Claimant Eligibility

Monetary Eligibility

An individual must meet three requirements under the law with respect to wages to establish a weekly benefit amount.

• An individual must have been paid wages of at least $540 in covered employment during the high quarter of his base period.
• An individual must have been paid a minimum of $900 in covered employment during his base period.
• An individual's total base period wages must equal or exceed one and one-half times the total of his high quarter wages.

Non-Monetary Eligibility

Individuals who file a weekly claim for benefits for any week must meet these eligibility requirements.

• Be unemployed or partially unemployed and be determined as eligible for benefits with respect to separation from the bona fide employer. Any earnings for a claimed week must be less than the worker’s weekly benefit amount. Earnings will be deducted from unemployment benefits.
• Be separated through no fault of the worker from the bona fide employer.

OR

Must have served any disqualification or must have requalified from any disqualification imposed.

• Be able to work.
• Be available for full-time work and willing to accept suitable work if offered.
• Be actively seeking full-time work each week.
• Report and register with the local Employment Office.

A worker whose employer is filing a weekly claim for him is considered job attached and is not required to make a work search or register with Job Service.

Fraud Detection
1-800-868-1488

The Unemployment Insurance Program audits claims each quarter to detect fraud and abuse. This is accomplished by crossmatching benefit payments with wages reported by employers. When a match occurs, the Form UCB-179 is sent to the employer to verify earnings. The information is requested on the basis of weekly benefits paid and the weekly earnings of the claimant.