Frequently asked questions about unemployment benefits - May 8, 2009

Call the telecenter at 800-318-6022 (TTY 800-365-8969) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Your claim is good for a "benefit year," which is 52 weeks, beginning with the week you file your application. You cannot file a new claim in Washington until your benefit year is over, even though you may have received all of your benefits. Most claims receive between 13 to 26 weeks of benefits.

Yes. If you apply online for a new claim, you’ll be offered the option of direct deposit. If you are already claiming benefits, or if you re-open a previous claim, you can sign up online.

You do not need to tell us you have returned to work. The way to stop your claim is simple—just stop filing your weekly claims.

You may stop claiming at any time during your benefit year and resume claiming the balance of your benefits until your benefit year ends if you meet all eligibility requirements.

However, if you stop claiming, even for one week, your claim becomes inactive and you must reopen your claim during the first week you are eligible and want to begin claiming again.

If your WorkSource office requests information about you returning to work, please respond to them.

Yes. If you are currently filing weekly claims in Washington, file a change of address after you move. You can do this:

• Online; or
• By calling 800-318-6022.

Continue to file your weekly claims as you do now. Although you are living in a different state, Washington will continue to pay you benefits.

You must register for work in your local area.  Go online to find your local employment center.

If you worked in Washington, you may choose to file a new Washington claim online or by calling the telecenter. You can do this either before or after you move.

If you worked in Washington and another state(s) in the past two years, you might have a better claim if you apply for a new claim against Washington and combine your wages from the other state(s). If so, you must call the telecenter to file this type of claim. You may not use the online application to file a combined wage claim. You must have wages in Washington in order to file a combined wage claim against Washington.

If you collect unemployment benefits from Washington, you must register for work in the new state. Go online to find the nearest local employment office or check the government pages of your local telephone directory.

After you move, file a change of address.

If you have specific questions, call the telecenter.

As of January 11, 2009, you cannot file a new Washington state unemployment claim if you did not work in Washington during the base year.  The only exception to this rule is if you were in the military or worked for the federal government.

To file an unemployment claim, you must file your claim with one of the state(s) where you worked in the last two years. Contact each state where you worked to find out your claim options for those states.

You do not have to look for or accept work that is not suitable. Work is not suitable if:

• The work is not in line with your training and experience. (After a period of time, any job you are qualified to do may become suitable work.)
• You must join or resign from a labor union.
• The hours or working conditions are not as favorable as most other jobs in your occupation in your area.
• The work is farther than the usual commuting distance for people in your occupation in your area.
• The wages offered are lower than the wages common for that occupation in your area.
• The work is unreasonably dangerous.
• You cannot physically do the work.
• The work would offend your religious beliefs or moral conscience.

If you file your claim using the Internet, the effective date is the Sunday of the week you file. If you want to claim for any back weeks, you need to call the telecenter and ask to backdate your claim.

Call the telecenter for assistance as soon as possible.

If you work part-time, we reduce your benefits using the earnings deduction chart (gross earnings minus $5 times 75 percent).

You must still meet the job-search requirements while working part-time.

If you did not work more than 17 hours in any week in your base period, you may need to look for only part-time work.

Working part-time usually extends the number of weeks you can draw benefits. Additional earnings also may help you qualify for a new claim when your benefit year ends.

Report the holiday pay when you claim the week in which the holiday occurred. Do not wait until you are paid for the holiday to report it.

 

If your vacation pay was accrued and there are no specific dates attached to it, you do not need to report it. However, if your vacation pay was for specific days, it is deductible and you need to report it. Be sure to report it for the week(s) in which the vacation days occurred.

If you are in doubt or have any questions, call the telecenter for help.

Severance payments do not usually affect your unemployment benefits. However, pay in lieu of notice or continuation pay with full benefits that are guaranteed can affect your benefits. Report any separation-related payments you receive or are entitled to receive to the telecenter.

Payments are considered severance pay when:

• The payments are not assigned to any period after your date of separation from your employer.
• You are not on call or in any way required to be available to your employer in order to receive these benefits.
• Your fringe benefits do not continue to accrue (vacation, retirement, sick, etc).
• You accept a new job and it does not affect your severance pay.

You have a limited number of options to tell us why you are no longer employed. Choose the one that best describes your situation. If you cannot locate a description that best describes your situation, you might want to call the telecenter to file your claim.

Examples:

Situation	Choose
I told my employer "I quit."	Quit
Employer let me go or replaced me.	Fired/Discharged
I'm unemployed due to a lockout or strike (not an argument between me and my employer).	Labor Dispute/Strike
I'm filing to lock-in or freeze my claim.	Still Employed (does not waive work search)
My employer has no work available, my job was eliminated or business closed.	Lack of Work
I (or my employer) requested a leave of absence. I'm guaranteed work at the end of my leave of absence.	Leave of Absence
I was fired for a felony or gross misdemeanor in the past two years.	Felony/Gross Misdemeanor
My hours were reduced to less than my customary full-time hours with my regular employer. I will have wages to report each week.	Partially Unemployed

Yes. Federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) income-tax law does not require us to withhold taxes from your weekly unemployment benefits. However, you may choose to have 10 percent of your weekly benefits deducted for income-tax purposes.

You may avoid a large tax bill if you choose to have income taxes withheld from your benefits.

We cannot refund any money we withhold for income-tax purposes. If we overpay you and the payment includes an IRS deduction, you will have to repay the benefits you received, along with the amount we withheld and sent to the IRS.

If you did not tell us to deduct 10 percent and you would now like us to, call the telecenter.

You can stop the deduction for taxes from your weekly benefits at any time by calling the telecenter. However, only the IRS can refund your withholdings for income tax and only if you qualify for a refund on your annual federal income-tax return.

If you collected unemployment benefits in 2008, you must include that information when you file your federal tax return for the year.

The amount shown on the 1099-G form includes all benefits paid to you during the previous tax year. The total also includes benefits you may have paid back because of an overpayment. If you repaid benefits, you do not include the amount repaid in the total you report to the IRS on your tax return. However, you need to make this adjustment when you file your tax return.

In January, we mailed a copy to each person who was paid unemployment benefits during the previous calendar year.

If you had federal income tax withheld from your 2008 unemployment benefits, the IRS requires you to submit a copy of your 1099-G with your tax return.

Access the information online.

Call for automated information over the phone.

Additional information about the 1099-G is also available.

It depends on the circumstances. For more information on labor disputes, read these additional frequently asked questions.

Your employer may qualify for the Shared-Work Program.