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Being jobless is tough on all members of a military family. Filing for unemployment can be a big help in getting your feet back on solid financial ground.
Did you know that military spouses may qualify for unemployment?
Most Americans who receive unemployment compensation have been laid off, either permanently or temporarily. Normally being laid off means that you lost your job through no fault of your own, or, in other words, that you had no intention of leaving work. In most cases it was a management decision having to do with money and not a reflection of poor work ethic or being a bad employee.
Most people will jump to the conclusion that if they are fired from a job unemployment compensation isn’t an option. This isn’t always the case, though. One size doesn’t always fit everyone – that’s why most state unemployment offices will let you explain your situation. Putting together a cohesive argument that proves your firing was not a result of intentionally underperforming or act outing out is your best bet. Showing good work ethic, by getting a letter from a boss or co-worker, could help your case as well.
Its very important to stay on top of your unemployment claim.
Quitting a job could result in not being able to qualify for unemployment compensation. In order to qualify your state unemployment office will have a hearing to see if your quitting was the result of unsafe working conditions, abuse, harassment or other reasons that made the job a bad place to work. Being clear and concise with your argument will be go far in this hearing.
More than 21 states now allow military spouses to receive unemployment when they quit due to relocation of their spouse and another 21 states allow this “exception” to be made on a case-by-case basis, usually at a hearing.
If you submit for unemployment while moving for a PCS make sure you submit a copy of your spouses orders with you unemployment paperwork even if you are not asked to do so initially. List your spouse’s military relocation as the reason why you quit your job on all forms. When you quit your job be sure to notify your employer in writing that you are quitting due to your spouse’s military relocation and keep a copy of this letter.
Most states allow you to resign or quit 30 days before the report date listed on your spouse’s orders, so be careful about quitting too early if you plan to file for unemployment.
The National Conference of State Legislatures has the state by state break down of military spouse unemployment compensation and requirements.
Contact your state unemployment insurance office to see what kind of unemployment wages you qualify for.
After filing for unemployment and being granted wages your state will require you to register with a local workforce center to make sure you’re actively looking for a job. Staying active in the job hunt and showing evidence of this will be key to keeping for unemployment wages.
In many cases the office that you are required to register with will also offer services to help you get the job you want. These services range from help with your resume to help with your interviewing skills and even career counseling.
Photo courtesy of Sean MacEntee, Bytemarks
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17 Comments
this article does not come close to addressing the issue of leaving a job because of military relocation or how this may be a special circumstance which would allow unemployment.
This does not even address the topic in the title. Article should be re-named “How did you leave your job” instead of asking if the spouses qualify. There should be information on what constitutes as qualifying material in regards to the big moves, as well as which states do not provide unemployment for these moves.
Also to add on this post, UE if I am correct, you can’t collect esp if you are PCS’ing overseas….can someone chime in on this for me?
Id have to say this is about as much information you can receive until you file. It is case by case, but I can tell Pandar more than likely you can qualify for unemployment if you quit your job if it is related to pcs OR military orders. I just relocated from California to North carolina, So with California you can file the Sunday of the last week you worked so my last day was Friday. So I filled that Sunday. They do ask for you to give a brief description, all you have to do is give them as much information as you can. And yes make sure you let your employer know why you are resigning on top of any other issues with this being the main reason you should be good to go! That way when you get your phone interview that the Unemployment agency will have with you it all will match when they contact your employer, because they do. Hope this helps.
Found out the hard way that in the state of Georgia, if you lag behind your partner in the move, in other words, if you don’t PCS right away with your soldier for reasons such as school, owning a home, etc., Georgia will then consider your move a “personal move” and you will be denied unemployment. The lady from the Department of Labor actually told me “you should have moved 2 1/2 years ago”. I felt like telling her, I am sorry ma’am, that my husband defends your freedom and that he commuted the 3 hour drive to see us very weekend because we were trying desperately to hold on to our house (that we couldn’t sell because it is under water) and had to wait to refinance it, and that I decided to be a responsible adult and keep working for as long as I possibly could at a job that I did not want to quit, because I just had to get our family back together under one roof because I missed my husband terribly and would like him to be a part of raising our 2 children!! The state of Georgia really let us down.
Can I somehow get in contact with you. I am also a military spouse. I am writing a legal article on this topic and would like to discuss this experience with you.
When you PCS, do you apply in your state of legal residence (where you pay taxes), the state which you are PCSing from, or the state you are PCSing to?
I am in CA but FL is my legal residence and therefore I do not pay state tax in CA. Would I still apply for unemployment in CA?
I am so glad I came across this article. It cleared up a lot of confusion.
Does anyone know when (what year) NC started allowing spouses to file due to a PCS?
I finally found a great new job and only after 4 months of working I have to leave because my husband has military orders to relocate to NC. Does anyone know if my short period of time of working effect me from receiving unemployment here in Florida?
Thanks, Fanningkimberly and Pandar for pointing this out! We definitely left out some information we were originally planning to include. I hope this helps a little more!
It would depend. If you are PCSing overseas it still is filed in the state you are leaving, so if they allow it you could still get benefits. Usually states that go on a case-by-case basis are less likely to offer unemployment if you are PCSing out of the country.
Not sure if this was in regards to my question but I’m not PCSing overseas. It’s PCS to another state.
I am also looking for the same answer. I reside in Virginia and my husband is relocating to Florida. Would I apply in Virginia or Florida?
You would apply in the state you are leaving. This is because you pay into unemployment when you are employed, so you get the unemployment from the state you “paid into”.
im currently going through the ue process with Viginia because we relocated to NY. You should file with VA and depending on your job they will deny you. Once you have been denied you need for file for an appeal and they will set up a phone interview with you, the va commision, and also your former employer. My interview is today at 3pm so wish me luck. I will let you know how it went
Good luck. It is definitely not always an easy process!