The purpose of this article is to give you information that will help you apply for unemployment benefits if you’re unable to work due to COVID-19 outbreak.
If you are laid off work temporarily or if your hours are reduced due to a business slowdown or a lack of demand as a result of COVID-19, you may be able to receive unemployment benefits. In order to determine eligibility, you must first apply for unemployment. If you’re temporarily out of work or working reduced hours due to COVID-19, select one of those two separation reasons when filing your claim.
Go to the North Carolina Department of Employment Security website to begin your application. Click this link to go there now.
How to Apply And Setup your account
Select Sign Up on the DES webpage
Enter your Social Security Number twice.
Select ‘Next.’
You will then reach the ‘Account Creation’ page. Here you will:
Create a user name.
Enter your email address twice.
Create a pin number.
Enter your contact phone number.
Create a password.
Select ‘Create Account.’
After your new account is created, an email will be sent to the email address you provided during your account creation. The reason that email is sent to confirm that your email address is correct. There will be a link in that email. Click on the link in the email to activate the account. The link is only valid for one hour. You can now Sign In to the website using your user name and password.
Here is a video that reviews all of these steps.
Helpful Tips:
Make sure that you know your password You only have five attempts to sign-in with the correct password. The number of attempts can occur all at once or over a period of time. The system will keep count of the sign-in attempts and reset the counter back to zero, once the correct information is entered into the system.
If you have any problems during this process you should call the Customer Call Center (CCC) at 888-737-0259.
Filing Your Claim
Select Sign In and use your Online Account credentials to enter the DES secured site.
Complete the online claimant registration if requested (Personal Information, Address, Contact Method, and Demographics).
Once your claimant registration is complete you will reach the Customer Menu screen.
Select the smart link ‘File a New Unemployment Insurance Claim’ on the Customer Menu screen.
Read all screens carefully and respond to all questions asked providing truthful and accurate information regarding your employment history. Select ‘Next’ to advance. Select ‘Previous’ if you need to return to the prior screen.
When you reach ‘Apply For Benefits: Employment History’, select your last (most recent employer). Add your last employer if it is not listed.
Click the link ‘Provide Additional Information’, when instructed.
Continue to advance through the screens
Carefully review the Summary Screen and edit your responses as needed.
Carefully review all information provide on the ‘Submit Claim’ screen, complete ‘Acknowledgements’ and continue
Additional links may appear ‘Provide Additional Information’. Click the link(s) and respond when appropriate.
Select ‘Submit’
Once your claim is complete a ‘File Claim Confirmation’ screen will appear detailing your next steps.
*If you provided an email address during your Claimant Registration you will also receive a ‘Confirmation Email.’
Here is a video that reviews all of these steps.
After filing a claim, it will take about 14 days to receive first payment. The additional $600 in federal benefits will be for weeks ending April 4 – July 31. DES is awaiting guidance for issuing those payments. Benefits owed will be paid retroactively.
Helpful Tips:
Make sure you don’t walk away from your application while you’re applying You will be signed out automatically for not submitting any data or accessing pages after sixty minutes and will need to sign back in. This may cause you to lose progress on your application.
Don’t forget to submit your weekly certifications. To get unemployment payments, workers have to fill out certifications every week through their online Division of Employment Security accounts.
Other Helpful Videos:
Click on the links below to watch the videos
As I have written before, my office is here to help you. If you have any questions regarding filing for unemployment, please do not hesitate to message me on Facebook, email me, or call my office.
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