Nevada Unemployment Benefits

What is unemployment in Nevada?

Unemployment insurance in Nevada is offered to local workers who are currently in between jobs. However, applicants must remember these unemployment funds are available for a limited amount of time. Unemployment insurance coverage is not intended to serve as a long-term solution for enrollees who are without work. In fact, enrollees may only receive UI funds for a maximum of 26 weeks during a single calendar year. Applicants’ claims are valid for 265 days. However, acceptees may only receive benefits for a total of 6.5 months during that time frame. The state also imposes a maximum weekly benefit amount (WBA) that petitioners may receive each week. This total is determined each year on July 1.

Unemployment insurance benefits are funded through employers’ tax contributions. In most cases, enrollees are not required to pay any additional money in order to enroll in the program. However, candidates may be responsible for paying back any excess funding they receive through their unemployment claim. To avoid this situation, beneficiaries must be sure they are accurately reporting their income each week so the DETR does not overpay them.

What are the requirements to get unemployment in Nevada?

To determine eligibility for unemployment in Nevada, the DETR examines several different aspects that relate to petitioners’ candidacy. One of the most important factors the DETR uses to determine who qualifies for unemployment pertains to how candidates lost their jobs. Specifically, petitioners must be without work due to situations they could not control. In other words, they must be unemployed through no fault of their own. As a result, applicants who are unemployed due to the following circumstances may not meet the qualifications for unemployment:

• Fired for misconduct In some cases, candidates who were fired from their previous places of employment may be eligible to receive UC. However, petitioners who were fired due to workplace misconduct or flagrant disregard for company rules do not qualify for benefits.
• Quitting – There are few circumstances in which petitioners who quit their jobs are eligible to receive UI. Applicants who leave their positions because of scheduling conflicts, a lack of transportation or because they disliked their work are unlikely to qualify for program benefits.
• Striking – Applicants who are unemployed because they are on strike are not eligible for UC. This is because these candidates are willfully not working.

When determining unemployment insurance eligibility, the DETR will also assess whether or not candidates are able to work and if they are proactive in their reemployment search. This means that claimants must be seeking out job opportunities. Furthermore, petitioners must not have any scheduling conflicts or physical limitations that prevent them from working full-time.

In order to discern who qualifies for UC the department will also assess how much income petitioners earned during their base periods. For UI purposes, the base period refers to the first four of the last five completed calendars that passed before petitioners submitted their applications. Specifically, future enrollees must have earned wages that total at least 1.5 times what they earned in their highest calendar quarter. Alternatively, financial eligibility for UC requirements permit petitioners to qualify for the program simply by having earned income in at least three of the four base period quarters. In either situation, applicants must have earned $400 or more during their highest quarter.

How can I sign up for unemployment in Nevada?

Candidates must know how to apply for unemployment online or over the phone. These are the two options petitioners have regarding how to apply for unemployment benefits. Regardless of how claimants choose to apply, candidates must submit two forms of identification. In most cases, applicants submit their Social Security Numbers and driver’s license identifiers. Furthermore, candidates are also required to submit the following information:

• Personal contact information – Whether claimants submit an online application for unemployment or petition over the phone, they must disclose specific contact information. In particular, candidates must include their mailing and physical addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.
• Demographics Petitioners will have to include some personal information in their applications, as well. For example, candidates must report their highest education levels, any degrees they received, their races and ethnicities and whether or not they are veterans.
• Employment history – Applicants are required to provide their full employment history for the past 18 months. Candidates need to report their former employers’ names, addresses, when they were employed at those particular institutions and how much money they earned at each job.

How do I prepare for the unemployment insurance interview in Nevada?

Towards the end of their application process, candidates may need to prepare for the unemployment insurance interview in Nevada. Needing to participate in this conversation is especially likely when claimants are out of work for reasons besides being laid off. In the majority of cases, these discussions take place in the form of an unemployment phone interview. The nature of these conversations varies depending on why the DETR deems them necessary.

Regardless, the questions asked during the unemployment insurance interview are always specific to the applicants’ specific circumstances. As a result, candidates may best prepare for their UC interviews by thinking about potential areas of concern within their materials. Popular discussion points include:

• Why candidates are no longer working The DETR must determine whether or not applicants are unemployed due to their own volitions. Therefore, petitioners can expect the nature of their terminations to be discussed in these interviews.
• If their schedules permit them to work – Depending on the answers candidates provided in their materials, DETR representatives may inquire about applicants’ work availability. Instead of worrying about how to pass the unemployment insurance interview, petitioners should focus on providing a detailed summary of their schedules and obligations.
• Whether or not they are searching for work – One of the core requirements to receive UC benefits is that enrollees are actively pursuing work opportunities. Petitioners who cannot demonstrate this to be true to their DETR interviewers will have more difficulty securing UI.

In some cases, the DETR may require an unemployment insurance interview with the employer in order to corroborate the claimants’ testimonies. However, the department will always conduct these conversations separately from the applicants’ interviews. Regardless, candidates should prepare to elaborate on these specific points. To further ready themselves for these UC interviews, petitioners may also gather any relevant documents that support their statements. Examples of suitable forms of evidence include written warnings they received, notes they took from meetings with their human resources representatives or a copy of their employee handbooks.

How do I claim unemployment benefits in Nevada?

For each week acceptees claim unemployment benefits in Nevada, they must submit specific information to explain why they deserve these funds. This is a mandatory process that enrollees are obligated to complete even though they have already been accepted into the program. In order to maintain an unemployment benefits claim, petitioners must first report any and all income they earn during the weeks they are claiming. WBAs are adjusted in proportion to how much money beneficiaries are paid each week. As a result, enrollees must accurately report their weekly incomes to avoid being over or underpaid. Program participants may submit this information online.

Furthermore, candidates who are claiming benefits for unemployment are also obligated to provide detailed accounts of their work search efforts. This is because the DETR must receive consistent proof that program participants are actively pursuing work leads each week they receive benefits. Candidates who do not maintain accurate and vigorous work search logs may be unable to claim UC benefits. Within enrollee’s logs, they must record:

• Who they contacted at their prospective places of employment.
• What positions they applied for and whether or not they received responses.
• When they contacted the employers and how they reached out.
• Relevant contact information for the potential employers’ companies.

In order to maintain a UI benefits claim, petitioners must also be sure to register with Nevada JobConnect. This statewide site helps unemployed users connect with job opportunities throughout the area. Failing to register with this site may also disqualify enrollees from claiming benefits for unemployment during the time when they are not registered.

What do I do if I am denied unemployment benefits in Nevada?

If claimants are denied unemployment in Nevada, this does not mean they lose all chances of receiving benefits. Candidates have the right to file an unemployment denial appeal. Similarly, former employers who disagree with the DETR’s determinations may also file appeals. Regardless of who files, both parties have 11 days from when their initial determinations were postmarked to file their requests for reconsideration. After this deadline has passed, both parties have waived their right to appeal. However, if they submit their petitions on time, these requests are sent to the Appeals Office. Here, appeals referees will assess the situations. The referees are technically employed by the DETR. However, they are trained to issue unbiased determinations regarding applicants’ petitions.

What happens after an appeal?

After the Appeals Office receives these requests, candidates who are denied unemployment benefits will be mailed hearing notices. These documents confirm times and dates for the parties’ hearings, and the office will send them no less than a week before the scheduled dates. At this time, petitioners who had their unemployment benefits denied should focus on arranging evidence and witnesses. Either party must file evidence at least 48 hours before their hearings are scheduled to take place. This is also the proper moment to arrange for legal counsel or union representation to accompany them to their hearings, if they would like.

Once these denied UI hearings conclude, the appeals referees will send employers and claimants their determinations. If either party disagrees with the assessments, they have the right to appeal to the Board of Review.

How can I apply for a federal unemployment extension in Nevada?

Congress is responsible for deciding when a federal unemployment extension will become available throughout the United States. This legislative body also determines when an unemployment benefits extension will become available in particular states. Similar to in other parts of the country, an unemployment extension in Nevada is not common. This is because these additions are only available during periods when many individuals are unemployed for a long period of time. When active, this UC continuation allows enrollees to receive benefits beyond the state’s 26-week maximum. However, there is no way for recipients to predict when the extension will be offered. As a result, claimants whose UC enrollments are about to expire should focus their efforts on their reemployment search instead of hoping to receive an unemployment compensation extension.

How do I contact the Nevada unemployment office?

The Nevada unemployment office maintains satellite locations throughout the state. Petitioners, enrollees and their former employers may contact these locations over the phone. Each UI office maintains its own phone line. Similarly, the DETR maintains a toll free number candidates may call to receive program-specific information.  However, individuals also have the option of visiting these establishments in person. The Reno DETR office is located at:

1325 Corporate Boulevard

Reno, Nevada 89502

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

When should I file for unemployment in Nevada?

As soon as possible. The state does not take into consideration the day you became unemployed when determining your eligibility. Instead, the week that you actually file your claim is the date that determines when you will get your benefits.

Who pays for the cost of Unemployment in the state of Nevada?

In Nevada, the employer pays the full cost of unemployment insurance.

Can I collect Unemployment in Nevada if I quit?

Unemployment benefits are usually approved for individuals who are fired from their jobs through no fault of their own. However, there are certain circumstances where an individual can quit their job and still be approved for benefits.