- 1). Work in covered employment, as Massachusetts does not pay unemployment insurance benefits to laid off workers who were employed by organizations that were not required to pay the state's unemployment insurance tax. Types of organizations or jobs that are not considered covered employment are people who work for religious organizations like churches, trainees at non-profit organizations and real estate and insurance agents and brokers whose salaries are 100 percent commission-based. Elected government officials, people who are on the state's legislatures and self-employed workers are also not covered in Massachusetts.
- 2). Avoid getting laid off due to your own fault. For example, if you steal company property or punch a colleague and your employment is terminated, Massachusetts generally will not allow you to collect unemployment insurance. However, there are reasons that the state will allow you to collect the benefits if you resign from work. For example, if your spouse is in the military and transfers to another location, the state might allow you to collect unemployment insurance benefits.
- 3). Earn wages during the first four of the last five quarters. This is considered your base period. You must earn at least 30 times the amount of money you receive in your weekly unemployment insurance benefits check during your base period. Calculate your weekly benefits amount, add the gross wages you were paid in your two highest quarters then divide this number by 26. Should you only have earned wages in one quarter, divide these wages by 13. For example, if you earned $2,500 and $2,700 in your two highest quarters, you would add these two numbers together and divide them by 26 to get $200.
- 4). Register for work at a nearby One Stop Career Center. You must contact at least three hiring managers each week to continue to receive unemployment insurance benefits. The state also requires that you keep a log of each contact you make regarding your job search. For example, if you contact a bank manager for a teller job, you will list the name of the bank, the position you inquired about, the date you contacted the manager and the manager's name in your log. If someone from the Massachusetts Labor and Workforce Development office asks to review your job search log, you must present it to them.
- 5). Complete weekly certification forms. Whether or not you sought work, attended school, moved or changed your telephone number are types of information you must provide on the certification forms. You can complete your weekly certifications on the Internet or via the telephone by calling TeleCert.
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