My experience with unemployment benefits. Share yours.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

I'm doing this because I think there's a lot of misinformation(might be too strong) coming from people who have never been through this process before.

If I lose my unemployment benefits this month, it won't be the first time this has happened as a result of the Republicans' cruelty. When it happened in the past, and my benefits were later extended, they were done so *retroactively*.

Now more recently, I lost my benefits because I spent one day in July canvassing for Illinois PIRG. They had to cut me a check for $37 and change. I reported that I worked one day, and estimated that I had earned $40. But for some reason, my claim was challenged. Then in September I was booted. It wasn't clear to me why this occurred, but I was able to challenge this. Although I didn't receive any benefits for the month of October, my benefits were reinstated this month. Moreover, I received a lump-sum check for the entire month of November.

So what's my point? My benefits have been restored retroactively.

[Ian David]

1. I had an employer claim that I quit without notice.

And then I produced for the Dept. of Employment and Training a series of PGP-signed emails I had exchanged with my employer, proving that they'd lied, and were in fact terminating me rather than allow me to take a medical leave of absence.

That was resolved within days, over the phone and via email.

I had a much more involved case with a temp agency that I don't have time to get into.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

3. Wow! That's awesome that you had those supporting email

Good for you!

[Ian David]

11. There was a service called something like returnreceipt.com that I used.

It created PGP-signed return receipts and delivery verifications.

It even provided things like the IP address of anyone reading the email.

It looks like that site is gone.

Here's a company doing the same sort of thing:
http://www.readnotify.com/

[jaxx]

2. That's good, but what is the point about benefits running out?

That you could survive a month without any money coming in? Most unemployed can't do that.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

6. I think you're proving my point

People who have no experience here tend to make matters worse.

[jaxx]

9. I've been on layoff before.

And the final one when a place closed. What else do you need to know? How much I got? How I called in every 2 weeks? How if I missed the Tuesday call I could make it up on Friday? (which by the way I never missed the Tues., I had bills to pay)

Accusing me of having no experience is wrong. Now, what was the point of your post?

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

13. If you care about my point, go here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9703803&mesg_id=9704003

[jaxx]

14. Ok, I'm still not getting it.

We live in the same state, benefits are the same. I know people who can't make it. Their savings are gone. I'm not trying to be obtuse, I just don't understand the point. And I do care about it, very much.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

15. I'm not making global statements...

...I shared my experience. Someone might read it and say, "Really? I didn't know that. Everyone 'out there' has been saying that people in my shoes are going to starve to death."

My experience might make sense to just one person. That's fine with me.

[jaxx]

17. Now I get it. Thank you.

Never give up hope.

[revolution breeze]

4. Eleven weeks waiting, phone calls to the hotline

Followed by an e-mail and phone call to the state commissioner, finally recevied benefits, retroactive for 8 weeks. Hopefully I won't have to rely on them for long, had a really good interview, so fingers crossed!

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

7. Sweetness. Good luck!

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

8. Sweetness. Good luck!

[Duer 157099]

5. Try paying your rent retroactively

If you still have a place to live.

Fact is that MANY, MANY who get UI benefits are living month-to-month and are at the edge already, having depleated all other resources.

Missing a check for ONE month can be catastrophic.

Which, of course, is the whole point and why repukes are so able to hold this hostage. They know the score.

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

10. Going a month without benefits was unusual. That would have been...

...clear to anyone who has been through this before.

Some people lost their benefits for good a long time ago.

Some people are waiting for an extension. If you've ever waited for an extension, it doesn't come a month or two later.

If you're concerned about someone's ability to live month-to-month while they wait their extension, I saying that they can continue doing that.


I just don't think making people feel worse about *their* situation is at all helpful.

[Coyote_Bandit]

12. Twice I have received unemployment benefits

Twice those benefits were single tier benefits. Both layoffs came at the beginning of a prolonged recession. In both instances those laid off after me were eligible for extended unemployment benefits although I was not - yet remained unemployed.

I don't begrudge other folks being helped but it really sucks to be the one forgotten and left behind - unemployed longer than they and benefited less.

[Ian David]

16. Temp agencies are notoriously bad about paying out unemployment claims.

One that I worked for decided to start offering me jobs they knew I wouldn't take, just so that they could say I'd "refused suitable employment."

When I *did* accept a job, suddenly it would fall through, or they'd say it had gone to someone else. (And I kept records of these, some of which were not in the records I subpoenaed from them).

I went to a law library and researched things like "suitable employment" and "accustomed wages."

I got one of those big, paper desk blotter calendars and used it create a "time line" for my case.

Each job I had refused (or accepted) was printed on a separate index card.

Each index card had the date the job was offered, date I accepted or refused, the salary, the reason I may have refused, and a citation of the unemployment law statute and precedent.

Even the arbitrator (I forget his official title) was like, "What the hell is all THAT?"

I made good use of the subpoena power granted to me by the unemployment claim process. I was able to subpoena proof of jobs they had offered me and then withdrawn. I was able to show what their margin was on the jobs they offered-- how much they charged the company vs how much they paid me. I was able to demonstrate that they did, in fact, have room to offer me my accustomed wages on some of the jobs where they'd offered me much less.

I had internet postings showing where I had previously ranted on UseNet about how awful the product was for one company, which I had posted about a year before the agency offered to send me on an assignment there. Also, email exchanges I'd had a year prior with executives at that company.

I had a map, showing how far away from home some of the places were they'd offered to place me.

I was, in a word, the most (over?) prepared claimant they'd ever seen.

But I was also the first person to ever win an unemployment case against that temp agency. I was able to not only make my case, but to prove that they were lying about some things.

And at the end, knowing that they were out of bullets, the dude decided to "throw the gun at me."

The rules say that you're only allowed to contest an unemployment claim on a single grounds-- you can't claim "rejected suitable employment" AND something like "terminated for cause." The temp agency had decided to use "rejected suitable employment," and they weren't allowed to argue anything else.

So, at the last minute, the dude made some half-assed argument about me screwing-up at my last assignment. I pointed out the rule he'd just broken (and offered the index card on which it was printed to the arbitrator) who said something like, "I don't need that. I've done this long enough. I think we're done here."

And the lawyer-type guy they had was visibly PISSED when he stormed out of the hearing room, because he knew that he'd lost.

The rules of the hearing say that both parties are required to leave the room at the same time, so that neither one is left behind alone with the arbitrator. But the temp agency guys stormed out, leaving me as I called to them, "Guys, come back! You're not allowed to leave the room until I do!"

It was AWESOME.

Bottom line:

1) Document everything-- keep records of everything, even if you don't expect to be fired or challenged (I still have files from jobs I've parted with, going back decades, whether I left on good terms or not)
2) Subpoena everything
3) Have a coherent narrative
4) Know the rules (I think they're required to give you two little blue books of the rules for free or something, but I don't remember for sure)
5) Research
6) Be organized
7) Be professional (in manner, presentation, and in how you dress)
8) Don't be bullied
9) Don't lie
10) Call them on it when THEY lie