The decision to grant unemployment benefits to two former drivers for ride-hailing apps Uber and Lyft is an interesting one, since it means that yet another government agency has concluded that “gig economy” workers were treated like employees and should be considered as such…at least for the purpose of getting some income while they aren’t driving. [More]
Unemployment Benefits
Kansas Supreme Court: Strippers Can Collect Unemployment After They Leave The Pole
By 2.7.13
You had a job, and now you don’t. Like many people would do, a dancer at a strip club in Topeka filed an unemployment claim back in 2005 after she no longer worked there. But should the club be on the line to pay her unemployment insurance, or is she on her own as an “independent contractor” working for tips? [More]
Update: State Decides Man No Longer Needs To Repay $19K In Unemployment Benefits
By 8.10.12
Back in April we told you about a New Jersey man who was stuck in a bureaucratic battle between church and state, as he tried to figure out why he needed to repay more than $19,000 in unemployment benefits he’d believed he was entitled to. After pulling their heads out of the sand at the shore, officials have realized the man was right all along. [More]
Unemployment Claims Have Dropped To Lowest Level In Four Years
By 4.5.12
Americans, you are just going out there and getting it done and it’s showing — the number of people claiming unemployment benefits has fallen to a four-year low, to 357,000 for last week. High fives, all around, everybody! [More]
White House: Unemployment Insurance Must Be Extended To Help Spur Job Creation
By 12.21.11
As the deadline to approve the payroll tax cut extension looms 10 days away, White House officials are speaking out to urge Republicans in the House of Representatives to approve the measure that only days ago was hailed as a bipartisan compromise when it passed in the Senate. However, the White House says Republicans have now changed their tune. [More]
BofA Reaps Fees From Unemployment Benefits Loaded On Debit Cards
By 11.10.11
While Bank of America’s now-abandoned plan to charge debit card users $5 a month has received a halogen spotlight recently, far less attention has been paid to how it collects fees off the unemployed. In some states, unemployment benefits are issued via Bank of America debit cards. States save money by not using paper checks, but the unemployed lose out from all the fees hiding in the cards. [More]
"Guess The Next Cashier To Be Fired!" Contest Not Good Morale Booster For Cashiers
By 10.3.11
A judge has ruled that the “guess the next cashier who will be fired” “contest” concocted by a convenience store manager created a hostile work environment. Several of the employees left after it and the judge ruled that their unemployment claims could not be dismissed on the basis of the workers leaving voluntarily. Here is the text of the kooky contest memo: [More]
US Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Rose To 414,000
By 9.8.11
Claims for unemployment benefits rose by a surprise 2,000 to 414,000 last week, sending stocks downward. Economists had predicted a drop in claims to 405,000. [More]
Dillard's Fired Guy For Eating Two Hotdogs
By 7.11.11
A court has ruled that a Dillard’s department store that fired a dock worker after he ate two leftover hotdogs from a company picnic was unjustified in doing so and must pay him unemployment benefits, the Evansville Courier & Press reports. [More]
2 Million Jobless Wave Goodbye To Welfare
By 12.2.10
Unless Congress acts quickly, unemployment benefits will stop cold for 2 million Americans who have been jobless for 99 weeks. Benefits have already been extended well past normal lengths, but if no other extension comes, the loss of income will make the holidays sting that much harder for people unable to find work for nearly two years. [More]
13 More Weeks Of Unemployment Benefits For Some Americans
By 9.24.09
On Tuesday, the House voted to extend unemployment benefits for Americans who live in states where the unemployment rate is greater than 8.5 percent. 400,000 people were set to run out of benefits at the end of September, and will now continue to receive them until the end of the year if the bill passes.
Pre-Loaded Benefit Cards Nickle And Dime Unemployed
By 2.9.09
Pennysylvania’s unemployed are getting nickled-and-dimed by pre-loaded unemployment benefit debit cards that come come pre-loaded with hidden fees.
The 20 Best And Worst Cities For Unemployment Benefits
By 7.6.08
Losing a job is bad enough, but your unemployment benefits can vary wildly depending on where you live. The L.A. Times compared unemployment benefits to the cost of living and picked the twenty best and worst cities to be unemployed.
