Posted on 03/30/2010 12:57:35 PM PDT by jerry557
New York – Roberta Hanson of North Haven, Conn., had been searching for work for 22 months when she landed a part-time job weekend afternoons and nights for a nearby municipal parks and recreation department.
But now Ms. Hanson rues the day she took that work. Why? The Connecticut Department of Labor used her negligible earnings in her part-time job as the new baseline for Hanson's unemployment benefits. She went from receiving $483 a week to getting nothing.
"Afterwards, unofficially, they said I shouldn’t have taken the job," Hanson says.
It's a twist in the law that may affect thousands of other workers, given that the ranks of the long-term unemployed are now so high. Many people who have been out of work for a year are picking up work as temps or part-timers, unaware that state agencies will recalculate their unemployment benefits after a year – and use their most recent work history and pay level to do it.
"What is going on for these workers is that because their most recent wages are much lower than the wages they earned in their prior full-time job, they are facing substantial cuts in their weekly unemployment benefits," says George Wentworth, a consultant at the National Employment Law Project (NELP) in New York.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
22 months? I thought there was a limit to how long you get unemployment? Isn’t $483 alot?? FLorida pays $275 I heard.
Me brudder done told me how it’d been working for him, a year ago. Said he saw some real sad cases where a well-intentioned guy took a new job that didn’t last, but was then unable to get back into the benefit his family’d previously survived on. Bro sez ya gotta think ahead and stay below income limits or off the books ‘cause if something goes wrong with the new full time job, you probably can’t go back to the old job’s remaining benefits. Honest guys who want to work, they’re the most likely to end up realizing that the lazier, or the more manipulative, are coming out ahead in unemployment benefits.
This is what happens with liberals run things.
Yeah, my wife took a job that didn’t work out. Big mistake. The incentive under unemployment is stay out as long as you can. The rules are completely inflexible and punish any effort that fails. Wait till they run health care.
What incentive do you have to look for work if you get paid 25,000/year for years to do nothing?
I lost my job several years ago. Set up an S-corp to begin the process of working for myself, even though I hadn’t done any business with it.
The State Dept. of Labor learned I had established a company, and immediately demanded back all the unemployment money I was paid (total of 3 months).
If I wasn’t inclined to work for myself, would have made more sense to simply sit back and collect money from the Govt.
<What incentive do you have to look for work if you get paid 25,000/year for years to do nothing?
When you’re used to making 50-70K and now have to live on 25K. That top level is for higher earners, many other people are living on unemployment benefits that are a lot less than 25K.
I’ve heard that there are jobs that agencies are having trouble filling because the unemployment benefits surpass the benefits of working.
Ahh, the Malibu Surfer Phenomena. You go on unemployment and surf all day. This is how its supposed to work. Just be sure to become unemployed near the beach.
Boy these guys are stupid. The greater concern is that the “smart” guys are taking the unemployment while doing small cash jobs (cleaning, babysitting , repair work). If they get Medicaid benefits, some of them are probably getting pain meds for their back pain and reselling them to their “friends”
At least the “smart” guys are stimulating the economy. Unfortunately it’s the black market.
You don’t have incentive. But the problem is that in the past, there were plenty of $25,000 jobs to take. There arn’t anymore.
A buddy of mine works for a grocery chain that is opening up about a half-dozen stores in the area. They had a job fair last week. They got 1,500 applications...mainly for $10 an hour cashier jobs.
The job market has never been this bad since the depression. I dont care what anyone says.
In 2003, I was laid off from my job. I spent almost 6 months on unemployment (November ‘03 to April ‘04). If I had taken any job (grocery store, etc), I would have lost my unemployment benefits. It’s the first time (and God willing ONLY time) I’ll be involuntarily unemployed. I went from making almost $90,000 (senior network engineer for a high-speed internet company) to making $1,340 a month.
I applied for several jobs, got an interview in December ‘03, was told I was overqualified and they were worried I’d be bored, and leave quickly if hired.
I ended up getting a job elsewhere (in April ‘04). I was there about 6 months (project orientated), then did more contract work for a year. I finally landed the perfect most amazing job - working at a university, in the IT department.
I was out of work for two years and collected unemployment. I took a job selling Saturns(no joke) and when they went under, I received 143 per week. THAT will get anyone working.
I spend so much time at the Workforce office, they hired me. Now I’m the keeper of the welfare for a Fl county(moochers have to do community service to receive cash assistance). Now I’m employed and have job security.
$25,000 a year for doing nothing seem fine, IF you are 21. Try living on $25,000 a year when your regular pay was upwards of $70,000.
There are weeks that go by where my husband is making less than what he would take home with unemployment, but we suck it up and stick it out hoping the next week will be better. Just got his pay stub today, we are looking at a $30,000 per year DECREASE minimum in his yearly pay if things keep up like this.
In my circle of friends what I am finding is the wives are now the breadwinners. I would say all of us work, but we were either the supplemental income or some of us worked for the benefits because the husbands were self-employed.
I am in sales, my boss asked me today if I would prefer to take a cut in commission and an increase in salary, or forgo commissions and work on a quarterly bonus plan, or keep it the way it is and hope for the best..I had the worst month ever in March and things are not looking much better...decisions, decisions.
I agree with you.
It’s collapsing. Large companies NOT banks are deciding which bills to pay.
Nothing, and I mean nothing, is happening on time. Too many people cut from too many critical positions - all across the supply chain.
Where does unemployment pay that much? In Florida, its $275 per week...
Not in Connecticut. I drew unemployment there for two months in 1991 and my weekly was a tad over $300 back then.
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