If you have been laid off, it’s possible to get unemployment compensation for up to 26 weeks to help you and your family during this time. Summit Legal Aid may be able to help you.
You are eligible for unemployment compensation if you were laid off or compelled by your employer to quit. Voluntarily quitting or getting fired for “willful misconduct” will not qualify you for compensation. The Unemployment Compensation Referee will determine which of these apply to you and whether you are eligible or not.
You will also need to have worked for a certain number of weeks and received a minimum amount of pay from your employer. Certain categories of workers, such as agricultural, domestic and other workers, are not eligible.
After the local Unemployment Office has determined that you earned and worked sufficient amounts and were laid off for a reason other than willful misconduct, they will approve your application. But the requirements aren’t over: as long as you are on unemployment, you will need to participate in re-employment services, you must be able and available to accept suitable work, and you may not refuse offered work without a good cause.