Interviews

• After you file for unemployment, the State Unemployment Insurance office must verify the facts in your application. To do this, they conduct brief interviews in person or over the phone. Based on the information they gather in the interview, your claim is either denied or approved.
  
  

Hearings and Appeals

• If your unemployment claim is denied initially, or if your employer wants to dispute your filing, the SUI office may schedule a hearing. At the hearing, you present your side of your unemployment case, and your employer tries to show why you don't meet eligibility requirements. Hearings are more likely if you filed unemployment after quitting your job, as the guidelines for eligibility state you must have lost your employment through no fault of your own.
  
  

Registration and Training

• Typically, to remain eligible for unemployment and demonstrate you are not relying unnecessarily on the system, you must register for work with your state's employment agency. You must attend training or accept work offered to you that meets your skills and abilities; if you reject a job offer, you have to explain why you aren't taking the work. You must report hours you work, as you won't qualify for unemployment past a certain number of hours or amount of earnings per week---the exact number of hours and payment limit varies by state.
  
  

Repeat Filing

• Once you file for unemployment, you cannot stop working with the unemployment office. You must continue to re-file your claim weekly or biweekly according to your state's requirements. You must notify the unemployment office about changes to your income when you re-file.
  
  

Payment of Benefits

• If everything goes smoothly and you meet all the guidelines for unemployment benefits, you can claim your checks. The amount of the benefits is based on how much money you earned or the number of hours worked within the first four of the last five calendar quarters prior to your filing. This means that if you've waited to file, your benefits probably will be smaller. You can collect benefits up to 26 weeks, but after that period, you also may qualify to receive extended benefits. Depending on your state, you may be able to get unemployment through regular and extended benefits for a year. The unemployment office should send you a letter telling you you're eligible for extended benefits near the end of your initial 26 weeks.