Have you ever had to Collect Unemployment?
 

Have you? And what are your thoughts on the Subject?

I collected it for two weeks back in 1991. Basically I quit a job because they didn't want to pay me for the hours I worked. I worked for Radio Shack ad the store I worked in was moving from one location to another. For a couple of weeks I worked my normal shift then after we closed we went to the new location and worked 1-3 hours a night getting the new place ready to move into. When we moved I literally worked 40 hours in 2 days. When I put it on my time card they told me that they thought I was "volunteering" that time. I insisted on them paying me, they said it would throw off the payroll for the store and that they wouldn't so I quit. I filed for unemployment, they sided with me ( I had copies of my time cards and stuff) and I drew unemployment for two weeks then I got another job.

The moral of the story is, never work for Radio Shack. They really treat their employees like shit.

BTW after I quit and threatened to report them to OSHA they did pay me for my hours.

Oh, and as for my thoughts on it, I think it's a nice program for people that lose their job to keep money coming in while they get another job, but it bothers me when you get people that end up being on it for years at a time. Like a lot of government programs it's good when used properly and bad when abused.

when I worked for GM on the line, they would shut down for a month and we would get unemployment. Then when I got layed off. I see nothing wrong with it ,you pay for it.

no i never have and i couldn't even if i wanted to as i haven't paid into it since 1998. as for my thoughts on it, what did you want to know? nothing shameful about collecting it if thats what you're thinking. and im not sure what the laws are in the states but its impossible to be on it for years at a time in canada. the max is 6-9 months.

I did for about a month... the week I was removed from my post at AVN Online, I got t-boned on the freeway and was laid up for 6 weeks. I survived on the $ (it wasn't a lot) til my insurance settlement came in and I started PR KITTY.

never

even when I could I didnt - since if you finish uni and lean back here youll get that, its called different but its an allowance.

worked all my life always will

You got laid off and t-boned in the same week? Did they feel bad for letting you go?

k thats different obviously

I meant leaning backwards doing nothing - if youre in a serious accident youre entitled to collect unempl imho

Yeup, I once spent a whole summer on the dole and it was the longest party I've ever attended :thumbsup

since getting back to montreal, Im lookin bout gettin on for a bit while I settle things down, get my house back & start lookin for work.
Theres alot of good things about it..

No, I think it's a stupid program, it's getting abused like crazy and just promotes laziness in my opinion...

As an employee, no - you don't pay for it. The company you work for pays for it. But it's still funded by companies, not by the government.

I've been self employeed since 1993 so even though I pay into UI every year, I'm not allowed to ever collect while working for myself. I don't understand why I have to pay if I can't collect.

Anyhoo, years ago I was laid off from MCI. Back then in GA you could collect UI even while you were being paid severance. I received 2.5 months in severance, got a job the next week that didn't start for another month, so I collected it for a month. I was due the full amount GA pays but they had me as a farmer in South GA and told me I qualified for $25 a week, lol. They got it straightened out but I still have the guy's tax lien on ONE of my credit reports from 1996 for $503 that they won't even let me pay to get it off.

I agree it gets taken advantage of all the time.. but it has its benifits for those that need it too.
Like me, coming back here last minute I had to leave work & Im in the middle of dealing with our Regis to get my house back from a tenant that hasnt been paying rent & I obviously need money to live. While Im getting back & settling back in it gives a hand while doing all that & then looking for a job.

It's too easy to get welfare payments in Australia.

not yet no

About 23 years ago..I've been out of work once for about 6 months once

You can't collect for years anymore. Clinton put a stop to that.
Unless you are in a union position, you have like 21 weeks to get a job, and that is it.

Yeah, Bill:pimp !

Yep. Received it twice, 6 months each time. It was nice because the job market was hard at the time. But both times I had to appeal for it, and it took 2-3 months to get it. Luckily in addition to the unemployment I had a couple of sites back then to bring in the money.

If you have a degree, and some qualifications, it was hard to find work. The temp places, as well as some of the shittier jobs, would tell you that you are over qualified. So they would not hire you because you would leave as soon as something better came along.

When you told them you had to live, they said, "Sorry". :disgust

No, never. And I hope I will not have to.

I did 17 years ago

300 a week

Was great for me

I collected it for the maximum time once while I was in college...Man I loved that shit. ..

years ago during the dot com fallout when they canned all the internet people , i was getting $405 /WEEK

Yeah man, sure have. But the Danish one. That's one of its kind. Would probably be equivalent to like $2,300-$2,500 a month in todays money.
I was 16-17 or so, had been working as a game developer at a small software company that went broke. I'd quit highschool to take the job and it was awesome. I had my own huge office and 2-3 computers available to work on. We're talking the c-64/c-128 days here.
Anyway, I got laid off, sued them for 3 months pay which I got, and on top I discovered I could get unemployment welfare like an adult since I had been employed.
It was so cool, I mean, I was getting paid almost normal wages while I'd have had to work for like a quarter of that had I gotten a real job instead since I was younger than 18. I was loaded.
Didn't last though, I took an education instead ;)
It's a fucked up system here, fortunately they've finally started to have another look at it and are trying to make it a bit more restrictive. For some it's turned into a "pillow" of sorts since for the most part it doesn't pay off to actually go to work once you're in the system.
Man, those were the days.... :)

Never have never will. I've only been out of work once and I got by on my own.

the military recommends unemployment when you first get out, until you get a job. You may be 1000 miles from home when you get out and in no way had a chance to find a job back home.

but, the few lazy dirtbags spoil it for the honest ones

~Ray

Yea I always tyinks its good to know, if you absolutely had to fall back on it you could, and if you a hard working person, and something happends to your job, that your not in control of, yes I think you deserve it. There to are knuckleheads out there who take advantage.. But hey, what can one do..

The situation was similar when I worked for Radioshack in Canada