Paid internships while receiving unemployment?

July 3, 2008 1:12 PM

I think I can work a couple of days a week while on unemployment but how does this affect the unemployment benefits I receive?

I'm currently unemployed in NYC and receiving unemployment benefits. I'm also in a 12 week web developer training program and have been given permission by the NYS dept of labor to not have to look for a job while in training. The training program is great but I'm going to need to join some kind of internship program to really apply what I am learning. Some internships are unpaid but most web dev internships I've run across seem to pay around $15 an hour. I have a general sense that I don't lose unemployment benefits if I am making less than $405 a week but am not sure how much less I make for working one, two or three days. Does anyone (preferably NYC residents) have any experience with this? While unemployment does not pay much, it is paying my rent while I am in training and I don't want to risk losing that for an internship that may end without granting me a full time job in a couple of months.

posted by anonymous to Work & Money (3 answers total)

Call up your unemployment office to ask. This is the only sure way to know.

Way back when I claimed unemployment, I had the ability to simply not claim for weeks where I was earning money -- or not claim for any reason at all. If I was eligible for 10 weeks of unemployment and I started earning an equivalent amount in a short freelance job then I would not claim. I'd start it back up when I was not earning with the same amount of weeks left -- essentially extending the unemployment out.

However, each state varies and your special situation most likely calls for a special answer. Call them up -- they want you to be informed, use their system wisely and most of all, get a job! If the training and the side work results in future stable employment, they will be delighted.
posted by amanda at 1:24 PM on July 3, 2008

You should definately find out what the laws and regs are in your state. In Washington, it works the same way as amanda described, but I would only trust information from the state agency. You may have some information in the materials you received when you first filed. Also remember to keep a hard copy of your job search log, or it will come back to bite you in the ass.
posted by ascheele at 1:50 PM on July 3, 2008

When I collected unemployment in NY, if I worked a few hours in a week, I'd have to report those earnings during the call requesting a payment for that week (I didn't know I could make the weekly request online. Oh, and this was five or so years ago). As far as how much they take out of the unemployment payment, I'm not sure. I know they weren't just subtracting the amount I had made from what they were going to give me -- it was definitely more than that, but I never bothered to figure it out.

Also, I've found that in RI (this part I'm not sure if it applies to other states), I couldn't just skip a week while collecting unemployment. I'd have to call them anyway and let them know I wasn't collecting for the week, or they'd just take me off it altogether (found that one out the hard way).

And, if I remember correctly, it's usually best to call as early in the morning as possible later in the week (not on Monday). Oh! Wait I just found something that might help.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 5:08 PM on July 3, 2008