Conditions that do not Qualify for Unemployment Insurance

What is Unemployment Insurance?

Unemployment Insurance is intended to financially assist workers who are in between jobs. Funded through a joint effort by the state and federal government, eligible Pennsylvania residents can receive cash benefits of about 50% of your employment income per week, up to a limit set by the state. While many people have no problems collecting unemployment insurance benefits, there are certain circumstances that can disqualify an individual from eligibility.

Circumstances That Can Qualify an Individual for Eligibility

• Able and Available to Work – Benefit recipients must be able and available to accept work as it becomes available. This entails several elements:
  To receive benefits, you must be physically and mentally able to accept work as soon as it becomes available. Significant illness or injury could disqualify you from receipt of benefits.
  To receive benefits, you must be available for work without restrictions. The willingness to only work certain days or times could result in disqualification. Lack of transportation to reasonably close work locations and time limitations, such as school attendance or child care, can also result in disqualification due to lack of availability.
• Actively Seeking Work – To receive benefits, you must actively seek employment on a weekly basis. Pennsylvania recipients are required to register with Pennsylvania CareerLink, a state job search resource. You must keep a record of your job search activities and provide them to the state when requested. Failure to actively seek every week can result in disqualification.
• Sufficient Wages and Credit Weeks – To receive benefits, you must have previously worked the amount of time required under law and earned a minimum amount of income. If you did not accumulate enough income or work enough credit weeks, you may be disqualified from receipt of benefits.
• Unemployment was Involuntary – To collect unemployment insurance, you job separation must have been involuntary. This means:
  If your employment was terminated, you were not at fault.
  If you voluntarily left, there was a good cause and you made every effort to continue the employment relationship before leaving.
• Refusing an Offer for Full-Time Employment – You cannot continue to collect unemployment insurance benefits if a reasonable offer for employment is made to you and you refuse it without adequate justification.

Contact A Legal Representative. Employment Attorney –  Randy Kaplan, ESQ

If you have questions about unemployment insurance qualification, contact a knowledgeable employment lawyer to discuss your specific situation and qualifications for benefits. Randy H. Kaplan Law Offices can provide the answers you need. Contact the Randy H. Kaplan Law Offices online or call 215-576-8870.