|
|
|
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE BENEFITSWhat is Unemployment Insurance? How and when should I file a claim for benefits? How are benefits calculated? Use the NEW benefits Estimator to calculate your benefit. What are eligibility requirements? How does the Unemployment Insurance Program determine who is eligible? What forms do I need to fill out to complete the processing of my claim? What should I expect after filing a claim? How do I get paid once I have filed a claim? How long will it take to get paid if the claim is approved? What do I do when I have found a new job? FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE APPEALSIf I file an appeal of a decision, do I need an attorney? Will the appeal process stop my unemployment benefits? Should I continue to file for payment if I am denied benefits? I did not receive the appeal hearing notice and did not attend the hearing. What should I do? For more information about the appeals process, read Publication AS-52, The Appeals Process, or call UI Appeals at 303-318-9299 (Denver-metro area) or 1-800-405-2338 (outside Denver-metro area). Legal Presence RequirementsColorado law requires all persons 18 years and older to provide proof that they are lawfully present in the United States before receiving certain benefits, including unemployment insurance (UI). In order to receive UI benefits from Colorado, you must affirm that you are a citizen or a legal, permanent resident of the United States or otherwise legally reside in the United States in accordance with federal law. You must possess and provide information regarding one of the following forms of identification (ID):
NOTE: Unemployed workers living outside Colorado must provide information proving that they have a valid driver’s license or ID card issued by another state or by Canada. You must affirm your citizenship or legal presence in the United States by signing and returning Form UIB-1, Claim for Unemployment Insurance Benefits. Also, please provide information about your proof of ID on the same form. The form is mailed to you after you file a new UI claim, file an additional UI claim, or reopen an existing UI claim. You must provide this information only once during each claim year. The form must be completed, signed, and received by the UI Program within the timeframe specified on the form or your claim for UI benefits will not be paid for the weeks prior to the week in which the form is received by the UI Program.What is Unemployment Insurance?Unemployment insurance is an income maintenance program that may be available to you if you are unemployed through no fault of your own. The monies you receive provide temporary help until you return to suitable work. Thousands of unemployed workers each year apply for benefits to supplement their income while looking for new jobs, allowing them to continue making mortgage, car, grocery, and other payments. The unemployment insurance benefits program provides for:
All individuals may take advantage of the full range of job placement services listed in the Employment Services section on the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment home Page. How and when should I file a claim for benefits? You cannot be paid unemployment benefits for any period of time before the date you actually file a claim for benefits. If you are unemployed or if your work hours are reduced to less than full time, you may file a claim for benefits. If you file a claim Sunday through Wednesday, your claim will be effective the week you file. If you file a claim on Thursday through Saturday, your claim will be effective the following week. You have the right to leave a job for any reason at any time, but the circumstances of the separation will determine if and when you will receive benefits. When you file a claim, we will ask you and your employer for the reason for your separation. Based on this information, we will make a decision that will determine if and when you will receive benefits. In Colorado, unemployed workers have the option of filing a claim for benefits over the Internet or by telephone. You may file over the Internet by clicking here. You may file by telephone by calling 303-318-9000 (Denver-metro area) or 1-800-388-5515 (outside Denver-metro area). Please have your social security number available when you file and be prepared to supply information on any employer you have worked for over the past 18 months, including dates worked, rate of pay, and reasons you are no longer working. You can file for benefits anytime after your last day worked but you cannot claim benefits for any period of time you were unemployed prior to filing a claim. A formula is used to calculate the amount of benefits you may receive. The calculation is based upon wages paid to you during a prescribed base period. The base period is defined as the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters. Use the benefits Estimator to calculate your potential benefit. What are eligibility requirements? To be eligible to receive unemployment benefits, you must be unemployed through no fault of your own and must be able to work, be available for work, and be willing to seek and accept suitable work. How does the Unemployment Insurance Program determine who is eligible? The Unemployment Insurance Program requests information from both the claimant and the employer as to the reasons for the job separation. Those facts are then evaluated according to the requirements as stated in the Colorado Employment Security Act. What forms do I need to fill out to complete the processing of my claim? All individuals must complete, sign, and return Form UIB-1, Claim for Unemployment Insurance Benefits, before any benefits will be paid on the claim. If you are required to complete any other forms, you will be instructed by the UI Program or by the Internet application. You may download a copy of some forms, including Form UIB-1, Claim for Unemployment Insurance Benefits, here.What should I expect after filing a claim?After your claim has been filed, you will receive various forms in the mail, as well as an unemployment insurance handbook that explains your rights and responsibilities while claiming benefits. Please read the handbook carefully and follow the instructions on the forms. Beginning with the first week of your claim, you must make a serious effort to find a job. You will be required to make and record at least five job contacts each week. Your local Workforce Center will contact you within 10 days after your claim is filed to provide you with an appointment to register for work. The Workforce Center will discuss your work search plans and your job contacts and will also enter your skills and experience into their computer system so they can assist you in finding suitable work. Work registration with the Workforce Center is required to receive unemployment benefits. You must keep a detailed record of your work search efforts and be prepared to provide us with this record at any time. A work-search log that you can use to keep track of your job contacts is available in the claimant handbook; but do not wait for the handbook to begin your search for work. If you are a member of a union that has a hiring hall or have a definite date to return to work for your employer within 16 weeks of separation, you may not be required to look for work. How do I get paid once I have filed a claim?To file for payment on your UI claim, you must certify that you meet the weekly eligibility requirements, which are: you must be physically able to work your workweek; you must be available to go to work immediately; and you must actively seek and document your search for suitable work. If you worked full-time hours for the base-period employers on your claim, you must be able to work full-time now. Certification and a request for payment is typically made every two weeks either on the Internet (Colorado Unemployment Benefits Line [CUBLine] Online) or by telephone (CUBLine). Both CUBLine Online and CUBLine are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but you must wait until after midnight Saturday of the second week for which you are requesting payment to file. Benefit payments are deposited to your personal Colorado Automated Payment (CAP) Card, a Visa® debit card issued by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) through its agent Chase Bank. Your CAP Card account is automatically created when you file for UI benefits. You will not be paid if your request for payment is late, unless you show good cause according to Regulations Concerning Employment Security for the late filing. Your request is considered late if you do not call within seven days following the week or weeks for which you are requesting payment. Refer to the claimant handbook for more information. CUBLine 303-813-2800 (Denver-metro area) In addition to requesting payment, CUBLine allows you to change your mailing address, hear recent payment history, or access general information about the Unemployment Insurance Program. How long will it take to get paid if the claim is approved?Processing of a claim can take up to six weeks to complete. The first week of entitlement is a waiting week and is not a payable week, but you must meet all eligibility requirements to get credited for the waiting week. One nonpayable waiting week must be served each time a new claim is filed. If you are entitled and eligible to receive benefits, benefit payments for all payable weeks claimed are deposited to your personal CAP Card, a Visa® debit card issued by CDLE through its agent Chase Bank. Your CAP Card account is automatically created when you file for UI benefits. Benefits will not be paid for weeks of unemployment prior to the date your claim was filed. What do I do when I have found a new job?When you file a claim, it is active for a period of one year beginning on the file date. You can use the benefits that you are entitled to any time you are unemployed during that year. When you return to work, stop filing for payment; this will close your claim. Your claim can be reopened at any time during the one-year life of your claim if you again become unemployed. How do I cancel my claim?If you wish to cancel your claim, you must write and mail a letter or call customer service within the first 12 days after filing your claim. Canceling your claim will completely remove the claim from the system as if you had never filed. After canceling your claim you cannot reopen the claim; you must file a new claim. If I file an appeal of a decision, do I need an attorney? You are not required to have an attorney to participate in the appeal hearing, which is an administrative proceeding. The majority of parties do not have an attorney representing them. However, only you can decide whether you need an attorney. The UI Program does not provide an attorney for hearings. Will the appeal process stop my unemployment benefits? If the UI Program grants you UI benefits, an appeal does not stop UI benefit payments as long as you continue to meet all other requirements. However, if a UI Program decision grants you UI benefits and an appeal changes the decision to a disqualification or disallowance, you may need to repay the UI benefits you received.Should I continue to file for payment if I am denied benefits? If the UI Program denies you UI benefits, you may appeal that decision. If you file an appeal, do not stop filing for UI benefit payments and continue to meet all other requirements. As long as you are disqualified, you will not receive any payments. However, if an appeal changes the decision in your favor, you may be entitled to receive payment for the weeks claimed during the appeal process.I did not receive the appeal-hearing notice and did not attend the hearing. What should I do? If you do not participate in the hearing as the nonappealing party, the hearing officer holds the hearing as scheduled if the appealing party participates. The hearing officer then issues a written decision based upon the testimony and evidence provided by the appealing party. UI Appeals mails you a copy of the hearing officer’s decision. If you do not agree with the decision, follow the appeal instructions found at the end of the hearing officer’s decision. If you do not participate in the hearing as the appealing party, the hearing officer dismisses the hearing regardless of whether the nonappealing party attends the hearing; the deputy’s decision remains in effect. The hearing officer issues Form AS-7a, Notice of Dismissal for Failure to Participate, and you (the appellant) have 15 calendar days, from the date of the dismissal notice, to appeal the dismissal. Your appeal must include an explanation or reason for your failure to participate in your hearing. If you establish good cause, UI Appeals reschedules the hearing and notifies all interested parties of the new hearing date and time.For more information about the appeals process, read Publication AS-52, The Appeals Process, or call UI Appeals at 303-318-9299 (Denver-metro area) or 1-800-405-2338 (outside Denver-metro area).
| |