Montana Unemployment Weekly Claims

IMPORTANT: You are the only one who can file for your Montana benefits. Allowing another person to have access to your PIN and file for you is considered fraud.

There are two way to request payment:
On-line or via telephone using the Interactive Voice Response System (IVR) at 444-9800.

Both systems are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

When you go on-line or call the IVR to request payment of benefits, you will be asked questions for each of the weeks you request payment.
You are strongly encouraged to file online as it allows you to review your answers, earnings, etc. to eliminate possible errors which delay benefits.

Here is a list of possible questions which will be asked when you request a claim –

• Did you quit or get fired from a job this week?
• Did you take time off or miss scheduled work for any reason this week?
• Did you look for work this week?
• If work had been available, were you physically and mentally able to work this week?
• Were you available to work this week?
• Did you attend school or were you in training this week?
• Where you referred for a job interview by Workforce Services (Job Service) this week?
• If your answer to question 7 is “Yes”, you will be asked “Did you report for the job interview you were referred to by Workforce Services (Job Service) this week?”
• Did you refuse any work during this week?
• Enter the total number of hours you worked this week. Do not include hours of paid time off, which includes vacation time, sick time, compensatory time, and personal time off.
• Enter total earnings for paid time off this week.
• Enter total earnings for being “on call” this week.
• Enter the amount of bonus pay received this week.
• Enter the amount of commission pay received this week.
• Will you be paid for a holiday that occurred this week?

Please remember to answer all these questions legitimately to avoid fraud.

Also, remember to file for benefits within 7 days of the last week ending date of your bi-weekly filing period. If you don’t file within this time, you will be ineligible for benefits that week.