The following mistakes can cause issues receiving your unemployment insurance benefits and should be avoided.
Your claim can go wrong if:
1. You don’t file a weekly certification for the weeks you want to receive payment.
You need to submit your weekly certification even if:
- The department is obtaining wages from other states.
- The department is still determining your eligibility.
- You want to get waiting week credit.
Failure to submit will result in not getting paid for the week.
For the example above, if you file any time in the week of Sunday the 6th to Saturday the 12th, your weekly certification must be filed the following week, starting Sunday the 13th through Saturday the 19th.
While filing your weekly report, you are always answering questions based on the previous week. This way you can record what your work search looked like throughout the previous week.
**Remember, you have one week to claim for the prior week. If you wait too long, you will lose that week.
2. You don’t reopen your claim after a break of two weeks or more.
Claims go inactive with two weeks of no activity.
If you return to work, work for a while, and then become unemployed again, you must reopen your claim in the week for which you want payment.
Often, claimants wait until Sunday to reopen and try to claim for that week. Because the claim was never reopened, you are unable to receive payment for that week.
3. You wait a while to open a claim after losing your job.
The state rules that your claim is effective the week you file it.
If you lost your job a few weeks ago and file your claim now, the department cannot give you any credit for the weeks before you filed.
Your claim will be dated the week you go online and file the claim.
4. You don’t look for work — unless specifically told you are relieved of this requirement.
If you think the system miscoded you, or you shouldn’t have to look for work, this does not change the department’s requirement for you to look for work.
You will be denied for the week you fail to look for work. If you think you are exempt from this requirement, please call the department.
5. You wait to protest a decision.
If the department finds you ineligible, they will issue you a formal determination.
You can protest this determination within 14 days from the date of mailing.
If you are late with your protest, the department will consider why you are late.
There are only two valid reasons to be late – department error or postal error. If neither applies, you may lose your appeal and the chance for a hearing examiner to consider your eligibility.
6. You fail to respond to the department.
Often, our fraud investigators review claims months after you file. You might think you don’t have to respond because it was so long ago, or you are too busy.
Failing to respond forces the department to decide based on the facts available.
You will not have the chance to clarify in cases where:
- The information the department has is not correct.
- The information needs more explanation from you.
- You misunderstood the claim process.
If you fail to respond, you risk the department deciding against you. This could result in a large overpayment you will have to pay back before you can draw benefits again. You also risk receiving a one-year disqualification from receiving benefits.
– The Idaho Department of Labor
Idaho’s unemployment insurance programs are 100% funded by Employment & Training Administration grants from the U.S. Department of Labor.