The latest Unemployment Insurance (UI) Weekly Claims Report is now available from DOL. The 4-week moving average of nationwide initial claims has decreased from the revised number of 406,500 last week to 404,500 this week.
Report dated October 29, 2011 reflects our unemployment numbers for week-ending October 22, 2011. During this week, 2,102 initial claims were filed in Utah compared to 2,173 the prior week. The numbers listed below are based on the 4-week moving average.
- 2,193 initial UI claims filed (increase of 80 from the prior week and decrease of 483 from same week in 2010)
- 17,823 continued UI weeks claimed (increase of 97 from the prior week and decrease of 5,003 from same week in 2010)
- 12,255 continued EUC08 weeks claimed (decrease of 30 from the prior week and decrease of 8,135 from same week in 2010)
With over 2,000 people filing initial claims, when can one expect a first payment? There are a few things to consider.
Monetary Eligibility
Are there enough wages to establish a claim? First, we look at all the qualifying wages paid within the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters (for November, this would be July 2010 to June 2011). A claimant must have earned at least $3,100 during this 12-month period in covered employment and the total earnings must equal 1.5 x the highest quarter of wages during this same time frame. At the risk of over-simplification, here are some examples of this calculation:
Assume Individual A began their very first job in February 2011 and was separated recently. She applied for Unemployment benefits this week.
Total base period wages = $5,000 (earnings from start of job to end of base period)
Highest quarter during base period = $3,000
1.5 x $3,000 = $4,500
Enough wages to establish a claim
Assume Individual B began a job in February 2011 and was separated recently. She applied for Unemployment benefits this week.
Total base period wages = $5,000 (earnings from start of job to end of base period)
Highest quarter during base period = $4,000
1.5 x $4,000 = $6,000
Not enough wages to establish a claim
If an individual is not eligible with the normal base period then we’ll evaluate wages in the last four completed calendar quarters (for November, this would be October 2010 to September 2011).
Employers are required to report wages every quarter for all of their covered employees. The majority of the time, eligibility is automatically established once the system evaluates the wages on file for a particular SSN. Individuals may receive an estimated benefit amount by clicking here.
A potential delay comes when there are missing wages or a question on whether or not wages are subject to UI. Perhaps Individual B worked in another state from 2009 to January 2011. We could contact the other state to find out if those wages are available for transfer to Utah or perhaps the individual could qualify for a higher benefit amount in that state. All states have their own rules for determining monetary eligibility and calculating the benefit amount. DOL recently published their annual Comparison of State Unemployment Laws.
Some other things to consider:
Are the wages reportable to UI (See R994-208)?
Is the employment covered by UI (See R994-204)?
Are there federal civilian or military wages? This requires sending a request to the federal government for permission to use these wages. For military wages, it also requires review of the DD-214 Member Copy 4.
Non-monetary Eligibility
To qualify for unemployment, one must be unemployed through no fault of their own, able and available for full-time work, and actively seeking full-time work.
When one party (whether employer or claimant) initiates the separation through a discharge or a voluntary quit, the issue is assigned to an adjudicator for review. The adjudicator provides an opportunity for all interested parties to provide an initial statement and rebuttal before making a decision on eligibility (see R994-405). To allow due process and timely decisions, deadlines are specified when an adjudicator leaves a voicemail or sends a letter. If no response is received by the deadline, then the adjudicator makes a decision with the best available information. Depending on the type of information needed and the difficulty in reaching interested parties, a decision may take a few weeks. Separation decisions are generally made within three weeks about 87% of the time.
The question of “able and available” takes into account any circumstances that could affect an individual’s ability to immediately accept a full-time job. Some examples are traveling, child care, school attendance, illness, transportation, the extent to which an individual is looking for suitable work, etc. These issues are also assigned to an adjudicator for review. There are certain situations where a claimant may be deferred from the active work search, such as union attachment in good standing, a history of seasonal employment, or a defined return to work date with a previous employer or start date with a new employer. However, even if a deferral from work search is granted, the individual still must maintain an ability to work. Non-separation decisions are generally made within three weeks about 94% of the time.
Should the claimant or employer disagree with the decision made by adjudication, they have the right to appeal (See R994-508)
Waiting Week
Utah law requires that the very first week a claimant is eligible for benefits (both monetarily and non-monetarily) be designated as a waiting week and no payment is issued (See Utah Code, 35A-4-403,1(d)).
Overall, first payments are generally made within three weeks about 96% of the time. All UI benefits are paid either through direct deposit or on the Utah Debit Card and are available 2-3 business days after the date benefits are released by the Department.
