To receive benefits you must meet each of the following.
Eligibility (Non-Monetary)
- Unemployed through no fault of your own
- Being ready, willing and able to work each week
- Laid off or have been subject to greatly reduced working hours
- Quit for “good cause” such as unsafe working conditions, not receiving payment for your work, to care for a terminally ill spouse or minor child etc
In addition, you must also meet weekly Virginia UI eligibility requirements before you can receive benefits.
Eligibility (Monetary)
Your monetary determination will illustrate the Amount and Duration of Benefits you are eligible for based on your base period (first four of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the effective date of your claim) wages. Your Weekly Benefit Amount is determined by the two quarters with the highest earnings during the base period. Total wages reported during the base period determine your maximum benefit amount.
To qualify for benefits monetarily an individual,
- Must have earned at least a total of $3,000 in two quarters in the base period.
- Must have earned at least $18,900.01 in two quarters during the base period to qualify for the maximum weekly benefit amount.
Benefit duration varies from 12 to 26 weeks, also depending on wages earned in the base period. Once your claim is established and reflects all earnings during your base period, the amount you qualify for remains the same for one year (benefit year) and is available to you until your maximum benefit amount or your benefit year is exhausted, whichever comes first.
Questions Related To Eligibility
If I am fired, will I be eligible for collecting unemployment insurance?
When a person is fired from a job in Virginia, he will often be eligible to receive unemployment benefits. Unemployment benefits are payments, delivered on a weekly basis, that are planned to help an individual pay for basic necessities such as food and shelter while he is seeking a new job.
In the state of Virginia, requirements for a person to receive benefits are nearly the same to those imposed on the unemployed in other states. A person can only receive unemployment benefits if he was lately terminated through “no fault of his own,” as defined by Virginia law.
Generally, a person can be considered to be at fault for his unemployment if he was fired for cause, meaning he failed to live up to the requirements of the position. If, however, the termination came due to structural layoffs, then the firing is not considered the employee’s fault.
If I voluntarily quit my job, will I qualify for UI?
Unemployment compensation only covers those individuals who have lost a job through no fault of their own. Virginia set its own standards for the minimum number of weeks and earned wages the workers must meet before being able to obtain unemployment compensation.
Virginia allows employees who have quit for certain reasons, such as sexual harassment, reduced working hours or unsafe work conditions, to collect unemployment. However, reasons vary and it’s vital to check with unemployment office to get the details on whether your circumstances apply.
Quitting your job does not disqualify you for unemployment compensation, but you’ll have to prove you had good reasons for resigning.
If I am laid off from work, can I claim UI?
Normally in Virginia you have to become jobless through no fault of your own in order to collect unemployment. When you get laid-off, it is not your fault.
In nearly all cases, this means that if you get laid-off, you are qualified to receive unemployment benefits.
If you get laid-off from your job, you should immediately apply for unemployment benefits without delay.
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