave them 3 1/2 weeks notice, came back one day after I left to help with some issue, and worked until 2:00 am my last day so that I could get done as much as I could. Did anyone thank me? Get real!
From my experience, you will be much better off when you are able to look back on things.
By the way, I too collected unemployment once in my life when our office closed. (10 years ago.) I was lucky because I was collecting severance and unemployment at the same time. (GA has changed law now and can't. I didn't feel guility at all doing this since my Company had paid for this and I had worked for them for 19 + years.) I have also been on a committee at the GA Dept. of Labor. I don't know about other states, but our DOL has really put themselves in the 20th century. It is like going into an employment agency. They have a 'business center" for preparing, faxing resumes. They have a computer data base with "real" jobs on it, and they even do a job fair on Public TV. You may want to look further into using this resource.

E Wart

moneyman

Thanks for the suggestion. Florida is pretty modern I guess with their UC system. I applied for UC online on Saturday, given my confirmation and time to report for my first period wages (all online too). I was also registered with the "Job Assistance" program which is their job posting/employment center resource. I have some good contacts already and in fact dropped a resume off Friday afternoon on my way home from the office.

And I know, I have to quit worrying about what they will do because it isn't my problem anymore.

TN HR

Alabama, as I understand, ranks at the bottom of the list on generosity for UI benefits. Here's a link for a handy on-line toll that calculates UI benefit rates for a given wage in the state of your choosing.

[url]http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/datazone_uicalc_index[/url]

Hunter1

Wow! Neat calculator. Thanks

Pork

TN HR: I concur, this is a great piece of information and easy to use. My UI payment would be around $200.00 per week. A better rate than I last experienced. I sure hope that I do not ever need that program of assistance again.

PORK

Don D

Pork: $200 is the maximum weekly benefit amount in MS now. To contradict an earlier post of Gillian's, this state is one of the few which is not particularly 'claimant friendly'. The MS system is decidely 'employer friendly' but will change as the culture in the legislature changes and the mindset of the referees changes to a more liberal one based on gubernatorial appointments. You'll notice that MS is perhaps the only state in the nation without a State Department Of Labor (State Labor Union I call it).

Don D

Finally, something MS is not 50th in. We're $10 ahead of Alabama but who wants to rank with Massachusetts which almost triples us in their 'generosity' with employer paid funds.

Nrdgrrl

Thanks so much to everyone for replying! Luckily I have a wonderful job that will help with the bills and we had 3 months of his income in cash just in case...

DonD- You know the AL state motto? Well, from everything I'm hearing, it will be ya'lls motto soon!

Nrdgrrl

mwild31

I just went to the calculator & found out that I could collect $496.00 a week!

State comparisons

In terms of benefit generosity, Washington ranks 2 out of 51 states(including Washington, D.C.).


And, I can continue seeking employment for 26 weeks! And, since Washington State has been heavily hit by the economy, I can claim an additional 13 weeks! And, since my company has worked in the aerospace industry & was affected by the tragic events of 9/11, I can claim an additional 13 weeks after that!

It just doesn't seem fair does it? Most of the folks around here need the assistance - but I definitely feel for you and your situation. I wish you the very best of luck & I hope your husband will find a good job with even better pay! x:-)

hrbanker

TN HR, thanks for the calculator info. I bookmarked it. I often get questions about how much UComp would be paid.

Nrdgrrl, sorry about your situation. Hope your husband finds work soon. IF not, don't hesitate to contact one of the non-profit agencies that can help rearrange payments to make them more affordable.