Jobless Hoosiers are struggling. They have been laid off or furloughed from their jobs. Money is tight. Payment on bills are due. Their unemployment payments are not coming fast enough.
These are worrisome times. Perhaps they are being denied a claim. Was their unemployment application even received? Or maybe they aren't even sure their submitted form was completed correctly. What is the delay?
Yes, applying for unemployment benefits can be stressful. Our City Limits: Coronavirus project has received many questions about unemployment issues and we have some information we hope will help.
First, to be eligible, you must meet one of the following criteria:
- Laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, earned enough wages and meet the weekly eligibility requirements.
- Medically quarantined due to the COVID-19, meet the minimum amount of wages and are not receiving sick pay or other leave from your employer.
- Caring for a child whose school or day care has closed due to the COVID-19, you're not receiving sick pay or other leave from your employer, and you meet the minimum amount of wages.
- Your hours were reduced and you're still employed.
It currently may take up to 21 days for initial unemployment claims to process. The top three reasons for delays beyond 21 days: issues regarding deductible income, employment status or concerns over an employee voluntarily quitting a job.
If you think you have been shorted pay or have a question regarding your benefit, claimants can log onto their accounts to check payments, or contact the call center at 1-800-891-6499. The wait time for the call center is now down to an average of 30 minutes.
If someone is overpaid, the amount of over payment will be taken out of future checks. The amount taken out of each check is capped to not cause too much stress on the claimant.
To find out more about Indiana unemployment benefits and eligibility, visit this website.
For the latest news and resources about COVID-19, bookmark our Coronavirus In Indiana page here.
