- A person will receive unemployment benefits only if he left a job involuntarily -- for instance, if he was laid off. In addition, the person must not have separated from the company due to firing with cause. People who are let go due to structural layoffs are generally eligible. However, the benefits are only provided for a finite period of time and amount, for only a fraction of an individual's old paycheck. In addition, a person can lose benefits if he violates other requirements.
- In addition to having been let go for an appropriate reason, a person who receives benefits must also continually look for a new job. In some cases, the person is required to provide proof to the employment agency that administers benefits that he is looking for work. In addition, the person must be available to take a full-time job if it is offered to him. If he fails to look for work or take an appropriate job offered him, his benefits will be cut off.
- Many people attempt to re-enter the workforce by making themselves more attractive to employers. Many states encourage workers to pursue additional training to boost their skill set. Indeed, some states even require people receiving benefits to take certain classes as a condition of receiving unemployment. The only way in which job training could interfere with receiving benefits would be if doing so prevented the person from either looking for a job or being available to take a full time job.
- An unemployment agency could theoretically deny a person benefits if it believed that, by undergoing training, the person was not leaving himself enough time to search for a job or he was preventing himself from finding a full-time job, as the hours of his training interfered with either of these pursuits. Therefore, before beginning training, a person should provide his schedule to the unemployment agency for their approval. In some cases, he may wish to shift the training to the evening or weekends, if possible, to avoid a conflict.
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