Would You NOT File for Unemployment Because You're...?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am privileged enough that I can take a TSP loan. Unemployment, at least in DC for GS11+ Feds, is $444 a week and requires a lot of paperwork. A 50k TSP loan costs $50, maybe some interest, and some lost earnings and requires essentially no paperwork. For me, the TSP loan is the better deal because I hate paperwork.

Why would you take out so much? Seems like a smaller loan would make sense. If you need more, you can have more than one loan out at a time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The amount of paperwork is not worth the $200 a week you may get finally. You can make $200 a day working any low wage job in DC.

show me

[Anonymous]

Several years ago, I decided not to apply for unemployment. Shortly after my grant funded job ended, my elderly Mom had major surgery, and I became her caregiver. At the time, I still had severance pay, and my understanding was that to receive unemployment, I would have to apply for a certain number of jobs a week, and I would have to accept accept a job if I was offered one. I didn’t have the time or emotional energy to seek advice, and by the time I did, I had passed the deadline to apply. I wish that I had applied— and received the benefits that I was qualified to receive.

[Anonymous]

this is not about the feds/backpay. OP is not a fed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Several years ago, I decided not to apply for unemployment. Shortly after my grant funded job ended, my elderly Mom had major surgery, and I became her caregiver. At the time, I still had severance pay, and my understanding was that to receive unemployment, I would have to apply for a certain number of jobs a week, and I would have to accept accept a job if I was offered one. I didn’t have the time or emotional energy to seek advice, and by the time I did, I had passed the deadline to apply. I wish that I had applied— and received the benefits that I was qualified to receive.

oh shoot never thought about this

[Anonymous]

Gas groceries and a phone bill are godsends to some struggling people. Paperwork...think about the LMC people who manage with probably less education and familiarity with bureaucracy than someone spurning those "meager funds."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is so interesting to me. I’d definitely apply—to me it’s money on the table that I’d be leaving.

Even if it’s a lot of paperwork, surely it doesn’t take more than an hour or two a week? Or am I wrong about that?

It's not the weekly check-in so much as the hours of very confusing forms to click through for the initial application. I have applied twice (during federal shutdowns, I tho understand OP is not a fed) and it is not a clear or easy process. They have a lot of duplicative questions, mandatory resume-building, drop-down menus that are required but don't apply to you, requirements to upload ID documents in weird formats ... it's a pain.

However, to me it's worth doing because if you don't do it fairly soon, you will not get paid for the weeks you've already been out of work. Better to get the process started and collect for the weeks you're unemployed, even as you're interviewing for the next job, than to wait until it's either too late or you're newly employed but in a financial hole.

[Anonymous]

I quit a job once, because actual job description work duties were changed and I was encouraged to file for unemployment. I was reluctant. I mean, I quit! I did it on a whim and was granted full unemployment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Several years ago, I decided not to apply for unemployment. Shortly after my grant funded job ended, my elderly Mom had major surgery, and I became her caregiver. At the time, I still had severance pay, and my understanding was that to receive unemployment, I would have to apply for a certain number of jobs a week, and I would have to accept accept a job if I was offered one. I didn’t have the time or emotional energy to seek advice, and by the time I did, I had passed the deadline to apply. I wish that I had applied— and received the benefits that I was qualified to receive.

AI search says no deadline for DC UI.

[Anonymous]

Yes I would file if I were laid off. That’s the point of employers paying for this insurance. It covers groceries and a phone bill (maybe more).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gas groceries and a phone bill are godsends to some struggling people. Paperwork...think about the LMC people who manage with probably less education and familiarity with bureaucracy than someone spurning those "meager funds."

I wrote that and did not at all mean for it to be dismissive. This post is in a sea of posts about feds, so I thought it was a fed posting about applying while we are furloughed. For someone who has lost their job, I would absolutely apply for unemployment. My apologies.

[Anonymous]

I applied for unemployment when I was laid off. It was all online and was not a burdensome process at all. There really was no downside for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Several years ago, I decided not to apply for unemployment. Shortly after my grant funded job ended, my elderly Mom had major surgery, and I became her caregiver. At the time, I still had severance pay, and my understanding was that to receive unemployment, I would have to apply for a certain number of jobs a week, and I would have to accept accept a job if I was offered one. I didn’t have the time or emotional energy to seek advice, and by the time I did, I had passed the deadline to apply. I wish that I had applied— and received the benefits that I was qualified to receive.

AI search says no deadline for DC UI.

I’m in Maryland and my job was in Baltimore. No deadline ever? I had over 6 months of severance pay — and at that point was overwhelmed with eldercare responsibilities. Once things lightened up, I was told that there was a time limit — although I don’t, now, remember exactly what that time limit was.

AI also often needs to be double checked.

[Anonymous]

I don't see a downside if not a fed. My husband was laid off in August. This is definitely not something we expected but I'm grateful it's available. My paycheck is small but my job gets us healthcare benefits, when we add the unemployment check, our mortgage is just about covered. It's been a difficult few months and the job market sucks but at least we have a few things going for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see a downside if not a fed. My husband was laid off in August. This is definitely not something we expected but I'm grateful it's available. My paycheck is small but my job gets us healthcare benefits, when we add the unemployment check, our mortgage is just about covered. It's been a difficult few months and the job market sucks but at least we have a few things going for us.

Mine was laid off in July and didn’t apply because he felt some sort of ego bruising at his former employer knowing he filed for the unemployment 🙄🙄🙄