To file for benefits from the Unemployment Insurance Program, you must provide your name, social security information, birthdate and contact information. If you are not a U.S. citizen, you will also need your USCIS number. You will be asked for your complete work history for the last 18 months, including the dates you were employed at each job and the names, addresses and phone numbers for each employer.
Unemployment Insurance for School Employees FAQs
Federal law requires OED to review unemployment claims from school employees (and anyone who has worked for an educational institution in the last 18 months) filed during school breaks. This applies even if you normally work 12 months of the year.
OED will ask questions to determine the type of work you do. (They know where you work, but not the details of your job description.) These questions are intended to identify whether you are a classified school employee – who may be eligible for unemployment benefits – or a teacher or administer, who are not generally eligible.
See below for more details about "instructional" work and who does it.
When reviewing your application, OED will try to determine whether or not you spend at least half your work time providing instruction, because federal law prohibits UI benefits for school employees who work in an "instructional, research, or principal administrative capacity."
Although many classified school employees support students' academic growth, the work most of us do is not generally considered to be "instruction." That term is clearly defined in state law as the "preparation of curriculum, assessment and direction of learning." It does not cover the work done by a classified instructional assistant, "who does not require a license to teach... and whose assignment consists of and is limited to assisting a licensed teacher." (ORS 342.120)
As OED says, "If you don't teach students, conduct research, or manage other people, then you are generally eligible for full benefits during school breaks and recesses."
This is the first week you meet all the requirements for benefits, including work searches. You won’t get any money, but you must claim the week to receive credit for it.
During any breaks that last longer than four weeks, you must meet the standard UI requirements – being able to work, available for work, and actively looking for benefits – to be eligible for benefits. But during shorter breaks, school employees may not be required to look for work to claim benefits. To be considered “temporarily unemployed,” the following must be true:
- At the time of layoff, you have reason to believe you will return to work (such as a “reasonable assurance” letter from your district).
- The work you will return to will pay at least the same as your weekly benefit amount.
- There will be no longer than four weeks between the week you became unemployed and the week you return to work.
OED only looks at when you earned your wages, not when they are paid. Having your salary amortized over the year does not impact your eligibility for benefits.
If your employer reduced your hours, you may qualify for benefits to partly replace your lost earnings. You should file a claim if your salary is less than the benefits you could receive.