Alabama: EUC08 On Two Different Claims? (receive, apply, payment, work)

[J-RAYE]

Hi!

Have I misinterpreted the rules? I was under the impression that if you filed two different unemployment claims at various times you could draw EUC08 (Tier 1, Tier 2, etc.) on each of those claims. The only thing that would have to happen would be that you would use the rest of your unexhausted tiers on the initial claim before you could start on Tier 1 of your EUC08 on your second claim. According to the rep I just talked with at the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations you can only have *one* set of EUC08 tier payments regardless if it's on a different claim or not; you were just allotted a certain amount of EUC08 money and once that was used up that was it.

My husband filed for unemployment in March 09. While he was on Tier 3 of his EUC08 for that claim he was hired at a new job, so he obviously stopped claiming unemployment. In the earliest part of this year 2012 he got laid off from that job and he applied for unemployment for that job thus having a new claim.

He exhausted all of his regular benefits for this 2012 claim, and then like I assumed would happen he picked up and exhausted the rest of his Tier 3 EUC08 benefits from his initial 09 claim. I assumed that once those were exhausted he would pick up on Tier 1 for his second claim (2012).

Now here's where things get confusing for me. Today he got a FINAL PAYMENT NOTICE(mailed 9/4/12) for his initial 09 claim stating that there is no balance left which is technically true. However when I go online and check his balance for his *newest* (2012) claim, it is also showing no available balance for that claim as well.

This prompted me to call the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations where I was told you could only have EUC08 paid out once meaning you could only get Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 once, not on multiple claims. So did I just get confused and get it wrong or did the lady I spoke with not understand my question? Keep in mind I couldn't get into specifics of my husband's claim (just general questions) as I didn't have my husband nearby at the time of the call to give his ok that I could speak to someone about his claim.

So could someone help me understand what's happening here? Did I just misinterpret the legislation?

EDIT: Forgot to say thanks in advance for any help given.

EDIT: One last edit. Called and spoke to a different Representative while my husband was here, so we could discuss specifics of his claim. I was correct in how things were to work (I'm going to assume that the initial rep I spoke with just misunderstood my questions!)! But according to this representative, in order for it to trigger to the Tier 1 EUC08 of his 2012 claim he was to call and initialize this. He had not received any form in the mail stating to do this, so thankfully we took the initiative to call again and discovered that this step needed to take place. According to the rep, she keyed it into the system and it should show up online tomorrow that he has a balance which will be payable only until December 29, 2012 when the program ends for everyone (fingers crossed that he will be with work before then!). Just wanted to update in case anyone else was in the same boat.

[Chyvan]

It's possible to get EUC 08, on two different claims, and your situation sounds like you are one of them.

However, you have to apply to get that second EUC. So that UI rep was probably telling you that so that you won't apply for it.

You get your husband to submit the application by any means possible.