How does severance affects unemployment benefits for DC?

[Anonymous]

I know severance is treated differently for different states and I am just unable to find that information from the DC unemployment site. Does anyone know how it's being handled in DC?

[Anonymous]

I was wondering about this as well... anyone?

[Anonymous]

It will depend on how the severance is paid out. If your severance is paid in a lump sum and you receive it prior to filing your claim, it should not affect your eligibility. However, if the severance is paid out over a period of time, the weekly amount will be deducted from your benefits. Here are a couple of scenarios. Bear in mind that in DC, the claim week begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday.

Your last day of work is Friday, January 3. You receive a lump sum severance payment allocated to your last day of work. You file your benefit claim on Monday, January 6th, making the effective date Sunday, January 5th. The severance payment falls outside of your claim period so it will not affect your eligibility.

Your last day of work is Friday, January 3. You receive a lump sum severance payment allocated to your last day of work. You file your benefit claim on Saturday, January 4th, making the effective date Sunday, December 30th. The severance payment (along with any wages you earned during your last week on the job) is applied to the first week of your claim. You will be disqualified for that week as you were not unemployed. That week will not count as your waiting week (in DC you have to serve a one-week waiting period before collecting benefits, and you must have been unemployed that week). The following week will be your waiting period, and the week after that will be your first payable week,

Your last day of work is Friday, January 3. You accept a 4-week severance package of your regular salary, paid out in installments ending January 31. You file your benefit claim on Monday, January 6th, making the effective date Sunday, January 5th. The severance will basically cancel out your eligibility for the first 4 weeks of the claim, as it is more than what your weekly benefit amount would be. The week beginning February 2 would be your waiting period, and you would start receiving benefits the following week.

So before your file your claim, find out from your employer how the severance will be paid out. That will help you decide whether to file the claim immediately upon your separation, or wait until the time period covered by the severance has ended. Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

Search for Severance in this document: https://does.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/does/publication/attachments/DOES_UI_Book.pdf