Would you file for unemployment?

[stepford]

Back when I was working I would occasionally look at the list of deductions on my pay stub. One of them was CASDI (California State Disability and Unemployment Insurance). When I was RIF'd by Megacorp I took the allotted 26 weeks of unemployment insurance. It was a damn sight less than I paid in those CASDI paycheck deductions over the years.

I don't feel even a little bit guilty about taking this perfectly legal partial tax refund.

 

[alicebillis]

To clarify for all about “severance” and “salary in lieu of wages”. If your notice states severance then you would be able to collect UI benefits while still being paid by your former employer. If it states the latter then you must exhaust those wages and then file for UI. Depending on your station in the company and likely a high salary and or possessing skills and expertise that will make it difficult for you to replace your job... the work search requirement would likely be waived.

The modern system of work search is almost exclusively on line and your state’s job service maintains a database
of jobs and positions that will underwhelm but help you to satisfy the work search if needed.

Take the benefits...you put in the time, and said employer paid in unemployment insurance taxes so it would be there if needed. I have some other ideas but will not share on this forum.

 

[alicebillis]

Consideration?

The separation letter calls it "consideration". I talked to an employment lawyer and they said that would not be considered severance in OH.

The biggest part of the package is vesting RSU's and options.

Wow! That’s a new one and I don’t have to understand it’s use.

 

[alicebillis]

The word “retirement”

The issue for me is the unemployment office will contact my employer. The only reason I can retire now is because they were very kind to me with the severance package. They did not have to do that. I don't want to burn that bridge.

I just reread your post where you mentioned retirement. That will make a difference in regard to benefits but it all sounds pretty slick and you appear to have come out with a great departure package.

Good
Luck and enjoy yourself!

 

[habelsgtb]

I decided to not take unemployment that I could have taken. I was retiring, did not need or want the money. I left it for others who really need it.

 

[OddGuy]

I decided to not take unemployment that I could have taken. I was retiring, did not need or want the money. I left it for others who really need it.

You do know you can do the same with taxes, right?

Choosing not to take deductions and exemptions allows the state and country access to money they really need, as well.

 

[dmpi]

For me I made the choice not to take UI. Even though I was technically laid off the layoff included a generous severance package and I was more than ready to retire at that point. Adding to that, I had to go to my boss and actually ask to get laid off.

 

[skyking1]

The exact wording on the Washington State UI weekly questionnaire is this:
"Are you able and available for work?"
I look forward to the day when answer to the second part of that is an emphatic NO, I am not available

 

[tb001]

If I were wanting to work, and laid off, and seeking work = I'm eligible.

If I wanted to retire, angled for a package, and now retire = I'm not eligible.

True, the rules might temporarily be suspended re Proof of actively seeking work, but that is due to the extraordinary covid impacts on jobs. But that's a temporary loophole and not intended to invite otherwise-willing early retirees also get in on it. (but yes, legal, sure... and most of us don't take every single legal thing when we know it's really dodgy and involves even a little truth-stretching)

If I was not planning on retiring, and was laid off, but would be willing to take another job=unemployment benefits. IMHO.

 

[habelsgtb]

You do know you can do the same with taxes, right?

Choosing not to take deductions and exemptions allows the state and country access to money they really need, as well.

Sure, many choices out there to give money to people in need.

 

[Vinnygret]

Unemployment Insurance

I negotiated an amicable departure from megacorp. My last day is this Friday. My position is being eliminated. I got a great severance package.

The way my separation letter is worded, I am not receiving severance, so I can file for unemployment. With the latest COVID bill, I would receive $904 a week for 26 weeks. That's a lot of money and would be helpful.

Would you file for unemployment?

You should not qualify for unemployment. It is insurance for people who are unemployed through no fault of their own. You are required to be able, available and actively seeking employment. It is not a benefit for people who no longer wish to work. I worked in the claims department for 8 years. You might get away with it if you are mot 100% honest in your paperwork. But you must be seeking full time employment. Unless I misunderstood your post, I think you are heading for retirement. Again, it is insurance for those who are out of work and don't want to be. Also, severance pay is deducted from unemployment benefits.

 

[Vinnygret]

It's not gaming the system if you meet the requirements to collect unemployment by your states rules.

You may think you don't need the money, morally are not entitled to it, or shouldn't take it because you were going to retire anyway. However, we don't know what will happen down the road. Maybe things don't work out the way you intended and you really do need the money down the road. Well, at that point you can't turn time back and collect what you were once entitled to.

Unemployment rules in many states have been relaxed and expanded due to the pandemic. As an employee, you have been paying in to your states unemployment fund for as long as you've been working. Further, the additional amount being kicked in by the federal government is a cost being borne by all taxpayers, you included.

Bottom line, apply for it, and accept what you are legally entitled to. There's no shame or anything to feel ashamed about, it's simply a step in the system which you have been participating in and are entitled to claim benefits from at this time. Have you been receiving the stimulus payments thus far? It's no different in my mind. Most folks on this site really do/did not "need" them. Did anyone refuse to accept theirs? Highly doubtful.

This is a common misconception. Unemployment insurance is NOT funded by employees. It is funded by state and federal government (Dept of Labor or whatever they call it now) and by a tax on EMPLOYERS, not employees. That is why the federal government is involved in benefit increases and length of benefit periods.

 

[Badger]

I took unemployment once about 30+ years ago. It really helped through the interim. For that matter I also went on food stamp for about a month or two 50 years ago when I had not eaten in a few days except for a couple of PB&J sandwiches a friend gave me. I weighed a lot less in grad school. You do what you need to do.



Cheers!

 

[Al in Ohio]

No. That’s just wrong.

 

[alicebillis]

Great choice and very considerate of an overwhelmed system!

 

[Coach Shoe]

As a small business owner in Texas (about 100 employees), I can tell you with certainty who funds unemployment insurance in Texas. The employer pays a percentage of his payroll into an State Controlled poll account that is earmarked in his name. IF his ex-employees do not significantly deplete his pooled account his contribution percentage remains low. If his ex-employees begin to deplete the pooled funds he has created, his future contribution percentage is raised significantly. There is no free ride from the government... it is taken from the employer. In my mind, to pay severance and then to have someone dip in for another 26 more months while actually retiring on the beach is perhaps “a little unfair”.

 

[alicebillis]

I as a former UI claims rep know first hand that what you say is true! As a business owner you have the facts, and I wasn’t going to step into the debate any further. My own personal experience with “salary in lieu of wages” included a job loss, due to a RIF and the closure of a regional office about 30 years ago. The difference in my case is that I was no where near retirement so I had the full salary and full
Health benefits for 6 months and once exhausted I applied for and received UI. Economically it was a very bad time in the United States and Texas in particular. I finally went back to work as a full time temp about 13 weeks later drawing a little better than minimum wage. I felt it necessary to go back to work for my sanity, the social aspects of work plus I was searching for work in my region that simply did not exist. Sometime you just gotta day “uncle!!!”

 

[EastWest Gal]

Funny how people have no issue taking every tax deduction legally possible, but get tied in knots about claiming unemployment payments to which they'll legally eligible.

Comparing apples and oranges. We non politicians didn’t create the tax code nor did we create the unemployment insurance system.

It’s about following the rules. You cheat either one and you cheat your fellow citizens. You follow the rules and you’re fine, even if the system isn’t. Originally discussed, this was about someone receiving over half a million in severance, and basically retiring, then considering UI.

 

[OddGuy]

Emotion, opinion and interpretation always arise in discussions of unemployment.

Getting the actual answer is simple:

You enter information on your state's UI portal, answer all questions fully and honestly, and await a determination from the state.

The state presents a yes/no answer on your eligibility. You make a yes/no decision every week you log in and make a claim (after answering truthfully that week's questions.)

Beyond that, what any individual other than yourself "thinks" or "feels" is irrelevant.

 

[Rustic23]

I was downsized once. Got almost a year's pay, and two retirement accounts. The grandfathered both merged companies retirement plans. I saw no reason to file. The company was more that fair with other bennies.