Making more than your benefit amount…barely
Hi Terry!
Thank you for any help with this as IDES obviously is not answering calls right now!
My benefit amount is $208
Any given week I make between 250-450 dollars.
Because I generally make more than that $208 and certify weekly my income, I don’t qualify for that week and I don’t receive the $600 disaster relief on top.
I have to go into work 5 days a week and I am taking less hours and pay because of the pandemic. The $600 would mean so much and I don’t qualify it seems unless I certify under that $208 dollars. Do I just certify $207 just to get $601 on top and hope the government comes for that $1???
Thank you so much!
Terry Says
You are trapped in a situation that is perverse — and you’re not alone. Many people make more on unemployment (when you consider the additional $600/week in federal benefits) than they make going back to work — especially if their hours have been cut.
But the formula is that you cannot earn more than half of your basic unemployment benefits in a given week, and still get the benefits.
And it’s a crime to certify that you received less than you actually did.
And the employer is on the line to report earnings and layoffs — which impacts their payments INTO the system, so they can’t possibly cover for you.
One thing that does seem to help is working alternate weeks. If you can concentrate your earnings in one week –and report them — then you may receive benefits in the subsequent week of no earnings — IF your employer agrees to that work plan.
