Field Notes

If your state has a one-week waiting period (most do), you do not get paid for that week, but you still have to file a weekly certification for it. Missing this cert because you assume an unpaid week doesn't count delays your first real payment by one to three weeks while the state processes the gap. File the waiting-week cert the same Sunday you file every other cert.

When state UI phone lines disconnect or hold for hours, the Governor's office will route constituent calls to the unemployment agency's escalation queue. Every state has a Governor's constituent services line, and they treat unemployment delays as a routine constituent issue. This works in every state. It is the single most effective workaround for phone-system gridlock that I learned through experience.

Arizona DES has continued sending overpayment notices for pandemic-era PUA claims into 2025, including waiver-eligible cases. If you receive a PUA overpayment notice, you can request a waiver under the federal blanket waiver provisions; do not assume the debt is final. File the waiver request within the appeal window stated on the notice.

Michigan UIA has continued reviewing pandemic-era PUA overpayment determinations, including hardship waiver claims. Federal blanket waivers apply to certain non-fraud overpayments. If you received an overpayment notice, you can request waiver review; do not assume the debt is final without challenging.

If you received a pandemic-era PUA overpayment notice from any state, federal law allows blanket waiver review for non-fraud overpayments. States including Arizona, Michigan, and others have continued sending these notices into 2025. Do not assume the debt is final; request waiver review through the state's appeals process within the deadline on the notice.

California EDD frequently routes new claims to ID.me video verification when automated checks fail. Slots are limited and routinely book 2 to 3 weeks out at peak. Schedule the video call the moment you receive the prompt, not after gathering documents; you can prepare during the wait. Missed appointments push you to the back of the queue.

California's UI Online portal has known rendering issues with mobile Safari, particularly on the work-search certification screen and PDF document upload. Use desktop Chrome or Firefox for first-time filing and any document upload. The state has not officially announced fixes; the workaround is browser choice.

California EDD's main claims line at 1-800-300-5616 routinely sees the shortest hold times in the first 15 minutes after open at 8am Pacific. Call volume spikes after 9am and stays heavy through 4pm. Spanish line at 1-800-326-8937 often has a shorter queue if you are bilingual.

Illinois IDES at 1-800-244-5631 sees the lightest queues in the first 30 minutes after open at 7:30am Central. The line stays heavy through midday. If you are calling about a held claim, have your claimant ID and the date of the determination notice ready before dialing.

Arizona requires 4 work-search activities per week, with employer name, contact method, date, and result logged in your claimant portal. DES audits these logs and disqualifies weeks with vague entries like 'searched online'. Save the job posting URL or the auto-reply email; that paper trail wins audit appeals.

Florida's CONNECT portal runs scheduled maintenance Sunday late evening through early Monday morning Eastern. File your weekly cert by Sunday 8pm Eastern or expect to wait until Monday. The Florida Department of Commerce publishes the recurring window on its claimant resource pages.

Florida uses a sliding scale that ties maximum benefit duration to the state unemployment rate. At low statewide unemployment, benefits cap at just 12 weeks; at higher rates the cap rises toward 23 weeks. Check the rate in effect when you file, not when you separated. The state publishes the current cap quarterly.

Florida's maximum weekly benefit amount remains $275, the figure set in 1998 and not adjusted for inflation since. Florida and Tennessee share this distinction as the two states with no inflation-indexed weekly maximum. Real purchasing power has fallen by roughly half since the figure was set.

Texas TWC Tele-Center hold times drop sharply between 8:00 and 8:45 AM Central. Calls placed mid-day routinely sit on hold 90 minutes or more. The Tele-Center number is 800-939-6631; have your claim ID and the date of your last work ready before dialing.

Texas requires biweekly payment requests rather than weekly. The TWC portal opens the request Sunday morning Central for the prior two-week period. Late payment requests can be filed retroactively but only within a defined window; check the TWC schedule for your specific assigned day.

Texas treats severance allocated to specific weeks as wages, disqualifying those weeks from UI. Lump-sum severance without allocation is generally treated as not wages. Texas TWC has historically taken a stricter view than some neighboring states; read the agreement carefully and consult an employment attorney if the allocation is ambiguous.

Arkansas runs ArkLine at 1-501-907-1335 for weekly claim certification by phone. Many claimants find ArkLine more reliable than the online portal during peak hours. The automated system accepts your SSN and PIN; have your work-search log ready to read in. Calls placed before 8am Central usually clear without a queue.

States that route claims through ID.me video verification (California, Kansas, Alabama, Arizona, and others) routinely show 1 to 3 week wait times for Trusted Referee video calls. Schedule the call the moment you receive the prompt; do not wait to gather documents first. Missed appointments push you to the back of the queue.

Alabama Department of Labor routes new claimants through ID.me identity verification before any benefits release. The state's claimant FAQ notes that unverified accounts hold in pending status until ID.me confirms the match. Submit a state-issued ID and a selfie video at first prompt; do not wait for a separate notice. If automated verification fails twice, ID.me triggers a Trusted Referee video call that often books two weeks out.

Alabama's weekly certification window runs Sunday 12:01am through Saturday 11:59pm Central each week. Miss the Saturday deadline and the week is forfeit; you cannot backfile a missed week without an appealable reason. The state's online filing portal at labor.alabama.gov posts the schedule under its weekly claim instructions.

Alabama gives claimants only 15 calendar days from the mailing date of a determination to file an appeal, one of the shortest windows in the country. The deadline runs from the date printed on the notice, not the date you received it. File the appeal in writing through the Alabama eGov portal or mail it to the address on the determination letter.

Colorado's MyUI+ portal includes a virtual assistant chatbot that handles most password resets and account unlocks without phone hold time. For substantive claim issues you still need a live agent, but for login problems start with the chatbot. The state's claimant guide at cdle.colorado.gov walks through the access path.

Colorado issues benefits to a U.S. Bank ReliaCard prepaid card by default for new claims unless you select direct deposit during the initial application. The card carries ATM and inactivity fees that direct deposit avoids. Switch to direct deposit through your MyUI+ account before your first payment posts.

Delaware caps regular UI at 26 weeks and does not maintain a state-funded extended benefits program. Federal extended benefits trigger only when the state unemployment rate hits a threshold; in normal periods, 26 weeks is the firm ceiling. Plan your transition runway accordingly.

Delaware's weekly cert window runs Sunday through Saturday, with Sunday morning being the earliest you can file the prior week. Filing earlier in the week generally results in faster payment processing. The state's UI portal at ui.delawareworks.com confirms the schedule.

Georgia is one of the few states where the employer files a partial unemployment claim on behalf of laid-off employees in many separation scenarios. If your employer has not filed within a few days of separation, contact GDOL directly; you can file your own claim, but the employer-filed path is faster when used.

Hawaii historically requires an in-person identity verification at a local Hawaii Department of Labor office for first-time claimants. The state has expanded virtual verification options post-pandemic, but in-person remains the default if remote verification fails. Book the appointment as early as possible; neighbor-island offices have limited slots.

Hawaii uses the standard four-quarter base period but offers an alternate base period including the most recent completed quarter if the standard period yields too little. If you separated shortly after starting a new job, ask explicitly for the alternate base period during your initial filing.

Idaho's claimant portal opens the weekly certification at midnight Sunday and closes Friday at midnight Mountain. This is shorter than most states' Saturday-close window. File mid-week to leave room if the portal hiccups. The Idaho Department of Labor confirms the window in its claimant guide.

Idaho requires 2 work-search activities per week, fewer than most states, but the documentation standard is strict. Log employer name, contact info, position, date, and method for each contact. Idaho audits roughly 1 in 4 cert weeks; sloppy logs trigger overpayment notices.

Illinois treats severance as not wages for UI purposes. Severance, whether lump sum or installment, does not delay your benefit start date and does not reduce your weekly amount. Report the payment but expect eligibility from your last day worked.

Illinois gives claimants 30 calendar days from the mailing date of a determination to appeal, longer than most states. Late appeals require a showing of good cause. File appeals through the IDES tele-serve number or by mail to the address on the determination.

Indiana's Uplink portal uses the term 'voucher' for weekly certifications. Vouchers are due weekly Sunday through Saturday, with the previous week available starting Sunday. Failing to file a voucher within seven days requires a phone call to reopen the claim.

Indiana DWD has piloted a relaxed work-search rule in some workforce regions, dropping from 3 contacts per week to 1 in certain reemployment programs. The default statewide rule remains 3 contacts. Verify your specific case manager's instructions; the rule depends on your assigned reemployment plan.

Iowa requires registration in IowaWORKS, the state job-search system, before or during your initial unemployment filing. The two systems share authentication, but each has its own profile data. Failing to complete the IowaWORKS profile holds your UI claim in pending status.

Kansas Department of Labor routes new claims through ID.me. The verification step happens after initial claim submission, not before. If the automated check fails, you are queued for a Trusted Referee video call that books out one to two weeks. Schedule immediately to preserve your claim's effective date.

Kentucky's UI portal opens the weekly cert at 12:01am Eastern Sunday for the prior week. Kentucky's Career Center office network handles in-person help if portal verification fails. The Education and Labor Cabinet posts the schedule on its claimant resource page.

Kentucky treats severance allocated to specific weeks as wages, disqualifying those weeks from UI. Lump-sum severance with no allocation in the separation agreement is generally treated as not wages and does not delay benefits. Read the agreement carefully; the wording determines treatment.

Louisiana Workforce Commission uses HiRE for both unemployment claims and job-search registration. New claimants must complete a HiRE profile to file UI; the profile data feeds the work-search requirement automatically when you apply for jobs through the portal. Apps logged outside HiRE require manual entry.

Maine has been rolling out a modernized claimant system. New claimants should expect occasional planned outages during the migration. Maine Department of Labor posts maintenance windows on its claimant updates page. File mid-week and during business hours when state IT staff are available to help if something breaks.

Maine adds a dependent allowance to the weekly benefit, up to 50% of your weekly amount, for each qualifying dependent child. The allowance does not increase the maximum weekly benefit cap. List dependents during the initial claim; adding them later requires a claim adjustment.

Maryland's BEACON portal consolidates filing, weekly certs, appeal documents, and direct deposit changes in a single account. BEACON requires a phone number for two-factor authentication; landline numbers without text capability are not accepted. The Maryland DOL site walks through the registration steps.

Maryland requires 3 weekly work-search activities, logged in BEACON with employer name, contact method, date, and result. BEACON pre-populates the log if you applied through Maryland Workforce Exchange; outside applications require manual entry. Audit rates are high enough that sloppy logs are a real risk.

Massachusetts UI Online is one of the more reliable state portals, with infrequent outages and a clear maintenance schedule. The Department of Unemployment Assistance posts planned downtime in advance. The system handles weekly certs, appeals, and document upload through a single login.

Massachusetts adds $25 per qualifying dependent child to the weekly benefit, capped at 50% of your weekly benefit amount. The allowance does not extend duration but raises the cash flow during eligible weeks. List dependents during initial filing.

Michigan's MiWAM portal uses a PIN system that combines with a password and security questions. Lost PINs cannot be reset online and require a phone call to UIA at 1-866-500-0017. Have your driver's license number ready before calling.

Michigan capped maximum UI duration at 20 weeks under a 2011 law, one of the lower ceilings in the country. Some 2024 legislative proposals would restore 26 weeks but had not passed as of late 2024. Plan your runway around the 20-week assumption.

Minnesota's UI portal at uimn.org opens weekly certs Sunday morning Central. Minnesota's system is one of the more reliable nationally. The state's Department of Employment and Economic Development handles claims; the portal also exposes appeals filing and payment history in one login.

Minnesota uses the standard base period of the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters but allows an alternate base period using the most recent four completed quarters if the standard period yields too little. Request the alternate at filing if your job ended shortly after a hire.

Mississippi maintains a 26-week maximum duration but the weekly benefit cap is among the lowest in the country at $235 as of 2024. Total potential benefits are capped accordingly. The Mississippi Department of Employment Security publishes the current weekly maximum each year.

Mississippi MDES at 601-493-9427 sees the lightest call volumes in the first hour after opening. The contact center opens at 8am Central. Calls placed after 10am routinely sit on hold for an hour or more.

Missouri's UInteract portal has a strong uptime track record and a clear interface. Filing, weekly request for payment, and appeals all live in one account. Missouri Division of Employment Security handles claims through a centralized contact center that supplements the portal.

Missouri reduced its maximum UI duration to 20 weeks under a 2016 law, with further reductions tied to the state unemployment rate. At low statewide unemployment the cap can drop further. Verify the current cap on the Department of Labor site at the time of filing.

Montana requires registration in MontanaWorks, the state job-search system, as a condition of UI eligibility. The registration is separate from filing the UI claim. Failure to complete MontanaWorks registration within the first week of claim holds payments.

Montana provides up to 28 weeks of regular unemployment benefits, slightly longer than the 26-week standard most states use. The cap depends on individual base-period earnings; not all claimants reach 28. Montana is one of only a few states above the 26-week norm.

Nebraska Department of Labor runs NEworks at neworks.nebraska.gov as a unified UI and job-search platform. New claimants must complete a NEworks profile and resume; the resume is a hard requirement, not optional. Sparse profiles trigger eligibility holds.

Nebraska maintains the standard 26-week regular UI cap. Nebraska's partial benefits formula uses a sliding scale that phases benefits down as part-time earnings rise rather than a hard cliff. Working part time during a claim can extend total benefits received.

Nevada's Claimant Self Service portal opens weekly cert Sunday morning Pacific. Nevada DETR has had multiple PUA-era system issues that linger as occasional bugs. Use desktop browser, not mobile, for first filing. The state's portal at ui.nv.gov posts maintenance notices.

Nevada DETR uses separate phone numbers for northern and southern Nevada claims. Calling the wrong region routes you to a longer transfer queue. Verify your assigned region from your claim notice; northern Nevada is 775-687-6916, southern Nevada is 702-486-0350.

New Hampshire Employment Security's NHUIS portal at nhes.nh.gov runs claim filing, weekly cert, and document upload. New Hampshire requires in-person reemployment services check-in at certain claim weeks; the portal flags the requirement when due.

New Hampshire maintains the standard 26-week regular UI cap and has not reduced duration in recent legislative sessions. Weekly maximums are indexed and update annually. Check the current rate on the Employment Security site each year.

New Jersey assigns each new filer a specific filing window based on the last four digits of Social Security number; filing outside the assigned window historically caused processing delays. The state has loosened this in recent years but the time-window guidance remains posted. Check the NJDOL site for the current schedule.

New Jersey treats severance as not wages for UI purposes. Severance, lump sum or installment, does not delay your benefit start date and does not reduce your weekly amount. Salary continuation is treated differently; if your employer keeps you on payroll, you remain employed and ineligible.

New Jersey's benefit week runs Sunday through Saturday. Weekly certs become available Sunday morning Eastern. New Jersey's nj.gov UI portal shows the next certification date in the claim summary; file as soon as the prior week ends to keep payments on schedule.

New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions runs claims through its UI Tax and Claims portal. First-time accounts require email verification before filing can begin; some users report verification emails landing in spam. Check spam before assuming the email did not send.

New Mexico maintains the standard 26-week regular UI cap. Weekly maximums update annually based on the state average wage. Check the current weekly cap on the New Mexico DWS site at the time of your filing.

New York DOL routes claimant phone calls based on the last digit of Social Security number to specific call windows. Calling outside your assigned window routes you to a longer hold queue. The schedule is posted on the New York DOL site under tele-claim filing.

New York treats severance as wages if the separation agreement allocates it to specific weeks; those weeks are disqualifying. Lump-sum severance with no allocation is generally treated as not wages and does not delay benefits. Do not sign a separation agreement without understanding the allocation language.

New York DOL's weekly cert opens Sunday morning and closes Saturday at midnight. File early in the week to leave room for portal hiccups. The DOL site at dol.ny.gov posts the schedule on the cert filing page.

North Carolina ties maximum benefit duration to the state unemployment rate, with a floor of 12 weeks at low statewide rates. At higher rates the cap rises toward 20 weeks. Verify the current cap on the NC DES site at the time of filing; this is one of the shortest durations nationally.

North Carolina DES requires 3 work-search activities per week, logged in the claimant portal with employer detail. North Carolina audits work-search logs at high rates; vague entries trigger overpayment determinations. Save URLs and confirmation emails as part of your log.

North Dakota Job Service runs UI through the UI ICE portal. North Dakota's claimant pool is small enough that contact center wait times are typically reasonable, but the portal is the primary access channel. The state's site at jobsnd.com hosts the portal entry.

North Dakota keeps the standard 26-week regular UI cap and has not pursued recent reduction legislation. Weekly maximums update annually. Check the current rate on Job Service North Dakota's site each year.

Ohio rolled out OHIO ID, a single-sign-on system that now controls access to the unemployment portal and other state services. New claimants must create an OHIO ID account before filing UI; the OHIO ID also covers tax and BMV systems. Two-factor authentication is mandatory.

Ohio treats lump-sum severance as not wages for UI purposes; it does not delay benefit start. Severance allocated to specific pay periods in a separation agreement is treated as wages for those periods. As in many states, the language of the agreement controls the treatment.

Oklahoma Employment Security Commission has been migrating from legacy systems to a modern claimant interface. Older login credentials may not work; verify on the OESC site before assuming a returning-user shortcut. The contact center handles login resets if the portal blocks you.

Oklahoma keeps the standard 26-week regular UI cap. Weekly maximums update annually. The state's filing portal walks through monetary determination during initial application, but you can run an estimate on the OESC site before filing.

Oregon Employment Department's Frances Online replaced the older OED system in March 2022. Legacy logins do not transfer; new account creation is required. Frances Online also handles paid leave applications, so the same login covers Oregon's PFML system.

Oregon's weekly certification through Frances Online opens at 12:01am Pacific Sunday for the prior week. Oregon Employment Department posts maintenance windows on its claimant updates page. File mid-week to leave a buffer for any portal hiccup.

Pennsylvania's Department of Labor and Industry replaced its mainframe UC system in 2021. Legacy account credentials do not work. New claimants register a fresh account at the UC portal. Two-factor authentication ties to a working phone number.

Pennsylvania allows part-time earnings up to a defined threshold without reducing your weekly benefit. Above the threshold, benefits reduce dollar-for-dollar against earnings. The threshold updates annually; verify the current figure on the PA UC site before reporting earnings.

Pennsylvania treats severance with allocation language as wages applied to specific weeks, disqualifying those weeks. Severance without allocation is generally not wages and does not delay benefits. Check the separation agreement carefully; the wording matters.

Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training's UI portal opens weekly cert Sunday morning Eastern. Rhode Island has one of the higher weekly maximums in the country combined with dependent allowances, making total benefit potential strong relative to neighboring states.

Rhode Island adds a dependent allowance to the weekly benefit, with a defined per-dependent figure and overall cap. The allowance applies to qualifying children only, not adult dependents. List dependents during the initial filing; adding them later requires a claim adjustment.

South Carolina DEW's MyBenefits portal handles UI claims, while SC Works handles job-search registration. Both are required. New claimants must complete profile data in both systems for benefits to release. The state walks through the link on its dew.sc.gov filing guide.

South Carolina caps regular UI duration at 20 weeks, below the 26-week standard most states use. Weekly maximums update annually but remain modest relative to the cost of living in coastal counties. Plan accordingly when budgeting your transition runway.

South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation's Reemployment Assistance Benefits portal opens weekly cert Sunday morning Mountain. South Dakota has a small claimant pool and contact center waits are typically modest, but portal access remains the fastest path.

South Dakota keeps the standard 26-week regular UI duration. Weekly maximums are among the lower figures nationally; verify the current weekly amount on the South Dakota DLR site at the time of filing.

Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development runs UI through the Jobs4TN portal, which doubles as the state's job-search system. New claimants must complete a Jobs4TN profile and resume; the resume is required, not optional, and feeds work-search reporting.

Tennessee's maximum weekly UI benefit is $275, the same figure Florida uses and similarly not indexed to inflation. Tennessee and Florida share the distinction of having two of the lowest real-purchasing-power weekly caps among large states.

Tennessee requires 3 work-search activities per week, logged in Jobs4TN with employer detail. Apps logged outside Jobs4TN need manual entry. Audit rates are high; vague entries trigger holds and overpayment determinations.

Utah Department of Workforce Services runs claims through jobs.utah.gov, which combines UI filing with the state's job-search system. A complete profile and resume are required; sparse profiles trigger eligibility holds. Utah's contact center is generally among the more responsive nationally.

Utah keeps the standard 26-week regular UI duration. Weekly maximums update annually based on the state average wage. Utah's filing experience is generally smoother than peer western states with newer migrated systems.

Vermont Department of Labor's claimant portal opens weekly cert Sunday morning Eastern. Vermont has one of the smaller claimant pools nationally and the contact center is typically responsive. The portal is the primary access channel; phone is a backup.

Vermont treats severance with allocation to specific weeks as wages for those weeks. Lump-sum severance without allocation is generally not wages and does not delay benefits. As in many states, the wording of the separation agreement controls the treatment.

Virginia Employment Commission rolled out a modernized claimant portal in late 2021 and early 2022, replacing legacy mainframe systems. New accounts are required for both new and returning claimants. The VEC has worked through several rollout issues but the system is now generally stable.

Virginia VEC requires 2 work-search activities per week. The portal log requires employer name, contact method, date, position, and result. Virginia audits work-search logs at notable rates; weak entries trigger holds. Save URLs and confirmation emails as part of your log.

Washington Employment Security Department uses SecureAccess Washington (SAW) as the single sign-on for UI claims and other state services. New claimants must create a SAW account and add the ESD service to it. Existing SAW users from other state services can simply add ESD without creating a new login.

Washington ESD requires 3 work-search activities per week, with a job club option that satisfies the requirement for participants. WorkSource Washington centers run job clubs; participation is logged automatically. Outside job applications require manual entry in the eServices portal.

Washington ESD treats severance as not wages for UI purposes. Severance, lump sum or installment, does not delay your benefit start date. Salary continuation is treated differently; if the employer keeps you on payroll, you remain employed and ineligible until that ends.

West Virginia WorkForce runs UI claims through its claimant portal, with weekly certs opening Sunday Eastern. The state's claimant pool is smaller than peer states, and contact center waits are typically modest. The portal is the primary path; phone backup is available.

West Virginia keeps the standard 26-week regular UI duration. Weekly maximums update annually. The state's filing portal walks through monetary determination during initial application.

Wisconsin DWD's UI portal at my.unemployment.wisconsin.gov is separate from the state's job-search system. Both are required for active UI claims. The DWD also requires registration in Job Center of Wisconsin within 14 days of filing UI; missing the deadline holds payments.

Wisconsin requires 4 work-search activities per week, among the highest weekly counts in the country. Each activity must be logged with employer detail. Wisconsin audits at high rates; vague or template logs trigger holds. Save confirmation emails and URLs as evidence.

Wyoming Department of Workforce Services runs UI through the WYUI portal. Wyoming's small claimant pool means contact center waits are usually modest. The portal opens weekly cert Sunday morning Mountain, and the state's filing flow is one of the simpler interfaces nationally.

Wyoming keeps the standard 26-week regular UI duration. Weekly maximums update annually based on the state average wage. Wyoming weekly maximums are mid-pack relative to neighboring western states.

States including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Texas treat severance differently based on whether the separation agreement allocates the payment to specific weeks. Allocated severance disqualifies the covered weeks; lump-sum without allocation is generally not wages. Read the agreement before signing; the wording can change benefit eligibility by weeks of pay.

Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, South Carolina, and Louisiana all cap regular UI duration below the 26-week standard. Florida, North Carolina, and Louisiana use sliding-scale formulas tied to the state unemployment rate. Plan your runway accordingly; in a low-unemployment economy these caps drop to 12 weeks in some states.

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania pay a dependent allowance on top of the weekly benefit for qualifying dependents. The allowance amount and cap vary by state. List dependents during the initial filing; adding them later requires a claim adjustment that takes weeks to process.

Most states offer an alternate base period that includes the most recent completed quarter when the standard base period yields too little. This matters if you separated within months of a new job. Request the alternate at filing in California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Hawaii, Minnesota, and others. The standard period misses recent earnings.

The federal COBRA subsidy created under the American Rescue Plan ended on September 30, 2021. Many laid-off workers still encounter outdated guidance suggesting subsidized COBRA. The actual cost is the full premium plus 2% admin fee. Compare against ACA marketplace plans; the marketplace special enrollment period after job loss usually offers lower-cost options.

Regular UI is funded by employer payroll taxes on W-2 wages. 1099 contractor income does not establish or boost a regular UI claim in any state. The PUA program that briefly covered 1099 workers ended in September 2021 and has not been renewed. If your only recent earnings are 1099, you likely will not qualify for regular UI in any state.

Generally, you file UI in the state where you physically performed your work, not the state where your employer is headquartered. If you worked remotely from California for a Texas employer, you file in California. The Department of Labor's interstate claims rules cover edge cases; contact the state where you worked first.

Wisconsin and Arizona require 4 weekly work-search activities; North Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee, and Washington require 3. These states audit logs at high rates. Save URLs of postings, dates, employer contact info, and any confirmation email or response. Vague entries like 'searched online' trigger overpayment determinations.

Alaska does not let claimants file directly on the Department of Labor site; you must first create a myAlaska account, then link it to the unemployment system. The myAlaska login is the same one used for Permanent Fund Dividend filings, so many residents already have credentials. If you cannot recover your myAlaska password, the recovery email is the bottleneck.

Alaska treats commercial fishing as exempt employment for unemployment purposes. Crew shares from a fishing season do not count toward your base period wages and cannot establish or boost a claim. If your only recent earnings are crew shares, your monetary determination will likely show insufficient wages. Plan to file based on prior covered employment.

California treats severance as not wages for unemployment purposes. Lump-sum or installment severance does not delay your benefit start date and does not reduce your weekly amount. This is different from many states. Report the severance on your initial claim, but expect benefits to begin from your last day worked, not after severance ends.

Connecticut launched ReEmployCT in mid-2022, replacing a 40-year-old mainframe. The new portal is generally stable but requires a fresh account; legacy logins do not transfer. New claimants must create a ReEmployCT account before filing. The state's filing guide at portal.ct.gov links to the registration flow.

Connecticut treats severance as wages allocated to a specific period. If your separation agreement allocates severance to a defined number of weeks, those weeks are disqualifying. Lump-sum severance with no allocation language is treated as not wages, similar to California. Read the allocation language carefully before filing.

Georgia DOL rolled out MyUI in 2024, replacing the older claimant interface. Legacy account credentials do not transfer; you must create a new MyUI account to file or recertify. Existing in-progress claims migrated, but communication preferences and saved payment info reset.

Kansas replaced its legacy UI system with GetKansasBenefits in 2023. Older account credentials do not work; new claimants and returning claimants must create a fresh account. Two-factor authentication is mandatory and ties to a working phone number, not just email.

Arkansas reduced its maximum unemployment duration from 16 to 12 weeks under Act 196 of 2023, effective January 2024. Combined with one of the lower weekly maximums in the country, total benefits available are among the smallest nationally. Plan accordingly when budgeting your transition timeline.

Iowa reduced its maximum unemployment duration from 26 to 16 weeks under a 2022 law, with a sliding scale for some claimants. Iowa Workforce Development applies the new cap to all claims filed after the effective date. Combined with strict work-search rules, Iowa benefits are among the shorter durations nationally.

Louisiana reduced its maximum unemployment duration to 12 weeks for claims filed after January 2024 under Act 412 of 2023, tied to the state unemployment rate. At low rates the cap is 12 weeks; at higher rates the cap rises but stays below the previous 26-week ceiling. Louisiana joins Florida and Arkansas among the shortest durations.