Unemployment Insurance (often called UI or just “Unemployment”) helps people who have lost their jobs or had their hours cut through no fault of their own. If you qualify, you may get up to 26 weeks of payments to help you while you look for a new job.
The best way to find out if you are eligible is to apply. Many people think they aren’t eligible for Unemployment Insurance actually are.
You may be eligible if you are legally able to work in the US, and:
Applying for UI takes about 1 hour, so make sure you have enough time!
You can use the worksheet below, if this is helpful:
What documents do I need? English | French | Lingala | Portuguese | Dari | Khmer | Somali | Spanish
Once approved, you will need to request benefits each week by completing a "Weekly Claim" until you find a new job. You must submit this online or over the phone every week, even while you wait to get approved or paid. You also need to apply or do one job search activity each week.
Once you apply, be sure to check your email, correspondence folder on ReEmployME, or your mail for letters from MDOL about your benefits.
Every week, you must submit a “Weekly Claim” every week to get paid. You must do this even if you are waiting for an eligibility decision or have not been paid yet.
Note: Your first week after you apply is your “waiting week” where you will not be paid.
Video: How to file a Weekly Claim
Remember, you are answering these questions about the week before, not the current week.
You have 14 days to file a weekly claim after the week is over. MDOL will close your claim if you do not file for 3 weeks in a row. If this happens, you need to call and ask to re-open your claim if you want to keep collecting.
Remember: You can’t get benefits if you don’t file your weekly claim!
How much you receive in Unemployment benefits depends on what you earned from your job(s) in the past 18 months or so.
Once you apply, you will receive an online notice or a letter in the mail from MDOL stating the amount of your weekly benefit. This letter is called a "Monetary Determination.” This letter does not say if you are eligible - that decision is a separate letter. This letter simply shows how much you could receive. Click here for example.
In Maine, most people can receive unemployment benefits for up to 26 weeks* per year. These do not need to be back-to-back weeks.
You do not have to receive unemployment benefits consecutively, or every week, all in one row. For example, some people get laid off for a few weeks at a time and they can collect while they are not working, and then skip a few weeks and not collect when they are working.
*Exceptions:
You can also collect partial unemployment, meaning you can receive some benefits if you lose some of your hours, or are earning a little bit of money while you are unemployed and still looking for full-time work.
Note: Unemployment Insurance counts as income and is taxed by both Maine and the US government, just like wages. When you apply, you will be asked if you would like to pay estimated state and federal taxes each week, or at the end of the year. Most people choose to pay a little bit weekly.
At the end of the year, you will be sent a form 1099-G, with information that you must enter on your tax return. More info here.
Find additional answers to commonly asked questions below:
You have a right to appeal or ask MDOL to reconsider their decision. Your appeal rights must be listed on any decision letter you receive, usually at the end of the letter. Generally you have 30 days to appeal a decision.
The easiest way to file an appeal is on ReEmployME. Click “Appeal” at the top of the home page. You can also file an appeal in writing and email or fax it to the contact information listed on your decision letter. You can also call and appeal over the phone at the general phone number, 1-800-593-7660. Press “2” to speak to a staff and tell them you want to appeal
You can watch this video for more information about how to appeal.
Once you appeal, you will be scheduled for a phone call for either a fact finding hearing or administrative hearing with a “deputy” or “hearing officer” from MDOL. You will get a scheduled time to meet over the phone to explain your situation.
If you need assistance with filing an appeal or have any questions, please contact us. Click “I need help” and describe your issue. Maine Equal Justice may be able to help you connect to a free attorney in some, but not all, cases.
If you need assistance preparing for an Administrative Hearing or Fact Finding Interview, contact us!
Watch this video from MDOL.
MDOL sometimes needs to prove that you are who you say you are. The DOL will ask you to prove or “verify your identity.” Usually you will do this by sending photos of a government ID like a license, passport, or work permit. You may have to do this before you get paid. Keep filing your weekly claim while you wait for your identity verification to be approved. You do this so you can get paid for any weeks missed while you were waiting.
MDOL will send you a letter in the mail and in your Correspondence folder with instructions. It is important to read and follow the instructions and submit documents by the deadline in your letter.
There are a few different ways to submit your identity documents:
Sometimes MDOL may ask you to prove you are legally allowed to work in the US by showing a copy of your EAD (work permit), social security card or other form of ID. Remember: Keep filing your weekly claim while you wait for your documents to be reviewed.
When in doubt, give MDOL at call at 1-800-793-5660.
This might have to do with your “Base Period” or the time period that MDOL looks at your wages for to determine if you qualify.
You may receive a letter in your online portal or in the mail that says "Notice of Fact Finding Interview" at the top. This means that the Department of Labor needs to get more information from you about your unemployment situation to figure out if you are eligible for benefits. They may also have a question about something you reported in a Weekly Claim, like a work search or reported earnings.
If you want help preparing for your fact finding interview, please contact us and we will do our best to schedule a 20-30 minute phone call to assist.
You should not have to pay back your unemployment benefits as long as you are honestly reporting your work searches, any income, and answering weekly claim questions each week.
However, in some rare cases, the Department may think they paid you benefits you were not actually eligible for. There are a few reasons why this might happen. MDOL may discover you did not report income you earned, or if you received unemployment benefits during a time when you were not able to work, or turned down a job offer but did not report it. In some cases an employer may dispute your eligibility for benefits that have already been paid to you, or the Department may have made an error.
If this happens, you may receive a notice of "Overpayment." Overpayments can be appealed before the appeal deadline noted on the notice. You can always file an appeal or ask the overpayment be waived at any time, without any deadline. More information about overpayments below.
Note: If you do get an overpayment and do not appeal or have it waived, they will ask you to pay it back. Depending on what caused the overpayment, the Department may subtract what you owe from future benefits, or ask you to set up a payment plan. In some cases, if you do not make payments promptly, they can seize your tax return. In serious cases of fraud, they may attempt to seize wages.
If you have any questions about overpayments, call MDOL immediately. You can also fill out our Contact form with questions.
Sometimes the Department of Labor may say you were paid benefits for weeks that you were not eligible. This can happen for lots of reasons. If you are not sure why you have an overpayment, call MDOL. You can also contact us and we can try and help.
The Department must approve the waiver if:
If you or someone in your household receives MaineCare, SNAP or TANF, this means you are income eligible for the waiver. You may still need to meet other requirements.
To prevent overpayments, make sure you are filing your weekly claim, looking for work each week, and accepting any suitable offers of work. Also remember, you must accurately report ALL income, including tips and self-employment earnings, that you get while on unemployment. Report any earnings during the week you EARN the money, not when you get paid.
Misreporting wages can be considered fraud, so it is important to be honest and thorough. You must report your total, gross earnings (without taxes or deductions) not just what appears on your pay check or in your bank account.
In many cases you may be able to get an Overpayment Waiver. Information and instructions for applying for a waiver should appear on any letter you get about your overpayment.
Here is MDOL’s step-by-step guide for applying for a waiver online. You can also call in and request one over the phone, or fill out the form in one of the letters you receive and mail it in.
To be approved for a waiver:
If you or someone in your household receives MaineCare, SNAP or TANF, this means you are income eligible for the waiver. You may still need to meet other requirements.
It’s always good to apply, even if you aren’t sure!
If you are denied a waiver, and think you should qualify, contact us.
Every week you need to do at least one work search activity, like applying for a job.
Remember: this needs to be a serious application to a position you would actually take if they offered it to you. If you refuse a job offer, you will be denied benefits.
When you apply for a job, save the job title, company, location, phone number or website you applied on, and a manager’s name if you spoke to someone or submitted an application to a specific person. It can be helpful to write these down in a notebook or your notes app each week.
Other things also count as work search activities and you can report those on your weekly claim too:
Unemployment Insurance benefits are considered income and taxed by both Maine and the US government, just like your wages at your job are.
When you apply, you will be asked if you would like to pay estimated state and federal taxes each week, or at the end of the year. Most people choose to pay a little bit each week. At the end of the year, you will be sent a form 1099-G, with information that you must enter on your tax return.
We generally recommended opting to have taxes taken out each week from your benefits to avoid any confusion at tax time.
It depends, but maybe!
When in doubt, always apply. And show up for any hearings or appointments with MDOL.
If you were fired from your job for misconduct – which usually means doing something that is in direct violation of company policy or the law – you may be disqualified. However, it is on the employer to prove this. They also must prove that they gave warnings and informed you about the rules or policies you might have broken before simply letting you go.
For example, if you were fired for being late 3 times this month, and you have been issued multiple warnings, this will likely count as misconduct, and you would be ineligible for unemployment. However, there are many other instances that might not count as misconduct, so we always recommend people apply if they feel they were let go for a reason that was not their fault.
You cannot be disqualified from unemployment because you were let go due to performance issues. So if you were fired for things like being too slow on the job or “not a good fit,” you likely have a good case to claim UI.
If you were fired or discharged, you will probably have a ‘Fact Finding’ hearing where MDOL will ask you and your employer questions about why you were let go. Check your mail for notices about this.
In most cases, you cannot get unemployment if you voluntarily quit your job.
However, there are some exceptions, so if you feel like you had to quit your job for a reason you could not control, you may still be eligible. Again, when in doubt, apply!
For example, if you quit your job because working conditions were unsafe or you were being harassed, you may still be able to collect unemployment benefits. Likewise, there are a few other reasons in law that allow you to receive UI, even if you quit your job. These include:
Yes. It is possible to participate in training and education programs while still qualifying for unemployment insurance benefits.
This can be a great way to find a more secure job. More information about paying for education & training.
You have the option of seeing if your training program is “approved” by MDOL. If you are in an approved training program you can request a “Training Waiver.” This waiver allows you to attend school full time (12 credit hours or more) without having to look for work or accept a job that might interrupt your school schedule. You still have to file weekly claims, but you are exempted from searching for work or accepting a job offer while in school.
A great way to pick an approved training program is to use MDOL’s Training Provider search, which will show you if a program is state approved.
To get a training waiver, you can call and ask an MDOL staff member about it, or go in person to a nearby Career Center and ask for help. If you select that you are in school during your initial or weekly claims, MDOL should send you an application for approved training digitally and/or by mail.
Alternatively, you can be enrolled in school and be “able and available” to qualify for benefits, if you feel that your school schedule does not interfere with full-time work. If this is the case, you still need to look for work and accept a job if it is offered to you.
When on unemployment, if you are offered a suitable job you applied for, you must accept it.
We strongly suggest only applying for jobs you are actually willing to take while on UI because if you turn a job down, you may be denied benefits.
If you are offered work and refuse it while you are getting unemployment benefits, you must report this on your weekly claim. However, the job offer and type of job must be suitable for you. You only need to report a solid job offer that includes a start date, rate of pay, and other conditions of employment. And you need only accept a job that matches your training and experience, is within your normal commute, and has somewhat similar pay.
If you report that you turned down a job, you will have a chance to explain why you refused work in a telephone fact-finding interview.
If you have a training waiver, you are exempt from this requirement.
Yes! You can get partial unemployment benefits if your hours were cut or you lose a part-time job.
If you otherwise qualify, you can earn a little income or have a part-time job and still receive unemployment benefits. What you earn will be taken out of your total weekly benefit. Partial unemployment benefits can be complicated, so we recommend reading this guide.
Anything you earn over ~$127 will be deducted from your weekly benefits. So you can make $127 without it impacting your weekly payment.
No matter what you make, you must report all earnings to MDOL.
Report the amount you earn, in the week you worked and earned the money.
Refugees, asylum seekers, and other immigrants with valid work permits can apply for unemployment.
Unemployment Insurance does not impact a determination of “public charge” in an immigration or citizenship case. Applying for unemployment should not impact an active asylum case either. However, it is important to make sure you are complying with all laws and rules of the program just in case.
At this time, personalized claim and wage data is not shared with federal immigration enforcement. However, the current federal administration has made attempts to collect this information from state and federal DOL, and this data may not be secure. If your personal information is already on file with USCIS because of a pending immigration case or application, the information DOL has, like address or employer, may already be available to other agencies, including ICE, so applying for UI may not be an added risk. This is a personal choice and every individual must evaluate their own risk factors. If you have questions, ask an immigration attorney.
While you are waiting for unemployment benefits to start, call DHHS at 855-979-4357 to ask about:
If you need help with your rent, call your town office to ask about General Assistance.
Your weekly unemployment benefit cannot be considered income to you for any of these other programs if you are not receiving it.
Address: 126 Sewall Street, Augusta, ME 04330
Phone: (866) 626-7059 (toll-free)
EIN: 04-3346273
Proud member of MaineShare | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Donate Online
