Temp Job for 3-4 months, should I continue to claim & when it ends will I start collecting my EUC balance again? (extension, file)

[Sailorina]

My question is in regards to taking on a temporary job, while still having a five month balance of EUC Tier 2 and 3 available to me in my state, Illinois.

***If I know the job will end before four months, I was wondering if I could continue to file, claiming wages earned, so that the claim stays open for me to report every week until it ends. Then when the job ends, I would start to file that I'm back to $0 earned each week.... would the EUC benefits would resume coming in again?***

My benefit year ends in December 2013 and I have a balance that is valid until then, so I don't see why it wouldn't work, but my state UI page is full of missing pages and outdated information. Is there a limit of amount of money earned that will disqualify you from continuing to claim?

Is there a limit of how many hours or week you are working a job that will trigger your claim to close even if you are continuing to file to keep your initial claim open?

Does the Unemployment Agency differentiate between a temporary job and a job that I take on for awhile that just doesn't work out? How would they know the difference?

[Chyvan]

It can take as little as one week of having earnings greater than your UI check to have your claim close. When the temp job ends, you're not going to be able to avoid having to physically call or maybe through an online app to get the claim reopened. They will do a determination just like they did when you first became qualified. You can be without a check from your job and no UI check for weeks.

Also, some states have stricter rules that come into play when a temp agency is involved.

Unless this temp job is really good, pays close to what you were getting before, has benefits like your other job did, it may very well be unsuitable. Also, just because your state is offering tiers 2 and 3 now, doesn't mean they'll still be offering them when this temp job ends. Also, lots of temps get treated horribly, and they come on here often enough wanting to find a way to quit and get back on UI. It's a very high risk proposition in my book.

[esselle]

I regret taking the temp job I did. It was supposedly temp to perm but I found out after accepting the temp part that their benefits were awful. They paid 40% of the employee's insurance only, that was it. Insurance was not extended to temporary employees and my insurance that I paid for out of my unemployment compensation was cancelled after I reported my wages.

They didn't specify if the employee could choose the carrier/plan or not. I left to have my son and never received a job offer though a co-worker had said they were interested in me coming back. Between that, the commute and daycare plus insurance, I'd be paying to go to work. This was not okay. When I called after my recovery with my son, I called UI and told them I never received a job offer and that the only contract I had was temporary. My BYE ended a few weeks later and I went back at my old rate as I'd only made around $6000 before taxes at the temp job which would have drastically reduced my weekly benefit rate.

When you call to tell them the job has ended, they will contact the employer to make sure it was a temporary position. I used to work on this end of things at another job (certifying unemployment for workers between contracts) and it may delay your payment. While my temp job was being looked into plus the BYE thing and the rate change, it took a month to receive any funds. I received one month's amount in a lump sum.

I did not go through an agency for the temp job I am referring to, so I am not sure how that would work. I know some agencies offer benefits but I'm not sure how they were.

I'm in MA, but there was a thing about it being a percentage of what you make on UI being your limit on what you could earn and still collect. I know from working as a temp via an agency, if a place doesn't offer you X amount of hours, you can get partial unemployment. You report the wages you earn every week when you certify your claim and like Chyvan said, one week (at least in MA) of making MORE than your benefit amount will close the claim.

If you can get a temp to perm and it is a job you like with good benefits and pay, I'd say go for it. In my particular case, I do regret it as it added a lot of stress re: insurance (which is mandatory in my state) that I could have done without at 6+ months pregnant.

[allen96817]

I am somebody who has been collecting UI as well as taking temp jobs here and there from my agency. Since I initially filed against my temp agency for working for them nonstop for 2 years, I feel I am in a different situation where I pretty much have to accept what they offer me. Some people say they regret taking temp assignments, some don't . I m sure it's a personal thing depending on what you get out of the assignment, and face it, some times those assignments do become permanent.

Just a few comments. In my state, Hawaii, if I earn more than my weekly benefit amount or if I work more than 40 hours, I cannot claim. Even if I make less than my benefit amount ( working 40 hours). After 2 weeks of non filing, the claims closes and will have to be reopened. I have never had any issues in re-opening a claim while taking a temp job, so that is reassuring.

I personally have learned whenever there is any change in your situation, to let your ui office know. There was one particular time that I took a temp job, it ended, and I thought all i had to do was certify again, but turns out I had to re open the claim and I should have done it the week I wanted to re start benefits. I remember waking up in a cold sweat on saturday morning thinking "was I supposed to re open the claim or just wait until beginning of the week tomorrow to file??" Turns out i was supposed to re open that week Mon-Fri, and saturday was too late and I did not get paid for that week, which almost caused a horrendous hardship. Because here you can re open online, but you have to speak to an agent afterwards. No exceptions, and saturday they aren't open to do that. And the website clearly states to re open the claim between these days and hours.

Also I read on this board that 'some' states physically require that you to notify your agency the day your assignment ends or else your benefits can be in jeopardy. It is not a requirement in my state, but I always make sure I get a confirmation from them in writing that my temporary assignment ended. I do this by sending them an email lettiing them know it's ended or ending and they reply back. Several assignments I would not be told by my agency that the assignment was ending, but rather by the client, so this saves me any issues in them saying I left on my own accord, although I think that attitude is on the far end of the scale, they arent vindictive here lol.

[Sailorina]

Thanks for the answers guys! So could Tier 2 or 3 disappear at any time despite Congress passing EUC through the end of 2013?

My new thought is to possibly take a temp job that is anything that is contracted for 4 months and when it ends reapply for the balance of my Tier 2 and 3. How likely is that to work?

[Ariadne22]

Originally Posted by Sailorina

Thanks for the answers guys! So could Tier 2 or 3 disappear at any time despite Congress passing EUC through the end of 2013?

My new thought is to possibly take a temp job that is anything that is contracted for 4 months and when it ends reapply for the balance of my Tier 2 and 3. How likely is that to work?

Congress will not change the legislation to the end of the year.

However, Tiers 2 and 3 are subject to UE rate triggers in every state.

Tier 2 - 6%
Tier 3 - 7%

At a 3-month UE rate of 8.8% today, it is unlikely Illinois will experience a sufficiently dramatic reduction in unemployment so as not to be paying Tier 3 when you get to it. However, there are no guarantees.

[Chyvan]

You don't get to pick and choose how long the temp job needs to be before you accept it. If you go that route, you could find yourself in "refusal of work" adjudications on a weekly basis.

Even if the job is for one day, if it's deamed suitable, and you refused it, you're UI is done. The way to win here is not to play the game. Just look for a job as good or better than you had before, and save the temp for stuff when you're at the end of the line.

[katheh]

As soon as you report earnings in excess of your weekly benefit, IL will close your claim. The claim balance will remain available to you if you become unemployed again.

IL IDES has a function to re-open a claim on their telephone system and online if you become unemployed again HOWEVER they are not allowing any reopenings (if you are on Tiers, not sure about the 26 week state claim) to occur unless you go into the IDES office.

My husband has about 3 weeks left on his claim - it had gone closed in November (he went back to work for a while) and he was laid off on 12/29. I attemped to re-open a couple different ways at a couple of different dates (due to the fiscal cliff extensions etc), and ultimately he had to go into the office. 30 minutes of filling out useless redundant forms, 15 minutes of tsk-tsk verbal abuse from a counselor, then they hit the "reopen" key on their computer & he was able to certify.

Anyway, report your earnings the week you earned them (not the week you were paid) then your claim will close. To reopen it, just go into the office. Don't waste your time not going in, you will have to anyway.

IDES online interface is very useless. My husband has messed up his claim every time trying to use the online system - he is now under strict instructions from me to only use the telephone automated system. That works fine.