Was stuck abroad unable to work. Eligible for retroactive unemployment?
December 21, 2020 6:02 AM Subscribe
I am an American who happened to be abroad when COVID hit. I was unable to get a flight home before things locked down and I ended up being stuck abroad for several months. As I was technically unable to get work during that time as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, am I eligible for unemployment for those months?
I have recently been able to return to the U.S. and a friend here tells me that I should file for unemployment for those months, as I was legitimately unable to work during that time as a result of the pandemic.
This friend had submitted a claim, as they had been unable to work as a contractor because of the pandemic, but they happened to physically be in the U.S. at the time. Again, I was not.
Would I still be eligible for unemployment for those months even though I was not physically in the U.S. at the time (although I would’ve been if I hadn’t been stuck because of the pandemic lockdown)?
I feel like my friend and I were basically in similar situations—unable to work as a result of the pandemic—yet I could easily see an Unemployment employee saying “But, you weren’t even in the United States at the time, how did you expect you were going to be able to get a job?”
(to which, I guess I would argue that I would have been but for the very pandemic which kept me locked down where I was)
Thoughts?
I have recently been able to return to the U.S. and a friend here tells me that I should file for unemployment for those months, as I was legitimately unable to work during that time as a result of the pandemic.
This friend had submitted a claim, as they had been unable to work as a contractor because of the pandemic, but they happened to physically be in the U.S. at the time. Again, I was not.
Would I still be eligible for unemployment for those months even though I was not physically in the U.S. at the time (although I would’ve been if I hadn’t been stuck because of the pandemic lockdown)?
I feel like my friend and I were basically in similar situations—unable to work as a result of the pandemic—yet I could easily see an Unemployment employee saying “But, you weren’t even in the United States at the time, how did you expect you were going to be able to get a job?”
(to which, I guess I would argue that I would have been but for the very pandemic which kept me locked down where I was)
Thoughts?
Unemployment eligibility criteria are going to vary from state to state. Since you posted anonymously perhaps you could ask the mods to update this with that information?
The criteria are usually spelled out in very fine detail, and in most cases will require some income within the last 12-18 months to be eligible. (NY, for example.) You don't say how long you were outside the country before COVID hit, or where you were working. If you were away for a week on vacation from a full time job that you lost because of COVID travel restrictions you may have a chance, but it's going to be very different if you were working abroad or travelling after a period where you weren't employed full time (were a student etc.).
TLDR; don't talk to your friend, look at the website for your state and go through the eligibility criteria one by one to see how they apply to you. If you are otherwise eligible then being stuck abroad may be a good reason for filing late. If you're not eligible in the first place being stuck abroad isn't going to be a factor.
As plonkee said, there's no penalty for attempting to file, unless you mislead them as to where you were and what your income was, because of course that would be fraud. Which would be an especially bad idea in your case, as late filing means you're going to be getting extra attention to your application already.
posted by tiamat at 6:32 AM on December 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
The criteria are usually spelled out in very fine detail, and in most cases will require some income within the last 12-18 months to be eligible. (NY, for example.) You don't say how long you were outside the country before COVID hit, or where you were working. If you were away for a week on vacation from a full time job that you lost because of COVID travel restrictions you may have a chance, but it's going to be very different if you were working abroad or travelling after a period where you weren't employed full time (were a student etc.).
TLDR; don't talk to your friend, look at the website for your state and go through the eligibility criteria one by one to see how they apply to you. If you are otherwise eligible then being stuck abroad may be a good reason for filing late. If you're not eligible in the first place being stuck abroad isn't going to be a factor.
As plonkee said, there's no penalty for attempting to file, unless you mislead them as to where you were and what your income was, because of course that would be fraud. Which would be an especially bad idea in your case, as late filing means you're going to be getting extra attention to your application already.
posted by tiamat at 6:32 AM on December 21, 2020 [5 favorites]
As stated above, it will all depend on your state's eligibility requirements. Some (many?) states require documenting jobsearch stuff like submitting a certain number of applications per week, or attending mandatory trainings/seminars, to stay eligible, while others are less onerous.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:37 AM on December 21, 2020
posted by Dip Flash at 6:37 AM on December 21, 2020
Some states also make it difficult to get retroactive unemployment payments. My state, for example (CT), requires a hearing where you have to show that "good cause" exists for a late filing.
posted by Johnny Assay at 6:56 AM on December 21, 2020
posted by Johnny Assay at 6:56 AM on December 21, 2020
Nthing "check on the unemployment website for your state of legal residence. But go ahead and file anyway."
In theory the various unemployment expansions created by the CARES act are retroactive, but the process will differ from state to state, and that process itself may have been altered by COVID considerations (i.e., in Ohio the "document search for work requirements" are part of standard unemployment, they have been waived during the pandemic.)
Terms to keep an eye out for - PEUC, PUA.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:32 AM on December 21, 2020
In theory the various unemployment expansions created by the CARES act are retroactive, but the process will differ from state to state, and that process itself may have been altered by COVID considerations (i.e., in Ohio the "document search for work requirements" are part of standard unemployment, they have been waived during the pandemic.)
Terms to keep an eye out for - PEUC, PUA.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:32 AM on December 21, 2020
You should talk to someone at your's state's unemployment office and probably file, so that it can be reviewed. If it's denied, ask for review. if it is immediately granted, save the money as it could possibly be reviewed and denied later.
posted by theora55 at 7:41 AM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 7:41 AM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
You should have been, assuming you were resident in some state at the time and had US income in the preceding year. You were resident in a state if you maintained a home to which you intended to return.
Where you are likely to run into problems is justifying why you didn't file sooner. They'll want to know why you didn't do it online.
That said, if you are currently unemployed and otherwise meet the criteria, you are almost certainly eligible for benefits going forward so file now so you can claim as many weeks as possible even if you can't get paid retroactively.
It would have been a lot easier a few months ago when most states were still working through a huge backlog and were having major troubles processing applications.
posted by wierdo at 7:47 AM on December 21, 2020
Where you are likely to run into problems is justifying why you didn't file sooner. They'll want to know why you didn't do it online.
That said, if you are currently unemployed and otherwise meet the criteria, you are almost certainly eligible for benefits going forward so file now so you can claim as many weeks as possible even if you can't get paid retroactively.
It would have been a lot easier a few months ago when most states were still working through a huge backlog and were having major troubles processing applications.
posted by wierdo at 7:47 AM on December 21, 2020
i am not clear on if you were abroad on vacation from a job that you subsquently lost because you could not return home or if you are an independant contractor that could not return home to do your work or if you were not unemployed in any form when this happened and if not where and when you were last employed.
I think the first two options your main obstacle is the delay in filing. the third option you have other obstacles that may get you denied.
posted by domino at 8:58 AM on December 21, 2020
I think the first two options your main obstacle is the delay in filing. the third option you have other obstacles that may get you denied.
posted by domino at 8:58 AM on December 21, 2020
It depends on the state and who employed you before you went abroad.
Of the three states I have unemployment experience with, all of them normally require that you be in the state, available for work, and looking for work during the weeks that you file. My current state suspended the work search requirements during the state of emergency for the pandemic, but you did still have to be in the state to get paid (or at least say that you were on your weekly certification). So you may not only be unqualified because you were out of the country, but also because I assume you haven't been looking for work.
It also depends on who employed you before the pandemic. If you were paid a salary or hourly -- basically, if your employer paid payroll taxes on your behalf and unemployment insurance was taken out of your paycheck -- and you were laid off or fired without cause from your last job before going abroad, you would be eligible for unemployment. If you quit or left your job voluntarily, you would not be eligible.
If you were self-employed/worked as a contractor and you can demonstrate that the pandemic affected your contractor income, you would be eligible for a new program created by the CARES Act called PUA -- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. You need to file for this RIGHT AWAY, though, because it expires December 26.
If you're not sure how to handle this in your specific state, you might check and see if there's a [Your State] Unemployment Support Group on Facebook. I joined one at the start of the pandemic and it's been a great resource for finding people who have gotten answers during the pandemic because honestly most states are just making things up as they go along because the federal laws and funding have been so unpredictable.
posted by Colonel_Chappy at 10:33 AM on December 21, 2020
Of the three states I have unemployment experience with, all of them normally require that you be in the state, available for work, and looking for work during the weeks that you file. My current state suspended the work search requirements during the state of emergency for the pandemic, but you did still have to be in the state to get paid (or at least say that you were on your weekly certification). So you may not only be unqualified because you were out of the country, but also because I assume you haven't been looking for work.
It also depends on who employed you before the pandemic. If you were paid a salary or hourly -- basically, if your employer paid payroll taxes on your behalf and unemployment insurance was taken out of your paycheck -- and you were laid off or fired without cause from your last job before going abroad, you would be eligible for unemployment. If you quit or left your job voluntarily, you would not be eligible.
If you were self-employed/worked as a contractor and you can demonstrate that the pandemic affected your contractor income, you would be eligible for a new program created by the CARES Act called PUA -- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. You need to file for this RIGHT AWAY, though, because it expires December 26.
If you're not sure how to handle this in your specific state, you might check and see if there's a [Your State] Unemployment Support Group on Facebook. I joined one at the start of the pandemic and it's been a great resource for finding people who have gotten answers during the pandemic because honestly most states are just making things up as they go along because the federal laws and funding have been so unpredictable.
posted by Colonel_Chappy at 10:33 AM on December 21, 2020
I was technically unable to get work
When you submit your application, avoid weasel words. Is "technically unable" different from "unable"? If so, spell out the difference in your application. If it's not clear why you were unable to get work, you must explain the additional factors that made you "technically" unable.
The word "technically" seldom adds anything, unless you're writing about technology.
posted by JimN2TAW at 11:58 AM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
When you submit your application, avoid weasel words. Is "technically unable" different from "unable"? If so, spell out the difference in your application. If it's not clear why you were unable to get work, you must explain the additional factors that made you "technically" unable.
The word "technically" seldom adds anything, unless you're writing about technology.
posted by JimN2TAW at 11:58 AM on December 21, 2020 [3 favorites]
Mod note: From the OP:
The asker is from Oregonposted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:20 PM on December 21, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by plonkee at 6:26 AM on December 21, 2020