Unemployment Benefit Eligibility

Definition

States that have enacted reforms to modernize unemployment insurance, April 2012.

Description

To qualify for unemployment insurance benefits, workers must have enough qualifying wages and yearly work experience to meet the state's minimum conditions and have lost their job through no fault of their own. As unemployment insurance remains the first line of defense against hardship and the erosion of assets for working families, certain state reforms are necessary to bring the system more into sync with a changing economy and protect workers from antiquated eligibility rules.

States are assessed on the adoption of the following reforms:

• Alternative base period: States can adopt a policy to use an alternative base period, which counts recent earnings when needed for the worker to qualify for benefits. Workers who have interrupted work patterns, including many in low-wage jobs, can benefit from this policy because the state requires fewer weeks worked to qualify for unemployment insurance.
• Part-time worker coverage: States can provide unemployment benefits to part-time workers who are otherwise denied because they are not actively seeking full-time employment.
• Compelling family reasons for leaving work: States can extend benefits to individuals who leave work for specific compelling family reasons, including domestic violence, relocation of a spouse, illness and disability.

As a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Congress enacted the Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act (UIMA) on February 17, 2009. UIMA provided financial incentives for states to close the gaps in unemployment insurance eligibility. UIMA has resulted in a wave of states adopting many of the policy reforms mentioned above. For more information, visit the National Employment Law Project (NELP).

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Unemployment Benefit Eligibility

Source

Modernizing Unemployment Insurance: Federal Incentives Pave the Way for State Reform. Washington, DC: National Employment Law Project, 2012. CFED thanks Claire McKenna of the National Employment Law Project for providing updated 2012 data.