Eligibility Requirements For Arizona Unemployment Benefits
The Arizona Department of Economic Security handles unemployment compensation and decides whether claimants are eligible for benefits. Under the state’s normal eligibility rules, you must meet the following three requirements to collect unemployment benefits:
- You must be unemployed through no fault of your own, as defined by Arizona law.
- You must have earned at least a minimum amount in wages during a certain period of time before you were unemployed.
- You must be able and available to work, and you must be actively seeking employment.
About State Unemployment Tax
When you have employees, you must pay federal and state unemployment taxes. These taxes fund unemployment programs and pay out benefits to employees who lose their jobs through no fault of their own.
Generally, unemployment taxes are employer-only taxes, meaning you do not withhold the tax from employee wages. However, some states require that you withhold additional money from employee wages for state unemployment taxes.
State unemployment tax is a percentage of an employees wages. Each state sets a different range of tax rates. Your tax rate might be based on factors like your industry, how many former employees received unemployment benefits, and experience.
You pay SUTA tax to the state where the work is taking place. If your employees all work in the state your business is located in, you will pay SUTA tax to the state your business is located in. But if your employees work in different states, you will pay SUTA tax to each state an employee works in.
States also set wage bases for unemployment tax. This means you will only contribute unemployment tax until the employee earns above a certain amount.
State unemployment taxes are referred to as SUTA tax or state unemployment insurance . Or, they may be referred to as reemployment taxes .
Do You Meet The Minimum Earnings Requirement
Like every state, Arizona looks at your recent work history and earnings during a one-year “base period” to determine your eligibility for unemployment. The base period is the first four of the five complete calendar quarters before you filed your benefits claim. For example, if you file your claim in May 2020, the base period would be from January 1 through December 31, 2019.
To qualify for benefits in Arizona, you must meet either of the following criteria:
- You must have earned at least 390 times the Arizona minimum wage during the highest paid quarter of the base period , plus at least half that amount in the other three quarters of the base period combined.
- You must have earned at least $7,000 in two combined quarters of the base period, with at least $5,987.50 earned in one quarter.
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How Far Back Can I Claim The Retroactive Unemployment Benefits
As discussed in this article, the new $300 FPUC payment for 2021 will only beretroactive to the start date of the new program coverage period in the same manner as previous supplementary UI benefit programs. This means that back payments for the new $300 FPUC are not payable retroactively for any week prior to December 27th, 2020 or March 14th , even if you were getting PUA and PEUC for the last several months.
Are You Available And Actively Searching For Work
To keep collecting unemployment benefits, you must be able to work, available to work, and looking for employment. If you’re offered a suitable position, you must accept it.
Whether a position is suitable depends on how similar the job is to your previous employment, how much you will be paid, the working conditions, and the skills, experience, and training required for the position. The longer you are unemployed, the more likely you will have to consider jobs that pay less, are in a different field or occupation, or require a longer commute.
Under Arizona’s normal rules, you must engage in a good faith search for work, including registering with the Arizona Job Connection and making at least one job contact per day for four days out of each week. You must keep records of your job search efforts, which you may have to submit with your weekly claim for benefits.
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How To Appeal A Denial Of Unemployment Benefits In Arizona
If your unemployment claim is denied, you have 15 days to appeal the decision online, by telephone, or in writing. A hearing will be held on your appeal, at which you may testify, present witnesses, and offer evidence before an administrative law judge . You may have a lawyer represent you at the hearing, although it’s not required.
The ALJ will issue a written decision in your case. If you aren’t satisfied with that decision, you may file an appeal with the Appeals Board within 30 days. And if you disagree with the Appeals Board decision, you may seek review in state court within 30 days.
The DES website has full information about filing an appeal.
Pandemic Unemployment Benefits Expired On Labor Day Could They Be Renewed
Millions of Americans lost jobless benefits this month. Some lawmakers are proposing that aid be reinstated in an upcoming spending package. Here’s the latest.
The September termination of unemployment benefits was considered the largest in US history.
After the pandemic-related expansion of unemployment insurance ended on Sept. 6, roughly 7.5 million people lost their benefits entirely, with millions more losing the $300 weekly bonus checks. The temporary federal benefits — which included coverage for those normally ineligible for jobless aid, like gig workers and the long-term unemployed — were in place since spring 2020 to help those who lost income from COVID-19 restrictions or layoffs.
This week, a group of Democratic lawmakers, led by Reps. Cori Bush and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, called to reform the unemployment system in the coming $3.5 trillion House spending plan. In a , they noted that the country now “denies life-saving resources to over two-thirds” of those without jobs, as aid now covers “less than half of lost wages.” They also noted that 90% of unemployed workers and “especially Black and Brown communities” have been left with no benefits at all.
With the uptick in delta-variant cases, the COVID era hasn’t come to a close. Could the White House renew those extra benefits? What can people do who need unemployment coverage to make ends meet? We’ll explain below. This story has been recently updated.
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Ley Del Plan De Rescate Estadounidense
El 11 de marzo de 2021, se promulgó la Ley del Plan de Rescate Estadounidense de 2021 . ARPA extiende ciertos programas federales de desempleo, incluso la Asistencia de Desempleo por la Pandemia , la Compensación de Emergencia por Desempleo debido a la Pandemia y la Compensación Federal por Desempleo debido a la Pandemia . Estas disposiciones traerán beneficios continuos a los ciudadanos de Arizona desempleados.
Obtenga más información acerca de ARPA.
How To Apply For Unemployment Insurance Benefits
You should apply for unemployment compensation as soon as you are unemployed. Most states will make you wait for one week before you are able to apply for unemployment benefits. However, this is currently waived due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Start by starting your personal information, such as your Social Security Number, previous two years of employment history , the last date you worked, your wage history, and if applicable, information for your union. You may need additional information, such as your education level, military service history, or other information.
Try Applying online first. Most states allow you to apply online, in-person, or over the phone. However, states are currently overburdened with applications and many are not accepting in-person applications. So your best bet is to try online first. Be patient, as many states are running antiquated systems that are not designed to handle the flood of applications they are receiving.
Once approved, you may be required to meet with an employment counselor at some point. You will also have to certify your attempts to continue your job search. Most states require this on a weekly basis.
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Fact Sheet: Whats At Stake As States Cancel Federal Unemployment Benefits
-
Andrew Stettner
Senior Fellow
On May 4, 2021, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte announced that his state was backing out of federal pandemic unemployment benefits, including the $300 per week supplement , Pandemic Unemployment Assistance for gig workers and others not eligible for UI, and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation for the long-term unemployed. Governors from South Carolina, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Iowa, Indiana, Idaho, Georgia, Missouri, Ohio, Wyoming, Mississippi, Arkansas, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and North Dakota quickly followed suit and more could follow. This fact sheet outlines the damage that these governors will inflict upon their most vulnerable populations and their economy by making this rash decision, and the potential harm to the recovery if more of the nations governors were to take a similar step.
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation
- Will provide 11 weeks of an additional $300 weekly benefit to eligible claimants.
- To receive FPUC, a claimant must receive benefits from an underlying unemployment program such as regular UI, PUA, PEUC, or EB.
- FPUC will be available for weeks of unemployment beginning with the week ending January 2, 2021 through the week ending March 13, 2021.
- See below for answers to frequently asked FPUC questions.
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Are You Out Of Work Through No Fault Of Your Own
You must be out of work through no fault of your own to qualify for unemployment benefits in Arizona.
Collecting Unemployment After a Layoff
If you were laid off, lost your job in a reduction-in-force , or got “downsized” for economic reasons, you will meet this requirement.
Collecting Unemployment After Being Fired
If you were fired because you lacked the skills to perform the job or simply weren’t a good fit, you won’t necessarily be barred from receiving benefits. If, however, you were fired for deliberate or negligent misconduct, you will be disqualified from receiving benefits. For example, you may not be eligible for benefits if you neglected your job duties, willfully disregarded your employer’s interests, or deliberately violated workplace rules, among other things.
Collecting Unemployment After Quitting
You won’t be eligible for unemployment benefits if you quit your job voluntarily and without good cause. In general, good cause means that you had a compelling reason that left you no other choice than to leave. For example, if you left your job because of dangerous working conditions or discrimination that your employer refused to stop, you may be able to collect benefits. You may also be eligible if your employer relocated beyond a reasonable commuting distance or your military spouse was transferred to a new location.
Using Federal Money ‘to Encourage People To Work’
The current unemployment rules allow people to collect benefits for 50 weeks, longer than the usual 26 weeks of unemployment Arizona allowed before the pandemic. But Ducey said the supplement is being cut to get people back to work.
In Arizona, were going to use federal money to encourage people to work instead of paying people not to work, Ducey said in a prepared statement.
With ample supplies of the COVID-19 vaccine on hand and millions of Arizonans vaccinated, people feel safer and are finally returning to life in Arizona as we knew and loved it before,” Ducey continued. “People are back in the office, restaurants are at full capacity and tourists are flocking to our state.
Ducey cited the trouble some employers are having finding workers, and said that jobless benefits should not be a barrier to restarting the workforce.
The hospitality industry is particularly troubled by the inability to hire back workers who were laid off or furloughed last year as the pandemic shut down most leisure travel. Some of those workers are reluctant to return because of the expanded jobless benefits, while others have found better jobs and still others can’t return to work because they have young children at home learning remotely.
About 200,000 Arizonans were collecting regular unemployment and PUA benefits the week of May 8, and the state saw about 7,400 new claims for benefits, according to the state dashboard.
Things that qualify for searching for work include:
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New Stimulus Package: Unemployment Benefits $300 Per Week Extended Until September
- Lisa Rowan – Forbes Advisor
The stimulus package signedinto law on Thursdayby President Joe Biden extends unemployment benefits for millions of American workers who are still dealing with the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Unemployment benefits turned out to be one of the most hotly debated parts of the$1.9 trillion aid package, with legislators at odds over how long to extend benefits and for how much.
Some details of implementing the employment-related measures from the stimulus package have yet to be revealed, as they require guidance from the IRS or other government agencies that hasnt been finalized.
Heres what we know about extended pandemic unemployment benefits and when you can expect them.
Could Pandemic Benefits Be Reinstated
As the federal expiration deadline approached, White House officials made it clear they were not planning to continue the enhanced jobless benefits past Labor Day, saying they were intended to be temporary. When multiple states pulled out of pandemic-era unemployment programs prematurely during the summer, Labor Department officials had said their hands were tied and they couldn’t counter decisions by governors.
On Sept. 15, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced that she would be introducing a bill to retroactively extend enhanced jobless benefits until February 2022. Saying she’s not sure of the prospects of the legislation being passed, Ocasio-Cortez noted that she “could not allow this to happen without at least trying.” The following day, she and 12 other Democratic lawmakers wrote a letter to the House leadership urging them to include an expansion of unemployment aid in the $3.5 trillion budget package known as the Build Back Better Act.
It’s not clear at this time which states will choose to use any leftover pandemic funds to continue jobless benefits. According to a CBS News report, not every state has shut the door to continuing some benefits, with some local officials reviewing options for providing assistance after the Labor Day expiration.
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What About States Ending Pandemic Unemployment Benefits Early
Several states have already announced they will be ending their participation in the federally funded unemployment programs early in a bid to encourage jobless workers to return to the workforce.
In this situation retroactive payments for any eligible claims filed prior to the states pandemic program participation date will continue to be processed and paid. Retroactive benefit payments could occur several weeks after the end date for covered weeks as states update systems to account for the end of these programs and revert back to their traditional unemployment programs/systems.
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While the $600 FPUC program has now ended , with no formal extension in place due to a Congressional stalemate, it was been replaced by the Lost Wages Assistance unemployment benefits program. You can see this article for details on the now expired temporary LWA $300 weekly payment that President Trump approved in mid-August via executive order. Most states have made all payments under this program including retroactive payments.
So if you are still getting at least $100 of benefits under current and enhanced benefit programs then you should continue to certify on weekly or bi-weekly basis to receive current and retroactive $300 weekly payments. Both the payments are being administered and paid by state unemployment agencies. So you would need to contact them if you are having issues with these payments. See below and comments section for helpful tips.
Cutting Off Benefits Is Economically Short
The governors who have withdrawn from the programs are complaining that federal benefits are holding back their recovery because certain employers cannot find the workers they need. However, this claim ignores the fact that the money from federal benefits flows into local businesses through consumer spending, generating another $1.61 in economic activity for every dollar spent. Any benefits that the states businesses might receive from some of these workers, in terms of faster ability to hire them in the short term, would be overwhelmed by the loss of unemployment debit card swipes hitting the cash registers of those same businesses.
On a national level, there are still only 8 million job openings as compared to 16 million jobless workers, and the U.S. economy is still short over 8 million jobs from before the pandemic. With jobs depressed, pandemic benefits have contributed to a fast start for gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2021 .
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Backdated Payments With Pua Claims
Several readers have asked if the $600 payment will be back dated for those who become eligible for state unemployment benefits under the PUA program. While this is subject to the different timelines of the PUA and FPUC programs, generally speaking if you qualified for the PUA program between early April and the end of July, you would be eligible for FPUC benefits per the dates shown below. This includes backdated payments for weeks you were eligible. In most states backdated PUA and FPUC payments will be paid in one lump-sum one to two weeks after you receive your first payment of eligible state UI benefits.
