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I would appreciate anyone's help. I know in NJ you can work part-time while collecting unemployment and make up to an additional $80 per week? I think that is the correct amount. I may be off a little.
What happens if the amount you are making every week via a part-time job is more than your unemployment? I start a part-time job that pays $16 an hour (better than nothing ) and should consist of 30 to 40 hours of work per week. The downside is the position is temporary (possibly a year). Hopefully, I will find a full-time prior to the position ending.
I remember being told after you earn a total of $2628 you have to re-qualify? Is this true? If so, what is the $2628 based on (i.e the overage you're allowed or all monies earned while working)?
I'm only curious because what happens if I end up losing my benefits then experience a week or two where I'm not working 30 hours and end up making significantly less than what my unemployment would have been?
Why not? It is a part-time temporary position. Some weeks will be 30 hours or less, some may be 40 hours (the first few weeks). How can they not classify that as part-time?
I know in NJ you can work part-time while collecting unemployment and make up to an additional $80 per week? I think that is the correct amount. I may be off a little.
In NJ, there is no universal weekly dollar maximum for part-time earnings while you are collecting unemployment. NJ UI uses a formula to apply your part-time income toward your UI benefit payment. According to the NJ DOL website: "Whether you are working less than full-time or part-time, you must report your weekly gross wages (including tips) when you claim your benefits. Please note that even if pre-existing part-time employment is not used to calculate your monetary, you must declare all earnings for each week of benefits that you claim.Wages must be reported for the week in which they are earned, not when they are paid."
"The wages you report will be subtracted from your Partial Benefit Rate. The Partial Benefit Rate is 20% higher than your weekly benefit rate. You cannot be paid more than your weekly benefit rate."
What happens if the amount you are making every week via a part-time job is more than your unemployment?
You still need to file for those weeks, but no benefits are payable.
Quote:
I remember being told after you earn a total of $2628 you have to re-qualify? Is this true? If so, what is the $2628 based on (i.e the overage you're allowed or all monies earned while working)?
Again, NJ UI sets no maximum dollar amount from part-time earnings for disqualification from UI benefits.
When you claim earnings for more than your weekly benefit, your account cannot be automatically processed and it is flagged for an agent. The agent reviews the data you have entered, and manually processes the formula for your weekly benefits -- if any are due.
However, in the case you are describing -- of 30 to 40 hours per week -- the agent will want to speak with you directly about your "part-time" earnings. A "hold" will be put on your account until the agent investigates is satisfied that your work qualifies as "part-time."
I'm not sure if I should even bother with a part-time position that can end at any time. It sounds like it may hinder me more than help. Like most, the goal is to get a full-time position. In this situation, the part-time position would end right around the time my benefits may run out (depending on extensions). I would hate to screw up my unemployment on behalf of a part-time position. It also makes it hard to interview for full-time positions as part-time employee's don't get personal time off and its harder to miss work.
I guess it is a catch 22 situation. On one hand working part-time may provide me a better chance of securing a full-time position since some employers look "badly" towards applicants which have been laid off for extended period of times. It may also provide me the chance of meeting someone while out working that may have a full-time position available.
On the other hand, I may be putting my unemployment benefits at risk (losing them, payments being lowered in the future, etc) for a position that may only provide me a small amount of extra money for a short period of time.
I currently receive $438 per week via unemployment not including the extra $25 weekly payment. For argument sakes, the part time position would be 30 hours a week at $16 (would pay $480 per week) but does end within the next year. There is a slight chance it may last longer.
I would appreciate anyone's help. I know in NJ you can work part-time while collecting unemployment and make up to an additional $80 per week? I think that is the correct amount. I may be off a little.
What happens if the amount you are making every week via a part-time job is more than your unemployment? I start a part-time job that pays $16 an hour (better than nothing ) and should consist of 30 to 40 hours of work per week. The downside is the position is temporary (possibly a year). Hopefully, I will find a full-time prior to the position ending.
I remember being told after you earn a total of $2628 you have to re-qualify? Is this true? If so, what is the $2628 based on (i.e the overage you're allowed or all monies earned while working)?
I'm only curious because what happens if I end up losing my benefits then experience a week or two where I'm not working 30 hours and end up making significantly less than what my unemployment would have been?
I hope this is half-way coherent
Thank you in advance!
JMO but p/t work while collecting u.i. benefits creates problems and most u.i. reps aren't skilled enough to correctly deal with these issues as they surface. It really gets confusing if you get terminated while this is going on.
Good luck.
Without knowing exactly what kind of work it is, I'd advise taking the job.
First of all, you shouldn't assume that EUC benefits will even be available beyond November 30 when the current extension expires. They may get extended again or they may not. If they don't, you'll be glad you took the job, right?
Second, when this temporary job ends, you can go back to collecting benefits on your original claim and you'll still have the same number of benefit weeks remaining as you did when you started the job. If your first year of unemployment is up or if it passes while you're working at this job, you will have to recertify based on the wages from this job, but since the passage of HR4213 your benefits will no longer be reduced so you'll still end up receiving the same amount.
Third, the above assumes that EUC benfits do get extended, if they don't then you wouldn't be able to collect anything anymore once yourfirst 26 weeks ends. At that point, if you had taken this job you could start a whole new claim based on the wages from the job and collect at least the basic 26 weeks again. It would be a lot less than your current weekly benefit, but at least it'd be something.
The only complicated thing would be if you want to collect partial benefits for weeks that you earn less than your UC benefit amount. If you've gone a couple weeks working over 30 hours so that you don't collect any unemployment, I think your claim will automatically go inactive, so that you'll then have to reactivate it when you want to collect partial benefits in a week that you work less. This could be a big hassle if your hours are constantly hovering around that mark. In theory,yes you could keep reactivating your claim whenever you need to, but in practice it'd probably just be easier to skip it unless you make a whole lot less on the job that week or you can predict that you'll be working fewer hours for a bunch of weeks in a row instead of just one or two. And afterall, you'll be making more than your unemployment benefit for the weeks that you work 30 hours or more, so overall you probably wouldn't be losing any money anyway, right?
Thanks for all the input. It is appreciated. I know we all have our own tough decisions to worry about Thanks for taking the time out.
Sweater Fish, I was thinking along the lines of how you are thinking as well. I definitely appreciate your knowledge and thought process. The original reason I figured it would be a good idea to take the position was in case my benefits ran out. In that case I knew I had a half way decent paying part-time position which would keep me somewhat above water. Most PT positions barely pay $12 an hour. Yet, the more and more I read about PT positions affecting the longevity of my benefits, the more I start to second guess starting this job. Also, knowing I supposedly have a year left of benefits also makes it a tough decision along with the fact this position is temporary.
If I did revert back to where I left off that would be great. However, it wouldn't be great if my benefits were calculated on the part time position and I only get $336 per week. Losing the extra $400 (rough estimate) a month would hurt although it's better than nothing. Also, maybe having some active work expereience in the same field I was formely working in might actually help get a FT position elsewhere.
Having to reactivate is definitely going to be a hassle especially in the case where I make significantly less than my current weekly payment. I don't care if it is a little off. Hopefully it can be done via the telephone or the internet. If I have to reactivate via the phone, hopefully I don't experience the issues getting through to a representative as I currently do. It is next to impossible to reach someone via the phone. I don't mind the wait, its the part of being told everyone is busy, call back later.
Anyways, I guess I have a slightly tough decision to make. I will be kicking myself if my benefits end and I don't have the pt position to fall back on.
Third, the above assumes that EUC benfits do get extended, if they don't then you wouldn't be able to collect anything anymore once yourfirst 26 weeks ends.
Not true.
The OP is located in NJ. If the EUC Tiers program does not get extended, NJ is required by state law to still provide EB based on the state's three-month average unemployment rate.
That means the OP could be eligible for up to an additional 20 weeks of benefits (EB + High EB), regardless of the status of the EUC Tiers.
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) and should consist of 30 to 40 hours of work per week. The downside is the position is temporary (possibly a year). Hopefully, I will find a full-time prior to the position ending. 
