Athy, of Kalispell, Mont., was told by state workers that he was not at his job long enough to collect benefits. He has applied for jobs all over town — where the unemployment rate is in the double digits — without any luck. Now, he's trying to do what he can to feed himself and his son, Calvin, 15, and keep a roof over their heads. He is behind on his rent, has turned off his telephone and next week may lose his electricity.
Sad story. But there is more to it.
Unemployment doesn't exactly work like this misleading article would have you believe.
Even if you haven't "been at your job" long enough to collect benefits, if you have been at SOME job -- you have been working SOMEWHERE, you were accruing benefits at the earlier job, and would have benefits available.
"There are so many gaps," says Monica Halas, lead attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services, which provides free legal aid to low-income people. "People think (if) they are unemployed, they are going to get unemployment. Not true."
There are a number of reasons people are ineligible for unemployment benefits.
Right. Like you have to have had a job in the first place. That's the way it works. You work. You lose your job, you get benefits. If you weren't working in the first place, or if you only worked a little, unemployment isn't your giveaway. You have to go find another one.
There are no plans to expand the safety net to those in the latter category.
What safety net. It isn't a safety net if you don't ever work. It is the act of working that builds up benefits. If you don't work, you don't accrue benefits.
It isn't complicated. For someone to draw unemployment, an employer somewhere must have been paying into the unemployment system for that person. If you're not an employee in the first place, getting laid off doesn't provide you with benefits.
Duh. |
