Unemployment Compensation

Unemployment Compensation deals with unemployment insurance, which provides temporary benefits to a person who loses their job through no fault of their own. Similar to workers’ compensation, if you are seeking unemployment compensation you should make a claim for unemployment benefits during your first week of total or partial unemployment.

Typically, to receive unemployment insurance benefits, the individual must be ready, willing, and able to work. Additionally, you must be actively job seeking to qualify for these benefits.

I was fired from my previous job; can I receive unemployment benefits?

As with most legal issues, it depends.

In unemployment claims, fault matters. For example, you may be eligible if you were fired for poor performance, but you may not be eligible for benefits if your previous employer is able to demonstrate you were fired for violating a company rule or for intentional misconduct.

Whether the employee was demonstrated for cause can depend on several factors, including:

• The nature of the conduct which resulted in termination,
• The number and sufficiency of previous warnings, and
• Whether or not the employer condoned past instances of this behavior.

Changes may occur in this area of law. The information provided is brought to you as a public service, and is intended to help you better understand the law in general. It is not intended to be legal advice regarding your particular problem or substitute for the advice of a lawyer.