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| :: Claimant Handbook |
Yes, there are certain situations that require additional information that we cannot collect via the Internet application at this time. If you are instructed to call a claims specialist to complete your claim, the information you have already provided will be saved and available to the claims specialist when you call.
A few examples include:
leaving questions unanswered,
changing your name,
out of state employment,
you did not work for one of the employers we have on file for you,
your employer is a 'special' type.
Remember that each claim is different, and even if you had to call to complete your claim last time, you might not need to this time!
There are several reasons.
When you use the Internet application to file for unemployment benefits you may take as much time as you need without feeling rushed.
You can see the questions and answers and easily read the help screens before answering the questions.
You will have an opportunity at the end of your claim to print a record of the questions and your answers for your records.
If you do need to call a claims specialist to complete your claim, that call will be much shorter since we will already have the information you provided via the Internet application.
If you are told that you must contact a claims specialist after your claim has been accepted, that is because one or more of your answers may affect your eligibility for benefits. The same rules apply if you file your weekly claim through the telephone system.
Due to exceptionally high workloads resulting from recent economic circumstances and Emergency Unemployment extensions, we are experiencing a substantial increase in our workload and call volume.
If you are unable to get through on our phone lines please be patient and try again at a later time.
Hours that claims specialists are available have been extended to 7:00am - 5:30pm Monday through Friday.
We will backdate claims for weeks you were unable to reach us due to the increased call volume.
If your claim is held because of a pending eligibility question, it may be 21 days or more from the day the question arose before you are contacted by one of our representatives.
Many claim services are also available online, including applying for unemployment benefits, filing a weekly claim, viewing recent payment information, and printing a 1099 tax statement.
We can't tell you whether you would be eligible or for how much, until you actually complete an initial claim application. After you apply, the data gets processed by a number of computer programs that are run overnight which will determine whether and for how much you qualify. We will then mail notices to you to tell you whether you are eligible, as well as explaining your rights and responsibilities. Refer to the "Computing Benefit Entitlement" web page to understand how the Department determines if you have enough wages to qualify for unemployment benefits and how we compute the amount of total benefits you can be paid and the amount of your weekly payment if you do qualify.
The initial claim application leads to a decision about whether you qualify for benefits, but this alone does not send out payments. You must file a weekly claim certification for each week you want an unemployment check. It is the weekly claim certification that actually triggers the payment for each week. Always wait until after Saturday to file a weekly claim certification for the calendar week ending that Saturday.
If there are no pending eligibility questions on your claim, we will generally determine your entitlement within 7 days of your filing of the initial claim, and benefit checks are usually mailed within 7 days after a completed weekly claim has been received.
Due to exceptionally high workloads resulting from recent economic circumstances and Emergency Unemployment extensions, we are experiencing a substantial increase in our workload and call volume. If you are unable to get through on our phone lines please be patient and try again at a later time. You can also file your weekly claim online.
The federal Social Security Act requires that you give us your social security number. It will be used to verify your identity, locate your employer(s) and wages, determine other income, determine eligibility, keep a record of your benefit payments and to gather statistics. We use a matching program to verify your social security number with the Social Security Administration. If you do not provide your social security number, we cannot take your claim.
The authority to require your social security number is found under Internal Revenue Code of 1954, 26 U.S.C. 85, Sections 6011(a), 6050(b), 6109(a), P.L. 98-369, Section 1137(a)(1) and under Wisconsin Statute Section 108.04(2)(e).
Personal information you provide may be used for secondary purposes [Privacy Law, s. 15.04(1)(m), Wis. Stats.]. In addition to reporting your income from unemployment to the IRS and WI Dept. of Revenue, we also share information about your claim with other federal and state agencies to help them determine your eligibility for or amounts of benefits payable under their programs. Some of those programs include General Assistance, Food Stamps, Wisconsin Works (W-2), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Medicaid.
Yes. Wisconsin Unemployment benefits are not affected by also receiving Social Security Retirement benefits. Social Security Retirement cash benefits are also unaffected by receiving WI Unemployment benefits. To find out more about how to qualify and how to apply for Social Security Retirement benefits go online to www.socialsecurity.gov.
Claims specialists do not have access to your 4-digit PIN. If you have forgotten it, you may choose a new number as part of your claim application. We will ask for additional identifying information before the new PIN will be authorized for your use.
The weekly claim system will ask if your address has changed since your last claim. If it has follow directions the system provides to change your address. Do not use the Quick Claim procedure if your need to change your address. If you are not filing for benefits at the present time but wish to change your address on our records, you must call one of the initial claim application/assistance numbers and press 3 when the system gives you your choices.
You can request to have taxes withheld or to change your current withholding status by using the online Tax Withholding Application or by calling the Initial Claim Application phone number (select Menu Option 2). The Federal withholding is 10% of the weekly amount payable, and the State withholding is 5% of the weekly amount payable.
No, wait until the first week in which you are unemployed or partially unemployed and start your claim then. If that week is Christmas or Thanksgiving or the 4th of July or New Year's week, we may be very busy, so call a week early. If you are ever unable to get through to start your claim in that first week, you can call the next week. Just be sure to tell the Claims Specialist that you want to start your claim with the prior week.
All claimants are asked this question each week. Benefits are payable to those who are able to work full-time, and available for work full-time. If a person answers "no" we can not pay benefits until we determine the circumstances. This question has nothing to do with the later question of "Did you work during the week." This question also has nothing to do with whether your employer has work for you in that week.
A claimant may have more than one issue which must be resolved. It's possible for example to have a decision allowing benefits on one issue, and a decision denying benefits on another issue. If you've received more than one decision, you need to review them all. Generally in a claim where decisions have been issued and benefits are allowed, payments are released within a week. If your situation doesn't seem to be described here, you should call the Inquiry/Assistance phone line.
Yes. You must report working in every week that you work, no matter when you will be paid for the work. And all wages must be reported on your weekly claim certification for the week in which they were earned, not in the week you are paid. If you do not report working in a week that you work, you could be penalized in addition to having to pay back any improperly received benefits.
No, the department uses a "partial wage formula" to compute your benefits each week that you have gross earnings. If your earnings would vary from week to week, so would your partial payments. But only the amount paid is subtracted from your remaining entitlement.
In order to start a second benefit year the law requires that we verify that the person has worked for an employer who pays into unemployment, and earned eight times their old benefit rate since starting that earlier benefit year. We often have to contact the most recent employers to find out what the earnings were with them, to verify that this condition was met. This usually takes one to two weeks. We will send you a letter asking for this same information (in the event that the employers don't respond).
State law requires that we investigate every quit to determine the circumstances, unless 4 weeks have elapsed and the person has already earned four times their benefit rate after quitting with another employer. Because we can verify these earnings much faster than conducting the investigation, when it appears that there is subsequent work, we will send letters to both the claimant and those later employers, asking for the amount of earnings. We can then, usually within 1-2 weeks, release payments.