I had no idea that initiating and maintaining one’s Unemployment Insurance was such a process! Filling out bi-weekly forms (that you should only send within certain date ranges), maintaining online resumes, accumulating job references and attending meetings to keep the benefits coming smoothly, is a job in itself. Fortunately, a friend helped me with the forms and filled me in on what I should expect at the meetings so I wasn’t too overwhelmed, but they sure don’t make it easy. Which I suppose is the point since they want you off of those benefits as soon as possible. We’ll see how long bot (and myself!) can live off of them. At least I have the benefit of the JEFbot webcomic supplementing my income but bot has no such fallback. (As of yet!)
So any of you BOTreaders on Unemployment? Did you find the process as convoluted as I did?
I live in CA, and have been on unemployment, but I never had to go to any meetings. I don’t think I did, anyhow. The checks kept coming until I ran out of extensions. It did take me quite a while to figure out that I didn’t have to fill out the back (saying where I applied to in the last two weeks) unless a teeny box on the front was checked. Have they changed it since September?
I did have lots of fun with appeals. I had one filed against me (I won by default since my former employer didn’t show up), and I had to file one (I won, since not being fast enough for the employer isn’t qualified as malicious). I’ve also had my cordless phone run out of battery attempting to contact EDD. So many tricks. If the voice says ‘Thank you…” hang up and try again. If you actually get through, but the voice on the other end says they re going to collect your info and submit it on your behalf, hang up. If I wanted to have someone submit my info, I wouldn’t have called, I’d have just done it online. And it doesn’t hurt to call back and talk to someone else, just to make sure the info they gave you is correct.
I do not like using the EDD debit card. I think they implemented it so Big Brother could watch what we use it on. I would take out all the cash at an ATM and deposit it into my bank instead.
it’s funny, a bunch of friends who’ve been on unemployment have told me they didn’t have to go to any meetings either, beccity98. i had to go to a mandatory one about a week after i signed up for benefits with two forms of identification and a list of companies i had applied to for a job! then i had to sit through a meeting for an hour or so where they told us how the system works, which had some good info. not sure why i was chosen – maybe it’s a random thing they put some applicants through?
and it sounds like the system hasn’t changed much since september – you don’t have to fill out the back every time unless they specifically request it. so how many extensions can a person get? and thanks for the info on the calls! and, yeah – i feel the same way about the EDD card. i basically transfer it to my own bank account as well ‘cuz it just seems too weird for them to know about all my transactions.
and check you out: you got the first comment so you get the Shades of Firsting! wear them well – these fill out forms automatically via future technologies and lasers:
😎
You can get up to 99 weeks of unemployment, but I think it depends on how much you earned while actually employed. It’s like 3 or 4 extensions, I think. I was on it off and on since 2008. I thought when you got a new job, it started over once you reached a certain earnings threshold, but apparently not. When you run out of $$ on your 3rd claim (ie, you got let go of your third job), if you have extensions on your previous claims, the amount changes to what it was before. At least that’s what it did for me. Dunno if that makes any sense. The money it says is left on your claim on the top of your form is how you can tell when you’re getting close to an extension. When it runs out, they *should* just file the extension automatically for you. If you get one. I always call when it gets close to that point, just to make sure.
And, Yay! Firsties! I have been reading your comic for a few years now, I think. Somewhere around the time GWS’s Jaime got a cat, because I was referred here from there.
cool, i’ll check out my claim and see if i can figure it out, beccity98. hopefully i won’t need to be on it for long but it’s nice to have that safety net.
and thanks for being such a longtime reader! Girls With Slingshots is awesome – i’ll actually be right next to Danielle at Emerald City Comicon this week/weekend, which is always a good time. 🙂
FURNAHAH! Missed it!
And a lot of my friends agree, unemployment is not as carefree as they thought.
so close, ROM! like, 3 minutes close!
and yeah, unemployment’s weird. i feel lucky to have JEFbot to occupy my time and bring in some money. very lucky.
You should be careful to make sure that no one who works for the California Labor department or unemployment office reads your strip. They may consider it a form of self employment. Why not just get a kickstarter after you figure out how much you need for a year’s worth of income, and then those people who contributed get exclusive site access. Me too, for five years, since I suggested this to you.
But don’t forget to account for the taxes, health insurance and since you have to keep researching for your character, gas to get to and from auditions and such. But that is probably where the coincidences lie as I’m sure that your future employers (studios and such) would not want you to be going all howard stern on those projects at a time when mum is the word. . .
But if they want to be included in JefBot the webcomic (tm pending) (re: spaceballs) then get a lawyer now to draw up a basic form for advertising, writing, production costs and costs associated with a specific time frame, (re: woodyafterhours.com)
yeah, hopefully i won’t get my benefits shut down cuz of JEFbot, W.D. Pat! that would suck. as for a kickstarter – i may do something along those lines for a project down the line or getting my next book published, but exclusive site access is always a tricky proposition as it tends to kill almost all traffic and goodwill from fans. but i’ll keep you in mind if i go that route. 😉
Filling in forms can be soo boring… Even I have to get a summerjob this year, since my parents think 16 is the age when you’re supposed to grow up… Bwahhahaa!
I have no clue about Unemployment, I didnt even know America had such a thing.
yeah, i hate filling out forms, DAS. i find it hard to keep my mind concentrated on ’em while filling them out. good luck with your job. find a fun one! 🙂
At this rate, I will take whatever comes at me… I have already searched in my city, plus some other cities closeby. But there is always hope that someone out there is willing to give me some job experience… and cash.
keep hope alive, DAS! hope you find something soon.
Oh jeez, this brings up memories…
I used to fix iPhones for a living, but when Verizon proved they were smart enough to handle their own junk they closed down our department. I ended up late one time too many at that point, and they tried to ‘fire’ me in a way where I could still get unemployment. It ended up looking like I quit voluntarily for no reason, and the one and only payment I got I had to pay back a month later XP
Heh, dang I miss and don’t miss that job… I fill in clothing now, and although it involves a lot of physical labor, at least it’s short on angry entitled douchebags… At least until the store opens XD
you had to pay that back after a month, JR!!? that SUCKS. i better look at the fine print on the unemployment forms to make sure that isn’t the case with my benefits…
It mainly happened because my work claimed me in a way that meant I wasn’t eligible. I was supposed to be laid off, they put quit voluntarily >.<
Sad thing is, if they hadn't have bothered, a fired would have gotten me benefits anyway
Sadder thing is, it was because traveling 13 miles on a scooter left me vulnerable to traffic snarls, and I was tardy one too many times… And since then I moved and am now less than five minutes away… _ _|||
arggh.
I have had friends on unemployment before and currently in PA. Here it is RIDICULOUSLY easy. They filled out the forms to get in, then they just logged on bi-weekly to log in that yep still no job. Thats it, they never applied for a job, they never did a online resume, nothing at all. When PA bennys ran out they got automatic extensions from the Fed Gov, 3 times. So ya on unemploy for over 18 months.
wow! i wish the process was that easy in CA, Nanteen! i believe there’s a way to fill out these bi-weekly forms online but i haven’t found it yet. their website looks like something from the ’90s though, so i’ll probably just keep filling out the physical ones. and i’m happy to hear your friends collected for 18 months. i don’t think i’ll need ’em for that long, but just in case… 🙂
I used to be on unemployment for 2 years before i finally landed my job, i live in PA and we dont have mandatory meetings, i was able to complete the whole process via an online portal and everything ran smoothly, if i had any issues i could call in and get it fixed within a few minutes. They recently instituted mandatory record keeping of your job seeking efforts though and if you dont have your records at least 2 years from when you left the benefit program they will require all of the benefits to be repaid back and will garnish wages to do so. other then that it wasn’t much work. Sending out resumes to every place that exists within 100 miles was more work xD
yikes! well, i’ll definitely keep records of all my job seeking efforts now, just in case, Aurlai! one of the things i learned from the mandatory meeting i went to was that just talking to someone about a potential job counts as job seeking. i just have to remember to log it every time that happens.
I never want to worry about money but I’m unsure if I’d bite the bullet to go on unemployment. :/
You know, I used to think that, but if you are desperate, you do what you have to do.
i’ve never had to go on unemployment until now. at first i thought it was kinda weird, but after considering i’ve been paying into my unemployment insurance now for years and years, i didn’t feel so bad now that i need it!
I think that having to worry about money is one of the mainstays of Maslow
Good Morning BOTiverse!
I am so not looking forward to this process, it sucks! Luckily, at least in FL, you can maintain all of that stuff online, including filing out all the forms and such.
morning, Pix! yeah, the process sucks, at least initially. but then as you get to know the system it becomes less sucky.
I guess bureaucracy is same whenever you live.
When I was listed as unemployed, to keep my state guaranteed health insurance /no benefits or money of any kind/ I had to visit offices of Bureau of Social and Family affairs every months at predetermined date and time with signed form from various employers that I approached them as job applicant. Moreover I couldn’t earn part-time more than 150 euros or I’d have to pay my insurance myself, which is 75 euros.
Conundrum much? Would you rather be dependant on state and be poor or be self-reliant and be poorer?
yeah, that’s quite the conundrum, Maryz. i’m trying to figure out what to do about my insurance as well, which is going to cut out in a couple months. until we in the U.S. get universal health care (yep, we’re late to the world stage but finally getting it!) i have to figure out how to keep my benefits going, which is crazy expensive here. 😛
A friend of mine had to go to the unemployment office to pick up his check. They wouldn’t mail it to him. Like he had the time to do that! 😉
ugh. sometimes i think they do such things just to weed some people out of getting those benefits, Bill Murphy!
I hate forms with a passion. They make me want to punch stuff. :@
same here, TCG. i keep a big pillow by the table when i’m filling forms out. 😉
Yeah I’m on Unemployment. The initial setup was a bit of a hassle but after that I just file my weekly claim and call it good.
cool. i’m starting to get the hang of it now, Psy, so i don’t stress out every time i get those letters in the mail from the employment dept.
I never had it.. Probably could have applied for it but my sister had to use it for a year and that made me say no. She hated it with the passion of a thousand burning stars..
heh. well, if you don’t need it, i’d avoid it if you can, Satoshieyes, but if you need the moolah, it’s worth braving those thousand burning stars!
I found the actual set up to be a pain but, once I got things rolling, it wasn’t that bad. I didn’t have any appointment with anyone, just filled out some forms and waited. Took a while but once I got my first check it was just a matter of filling out a quick form and submitting it.
I will say that once I got a job and didn’t have to do it again I felt really good, I hated not working! A vacation once a year is fine, but not working for months drove me mad!
if i didn’t have JEFbot occupying all my time and energy, and if i didn’t have another job by now, i would’ve gone absolutely insane after a month or so of being laid off, TPC!
My husband was on for a while a few years ago — it appears to be a simpler process in Illinois.
I haven’t had to file myself (she says, knocking wood like a panicked jackhammer), but my phone number at work was a digit or two off the Unemployment Office line for a few months last year, and I fielded a lot of overstressed people who were TICKED I’d answered my own phone.
So st least I’ve got the right number memorized, in case I ever need it.
heheh. that must of sucked, Sarah W.. when i went to that mandatory unemployment meeting, most of the people there were ticked the whole time, too. i’m just happy you’re a good person; an evil one might’ve had a little fun with those callers. >:)
I’m a librarian—helping is hardwired.
Well, there’s a story for jefbot to do, Sarah W. answering the phone while he’s on the other end…. what will our intrepid readers think, dun dun dunnnnnnnn..
Probably that ‘bot has problems with area codes, Pat—I’m halfway across the country!
But wouldn’t that make it funny? I mean, he gets tired from doing all of these phone calls, Corn father asks him a numerical question during one, and the numbers all morph into your phone, and then we can get a JefBot/RED mashup. . Seeing as how you and the phone operator in RED have the same name.
dun dun dunnnnnnnnn
Hmmm. Okay . . . But I think I’d rather be Marvin.
I am happy to say that I have been continuously employed. I wouldn’t know where to start if I had to go through all that!
i hope you remain continuously employed, Shanna! while i do think this was ultimately a good thing – i shudder to think of how long i would’ve remained at that job to take the easy check instead of pursuing better things – being jobless is stressful, nerve-wracking and pretty much un-fun. 😛
Perhaps Jefbot can start a webcomic about things happening in his everyday life. Then we can have webcomiception!
Chris Flick already did this with his Capes and Babes strip during December and January. Anyway, the droste effect gets even more creepy if you imagine it going in the opposite direction!
yes, best not to think about it too much, Rainey. heheh. creeeepy.
since the beginning, i’ve thought about jefbot starting a webcomic, GB. i resisted while i had an office job, but now that bot and i have been laid off, it would seem the perfect time to bring that idea back and for him to start one. we’ll see.
I’m currently on unemployment and getting less than half what I was at my old job. (It’s 60% of your qualifying income, but only the 9 months that I was at that job count towards it. It’ll go up next quarter if I’m still on it.)
The process is very convoluted. I don’t know about in your state, but here in KY, the so-called job placement assistance site feels like it was designed by a crack-addicted 12-year-old.
And apparently, I have to go in for a review before I can apply for my next check. “Prove” that I’ve been applying for jobs, even though I don’t use their site to do it. That ought to be fun.
and if KY is anything like CA, most of the jobs on that placement site aren’t even worth submitting to! and yeah, the money’s nothing to write home about here, either. i hope your review goes well, E. A..
I spent hours filling out forms on the job placement site, and still the best match I get is 2/5 stars. And that’s on just one job.
Gah! I’ve missed 4 comics!! You’re working too fast. I don’t know what unemployment feels like, cause I’ve never been employed! D:
I’m kissing butt at Gamestop and hoping one of the guys will back me up for hire.
I CAN’T BELIEVE COMICON SOLD OUT SO FAST. D: Do all the cool stuff for me. :c
ha! i don’t think i’ve heard that before, Nat! usually readers want my output to go up! 😉
hope all goes well at Gamestop – although don’t sweat it if you don’t get the job; my buddy worked at the one in burbank and had a bad time. and they’d only give him a few hours a week. hopefully, if you get the job you’ll have a better experience. (and more hours.)
and yeah: it’s crazy how fast San Diego Comic-Con sells out these days! you need to get there next year. you’ll have a BLAST.
I was on EI (Canadian version) for about 3 months after i was laid off from the army reserve (contract with them had ended and i was waiting for my next one to start). So in that time I was technically supposed to receiving payments. But they didn’t believe i was looking for work and whatnot. As a result i had to fight to get my benefits.
I finally did get my money though, after i returned to work with the military. The nice part was the 3 months of EI in one giant payment.
I’m worried the same thing is gonna happen to me, that I’ll be at risk of losing my benefits because they won’t believe I’ve been applying for jobs. I guess I’ll have to print off my application history from Careerbuilder, Monster, Indeed, Taleo, Printworkers, and LinkedIn. Seeing as I’m not using “their” site, because it’s horrible. If they won’t take those, then they just suck.
in CA, they’ll allow for those job hunting sites, E. A.. hope it works the same for you.
I had to go to business and get them to sign a letter head stating that I had actually dropped a resume off. I also got the military to give me more or less the same thing stateing that a new reserve contract was starting up for me about 2.5 months later.
ugh. well, at least that hasn’t happened with me yet, Evan A – once i got all the forms filled out and everything squared away, they didn’t contest my claim. well, they kinda did until i went to that mandatory meeting. then it was fine. let’s hope they don’t reconsider! glad you finally got that check. 🙂
I guess this stuff is much easier where I live. Since ya just need to fill up some documents, though getting un-employment checks that’s where the big issue comes. Ya only get them for three months, and ya need to fill up the form again, and getting pencilled in for an appointment can be a real bastard. Not to mention they can easily miss your payment and you’ll get zilch, or if you don’t inform them on that you worked you might get fined since your ‘stealing’ from the government, and in the end maybe left without any checks for a month, maybe even longer.
I guess this stuff is much easier where I live. Since ya just need to fill up some documents, though getting un-employment checks that’s where the big issue comes. Ya only get them for three months, and ya need to fill up the form again, and getting pencilled in for an appointment can be a real bastard. Not to mention they can easily miss your payment and you’ll get zilch, or if you don’t inform them on that you worked you might get fined since your ‘stealing’ from the government, and in the end maybe left without any checks for a month, maybe even longer.
Bender has rode the unemployment train before: not a happy place. Keep yourself busy, or you’re grow accustomed to having nothing to do all day.
Being a freelancer who used to work an live in Los Angeles I’m very familiar with the process. However the whole going to a meeting thing is news to me. The online resume thing was also a huge waste of time for someone in my field of visual effects. The closest they could find for me on their was a designer for some flyers. The weirdest new thing that annoyed me was that they set up a Bank of America account for me without even asking and would deposit my money into that and even gave me a check card in order to withdraw it. Thankfully their website allowed me to automatically forward all money into my proper Schwab bank account, but still, I would have rather been abel to give them the proper routing number and bank account to my own bank rather than have a BOA account automatically opened up for me.
Still haven’t tried unemployement in London, but I hear that one next to useless.