Arkansas Unemployment Benefits and Eligibility

COVID-19 UPDATE: Considering the coronavirus pandemic has left so many Americans jobless, the federal government has given states more flexibility in granting unemployment benefits. If yous have questions nearly whether you're eligible for unemployment benefits read our COVID-nineteen Unemployment Benefits and Insurance FAQ and check out Arkansas claimant handbook.

A guide to unemployment benefits in Arkansas

In Arkansas, the Division of Workforce Services administers the country'southward Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits program. These benefits are paid to workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own and who meet all eligibility requirements. Unemployment benefits are designed to provide protection against a loss of income until beneficiaries are able to detect full-fourth dimension work once again.

Employers pay for UI benefits through a tax they are required to remit. Workers exercise not pay any portion of the benefits, and no deductions are made from their paychecks.

How practice I file for unemployment insurance in Arkansas?

Here'south a quick overview of how the unemployment insurance process works in Arkansas:

  1. Before you apply, brand certain you encounter all eligibility requirements. Some of the more than important requirements include determining that you have earned enough wages during your Base Period or an Alternate Base Period, that you lot became unemployed through no fault of your own, and that you're ready, able, and willing to accept a suitable job offer.
  2. Get together necessary documents and information. Before yous file a merits for benefits, you should gather several pieces of information:
    • Social Security number
    • Electric current address and phone number
    • Contact information for all employers you lot take worked for in the by 12 months
    • The start and stop dates for electric current/most contempo employer
    • Your Alien Registration number if you're not a U.Southward. citizen
    • Your DD-214 Member Copy four grade if you served in the US armed services during the preceding 18 months
    • Your SF-8 form, if available, if you worked for the federal government during the past 18 months
  3. Submit an initial claim. You must fill out an Application for Unemployment Insurance Benefits on the DWS website. Filing a merits should have roughly thirty minutes.
  4. Choose how you will exist paid. You accept two options for receiving your benefits. You can receive a debit menu loaded with your benefit corporeality, or you lot can choose direct deposit to take your benefits sent to your bank account.
  5. Wait to acquire your benefit amount. After you lot file an Initial Merits, you'll receive a Find of Monetary Determination. This shows the amount of wages that have been reported by your employers during the quarters in your Base of operations Period. Verify the data is correct and contact DWS if you desire to challenge the amount.
  6. Determine the number of weeks you can draw benefits. If you lot continue to run across all eligibility requirements, you can receive payments for up to 16 weeks within a one yr flow—though federal guidelines may extend your eligibility.
  7. Carry an ongoing chore search. You're required to look for total-fourth dimension work while cartoon benefits. As office of this effort, yous must file with DWS Employment Services. Your job search efforts volition be monitored and you may be required to attend employment grooming if selected.
  8. You can file an appeal if you're denied benefits. If you're denied benefits, then you tin can file an appeal to challenge your eligibility determination.

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Where do I submit my claim?

Filing an initial merits

To file an initial claim, you lot must complete an Awarding for Unemployment Insurance Benefits via Like shooting fish in a barrel Arkansas Claims (EZARC). The online application is available from half dozen a.thousand. to 6 p.thousand., Monday through Friday.

Filing a claim online should take about 30 minutes. After yous submit your awarding, you'll get a confirmation page which y'all should impress out and save for your records.

Arkansas has prepare a temporary claims processing hotline for filing past phone. Phone call 844-908-2178 or 501-534-6304 on any weekday between eight:00 a.m. and three:thirty p.m.

When you file an initial claim, yous establish a Benefit Year. The Benefit Twelvemonth is the 12-month period beginning with the first day of the agenda quarter in which a valid claim is filed. If yous're paid all of your benefits earlier your Benefit Yr ends, you cannot file another claim until your Benefit Year ends.

Afterward you file an Initial Claim, your Notice of Monetary Decision volition bear witness the amount of wages that have been reported by your employers during the quarters in your Base Period. These wages are what is used to determine how much your Weekly Benefit Amount will be. If you detect errors in the Decision, you should immediately contact a local DWS office and file a Request for Reconsideration. You have one year to file the request from the date shown on the Budgetary Conclusion.

Your claim will become inactive if you practise not claim benefits for one or more weeks. Yous should stop filing for benefits when you go back to work full-time. To reactivate your merits, yous must submit another application through EZARC.

If yous worked in more than than 1 country during your Base Period, yous can combine your wages from all states into a combined claim, equally long as you have at to the lowest degree one quarter of wages that yous earned in Arkansas. Work with a local DWS office to complete this type of claim.

Filing a weekly claim

Unemployment claims on a weekly ground are based on a calendar calendar week kickoff on Sun and catastrophe at midnight on the following Saturday. Your weekly claim for benefits must be filed within the seven-day period immediately following the Saturday of the week y'all're claiming.

You can file your ongoing weekly claims through ArkNet. The process takes 10–xv minutes to complete.

You can besides phone call the land's ArkLine at 501-907-2590 to claim your week by phone. ArkLine is available Sunday from midnight to vi p.m. and Monday through Friday, 6 a.g. to 6 p.thou. Services are available in both English and Spanish.

To file by telephone, yous'll demand to have your Social Security number, your PIN, and your full gross earnings and hours worked for the week you're claiming. You'll create your Personal Identification Number (PIN) when you ready up your initial merits.

FAQ

What are the eligibility requirements to qualify for unemployment benefits in Arkansas?

You must meet several requirements to be eligible to collect unemployment insurance benefits in Arkansas:

  • You lot must exist either partially or fully unemployed.
  • You must exist mentally and physically able to perform work that is similar to work you have done in the past or for other work that you're suitable for due to past feel or training you've received.
  • Yous must exist available for piece of work. In that location should be no circumstances that would go along you lot from working such every bit transportation or childcare issues.
  • You must take earned enough wages during your Base of operations Period to meet the budgetary eligibility requirements.
  • Y'all must contact DWS if in that location are any circumstances that affect your availability for work. This tin can include starting a new concern or becoming cocky-employed, working on a contract or commission basis, or attending school or training of whatsoever kind.
  • You must actively seek work. This can include contacting employers, completing applications in person or online, or other reasonable efforts to secure work.
  • Yous must annals with the DWS Employment Services and you'll exist required to contact a certain number of employers each calendar week.
  • You may be eligible for partial benefits if you work part-time and earn less than 140% of your Weekly Benefit Amount. You lot'll need to report your earnings and whether yous're working full- or part-time.

What if I am denied benefits?

You may be denied benefits for several possible reasons. Some of the more common reasons include:

  • If you lot quit your chore without skilful cause or you're fired for misconduct.
  • Y'all refuse to have work or you refuse a recall after existence laid off.
  • You did non claim your weekly benefits in a timely manner.

After yous utilize for benefits, y'all'll be sent a Discover of Agency Determination, advising yous of the DWS decision. If y'all're butterfingers, yous'll receive an caption. You lot have the right to appeal that conclusion if you then choose.

How do I entreatment a denial of benefits?

If you're denied benefits, you lot tin can file an entreatment with the Arkansas Appeal Tribunal.

To do and then, y'all must visit the nearest DWS local function and complete an appeal form, or you can mail an appeal in writing to

Arkansas Appeal Tribunal P.O. Box 8013
Little Rock, AR 72203

Your entreatment must be submitted inside 20 days of the date that your denial decision was mailed to you lot. Exist sure to clearly state the reasons for your appeal, include your name, address, and Social Security number, and attach a copy of the conclusion that was mailed to you.

While yous're filing an appeal, you should proceed to merits benefits for each week you are unemployed. If your entreatment is approved, yous'll exist paid for those weeks but if you lot've claimed them.

How much volition I exist paid?

Currently, the minimum amount of unemployment benefits you can receive in Arkansas is $81 per week. The maximum is $451 per week. Your weekly benefit corporeality in Arkansas volition be 1 xx-sixth of your earnings in the highest paid quarter of the base catamenia. In Arkansas, you can receive benefits for up to 16 weeks.

You'll exist paid a benefit based on how much your employer paid you during a 12-month period called your Base of operations Period. Information technology is the start four of the last 5 completed calendar quarters prior to the quarter that you file your initial claim. The greater the corporeality of money you earned during your Base Period, the larger your Weekly Benefit Corporeality (WBA) volition be until you lot reach the maximum corporeality payable under Arkansas constabulary.

If you practise not come across minimum wage requirements during your Base Period, you'll be allowed to use earnings from an Alternate Base Period to aid you qualify for benefits. The Alternate Base of operations Catamenia is the four completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the quarter in which the initial claim is filed.

All applicants must serve a Waiting Flow Week. During this week, you must file a merits for benefits, but you will not be paid for that calendar week. Withal, Arkansas waived this waiting period for claims filed from March 16 to April xviii, 2020.

At that place are several types of payments you receive that tin affect your weekly benefit corporeality. These types of income accept to exist reported:

  • Vacation Pay
  • Holiday Pay
  • Sick Pay
  • Paid Time Off
  • Bonus Pay
  • Lump Sum Separation Pay
  • Periodic Separation Pay
  • Pay earned by participating in military drills
  • Retirement Pay

If you do not study these earnings, you lot can be guilty of fraud. If convicted, you could face criminal penalties and will be required to repay any benefits you lot received.

How will I be paid?

When y'all submit your initial claim, yous accept two choices for receiving benefit payments:

  • Debit carte du jour. Later you have claimed your offset payable week, you'll receive your debit card in the mail.
  • Direct eolith. Yous'll demand to have your banking data bachelor when you lot file your initial claim if you want to choose this option.

You'll automatically receive your Unemployment Insurance Benefits on a debit bill of fare unless you choose to receive your benefits through direct eolith. You can find the setup for the payment method on the Confirmation Page.

Do I take to wait for a job to get Arkansas unemployment benefits?

While yous're challenge benefits, you lot must actively seek full-time work. This search can include contacting employers, completing applications in person or online, or other reasonable efforts to secure work.

You'll also annals with the DWS Employment Services and seek out employment opportunities each week. You'll find out how many employers to contact each week after y'all submit your initial application. You'll need to keep a record of your contacts and present them as required by DWS, who will verify your efforts. Yous'll accept to report your job contacts beginning with the 13th or 19th week of unemployment bounty—the week you lot commencement reporting your contacts depends on the expanse where yous live or work.

Federal law requires DWS to offer extra job search assistance to some claimants. This assistance is provided through a Task Search Workshop that helps sharpen your skills in arranging job interviews, filling out applications, and much more. The workshop and materials are gratuitous, and if you consummate the workshop information technology will count equally a chore contact for that calendar week. If you're selected to attend a workshop and pass up or exercise not show up, you could exist denied benefits for the week.

There are certain instances when y'all may be exempted from conducting a work search:

  • If your hours with your last employer have been reduced from full-time to part-time and you work at least eight hours per week for this employer.
  • If a new employer offers y'all full-fourth dimension work that will begin inside ten weeks from the appointment the job was promised. You volition need to provide written verification to DWS from the employer with the job offer and the kickoff appointment.
  • If you accept been laid off or reduced to only office-time piece of work only will be returning to full-fourth dimension work inside 10 weeks
  • If y'all're currently a fellow member in adept standing of a trade matrimony that maintains a full-time hiring hall, your union hiring agent may act as your agent to help y'all meet work search requirements.
  • If y'all're attending approved preparation.
  • If you're required to report for jury duty.
  • If you experience the death of an immediate family member, the work requirement volition be waived for the day of the death and 6 sequent agenda days thereafter.
  • If yous take a compelling personal emergency that requires you to withdraw from the labor marketplace for less than 4 days of the week.

For more than information

For full general information nearly Arkansas Unemployment Insurance benefits, call the state's ArkLine at 501-907-2590. You can too telephone call the Arkansas Partitioning of Workforce Service client line at 855-225-4440 from 8 a.grand. to 4 p.k. (Monday to Fri).

You tin can also get answers to questions by accessing the state's unemployment insurance benefits website ArkNet.

Information is as well available at whatsoever of the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services Local Offices.

Eligibility Team

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