Unemployment Compensation
Nickolas Smart and Madison Altenhoff
The Details and Requirements
- Lost your job to no fault of your own? Get paid for up to 26 weeks by your employer!
- Quit work with no good reason? Misconduct? Refuse referral form or work opportunities? Tough luck.
- For application, provide social security number, the name and contact info of your former employer, job history, and bank routing number
- Required to do 3 job searches a week
- Up to around $275 a week if requirements are met
The History Behind It
- Federal Unemployment Compensation Act (FUCA) - enacted in 1939
- Arose from the Great Depression
- Originally called the Federal Unemployment Tax Act
- Stemmed from the Social Security Act of 1935, which included unemployment insurance
- Wisconsin the first to establish an unemployment insurance law, back in 1932
- In Tennessee, started out as just 16 weeks of payment, increased to 26
- Disqualification became harsher, but coverage extended to nearly all employers (1 or more employees)
- 85% of UI claims are now filed remotely due to increases in technology