Kentucky Unemployment Insurance & Severance Pay

The Kentucky Division of Unemployment Insurance within the Office of Employment and Training administers the commonwealth's unemployment insurance fund for qualified applicants. The Kentucky Division of Unemployment Insurance must comply with the Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Law codified in the Kentucky Revised Statutes. According to the Kentucky Revised Statutes, severance pay has no effect on unemployment benefits, and claimants can receive both types of compensation simultaneously.

Overview

Eligible applicants can receive unemployment benefits for up to 26 weeks, and they can receive between $39 and $415 in weekly benefits, current at the time of publication. An applicant's weekly benefit allowance depends on his base period of earnings or the first four of five completed employment quarters immediately preceding an unemployment claim. For instance, the Division of Unemployment Insurance will consider a claimant's base period of earnings as Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 for a claimant who files for unemployment benefits between Jan. 1 and March 31.

Determining Eligibility

An applicant must have earned at least $750 during a calendar quarter of employment within his base period of earnings. His total wages earned during his base period must total at least 1.5 times his total wages earned during his highest quarter of employment. Furthermore, his total earned wages during his last two quarters must equal at least eight times his weekly unemployment benefit allowance. If a claimant does not have a sufficient wage history, the Kentucky Division of Unemployment Insurance will deny his claim for benefits. If he has sufficient earnings, his weekly benefit is 1.3078 percent of his total wage earnings during his base period of employment.

Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Law

According to the Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Law, in addition to qualifying monetarily, claimants must actively seek full-time work, must be physically and mentally able to accept full-time work and must be unemployed or partially employed through no fault of their own. Claimants who are unemployed for misconduct or for refusal to work do not qualify for benefits.

Severance Pay

The commonwealth will not reduce a claimant's weekly allowance if he receives severance pay. Claimants who receive severance pay can receive their full weekly unemployment insurance benefits, regardless of how much their employers pay them for severance. However, the commonwealth reduces claimants' benefits if they receive wages in lieu of notice. Wages in lieu of notice are not severance payments, according to the Kentucky Unemployment Insurance Law. Wages in lieu of notice are considered normal wage payments, and employers must specifically earmark their payments as "severance" for the commonwealth to exclude them from unemployment insurance benefits.

References

• Kentucky Office of Employment and Training: Rights and Responsibilities of Unemployment Insurance Claimants
• Kentucky Office of Employment and Training: Unemployment Insurance Frequently Asked Questions
• Kentucky Office of Employment and Training: Your Rights and Responsibilities While Claiming Unemployment Insurance Benefits
• Kentucky Legislature: Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 341.00

Resources

• Kentucky Office of Employment and Training: New Employer Packet