Can a Husband & Wife Both File for Unemployment?
Unemployment insurance pays you a percentage of your previous salary to help you financially while you look for work after you lose a job. The law requires employers to pay unemployment insurance for every employee. If you're laid off or lose a job for a reason other than misconduct or illegal activity, you may be eligible to receive unemployment benefits. The benefits are based on your work history, not your marital status, the amount of money you have, any savings, or any other financial criteria.
Other People Are Reading
-
Insurance vs. Welfare
-
Unemployment benefits are a form of insurance. Your former employer paid the premiums on the insurance. Just as your house insurance pays you in the event of damage to your home, unemployment insurance pays if you lose your job. Unlike financial aid such as food stamps, you don't need to meet certain financial requirements for unemployment benefits. The engineer who is laid off from a $100,000-a-year job with a large corporation is eligible for benefits alongside the clerk who made minimum wage in a retail position. The amount of benefits you receive is based on the amount you made working at your previous job, not your current or past financial position.
Individual, Not Household
-
Your marital status doesn't come into play when you sign up for unemployment benefits. If you worked and were laid off, and your wife worked and was laid off, you both can collect benefits. You'll each collect individual benefits that are independent from each other and anyone else. It doesn't matter if you both worked for the same employer or for different employers. Your claims will be treated as two separate cases.
-
Eligibility Requirements
-
Each state determines the qualifications for unemployment benefits in that state, but all states have some things in common. To collect unemployment benefits, you must have been employed and earned enough wages in the eligibility period prior to filing your claim. Usually, this period is the 12 months prior to making your claim. You don't necessarily need to have worked for the entire 12 months, but you must have worked a minimum number of hours and/or made a minimum amount of money during that time. Each state establishes its own minimums. If you lose your job through no fault of your own --- for instance a layoff or because the business you worked for closed --- you are eligible for benefits. If you quit or were fired, you may still be eligible in some circumstances. The unemployment office will schedule an interview to determine if you qualify for benefits.
Filing Claims
-
Once you're deemed eligible to collect unemployment benefits, you must file a claim weekly. Each week, you must be available and willing to work and you must actively seek work in your field to remain eligible for benefits. In some instances you'll remain eligible if you're enrolled in a qualified job training or educational program. If you're not available to work or you don't look for work, you could be denied unemployment benefits.
-
