Unemployment Resource
Phone: (800) 292-6333
Eligibility
When you first apply for benefits, you are filing a new claim application. A review of your work history will be used to determine if you had sufficient insured work to establish a benefit year. A benefit year is the one-year period during which unemployment benefits may be available to you.
Your benefit year begins on Sunday, the first day of the week in which you file your claim. If you have sufficient earnings from insured work to establish benefits, you will be entitled to receive benefits for weeks you are either totally or partially unemployed and meet all requirements.
The amount you can receive is based upon the wages you earned during your base period. Your base period is the 12-month period consisting of the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the beginning date of your claim. Insured work is work that you have done for employers who are required to pay unemployment insurance tax on your wages.
To qualify for a claim, you must have wages in at least two of the four base period calendar quarters and your total wages in your base period must be at 30 times your calculated weekly benefit amount.
You may be an insured worker and still be ineligible or disqualified for benefits. Some common reasons benefits cannot be paid:
- a medical condition prevents you from seeking or accepting work immediately
- you are not available to seek or accept work immediately
- you are receiving worker's compensation for permanent or temporary total disability
- you are an alien without proper work authorization and not permitted to work
- you have placed unreasonable restrictions on the wages, hours, days, or locations of a job you will accept
- you are not looking for work
- you did not report for, or satisfactorily participate in, re-employment services when told to do so
- you are involved in a strike or labor dispute
- self-employed, if it prevents you from seeking or accepting work
- attending school or training, unless it meets the requirements for approved training
- you are a professional athlete
- you are on a leave of absence
- you are a school employee
- refusal of suitable work
- were discharged or fired from your job for misconduct connected with your work
- quit your job for reasons which were not good cause related to the work or employer
- This is a partial list of reasons you may be disqualified or ineligible for benefits.
You must register for work with your local Workforce Development Center / Job Service Office within seven days of filing your claim application, if instructed to do so when filing a claim application. You can register at www.kansasjoblink.com on the Internet by selecting "Staff Assisted Services" or by visiting a workforce development center in your area. If you have previously registered with your local workforce development center, you can activate your registration using either of these two methods. Free Internet access is available through many public organizations, such as Job Service offices, public libraries and some schools.
File a claim
You may file a new claim or reopen an existing claim for unemployment insurance through our online Internet claim application or by telephone through a regional call center. You can access the online application by logging on to www.kansasjoblink.com and following the links to the unemployment insurance claim application.
Internet applications may be filed any hours except 2 to 4 a.m., Central time, Monday through Friday and 6 a.m. to noon on Sunday. If you choose to file a claim application by telephone, you may call a regional call center between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Central time, Monday through Friday, except holidays.
If filing through a regional call center, you may use a touch-tone phone or a phone that has a Pulse/Tone switch to enter your responses. If you are using a phone that has a PULSE/TONE switch, be sure the switch is set to TONE after your call is answered. Most public pay phones can access our system.
The telephone numbers for our regional call centers are listed in the back of the Unemployment Insurance Benefits booklet and under What Are The Numbers To Call To Claim My Benefits By Phone?. When you telephone a regional call center, your call will be answered by an automated Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system.
The initial claims IVR is available from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Saturday. If you call outside of normal office hours, you will be able to complete the automated portion of your claim application.
Your claim information will be saved for seven days, allowing you to call back during normal office hours to complete your application or you may complete filing through the Internet claim application. To complete your claim by telephone, select option 2 to file an application for unemployment insurance benefits.
After we verify your identity, we will retrieve your record and your call will be transferred to the first-available claims representative for completion of your claim.
The Internet claims and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems require you to enter a four-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) to file a claim or to access your records. Your PIN is your electronic signature and it will help prevent another person from obtaining information about your claim or filing against your claim.
You will assign yourself a PIN the first time you use our telephone or Internet claims systems. You will enter and verify the number you choose as your PIN. Be sure to select a PIN that is easy for you to remember since you must use the same number each time you file a claim application or weekly claim or to inquire about your benefits.
Do not use 0000 or 9999 for your PIN. Do not use numbers in a sequence (such as, 1234) or numbers in the same sequence (such as, 1111 or 2222). Because you are responsible for its use, it is important that you never reveal your PIN to anyone.
If you forget your PIN or you believe someone else knows your PIN, telephone a regional call center immediately for assistance to change it.
When filing a new claim, you will need to provide the complete name and address for each employer for whom you have worked during the last 18 months. You must also provide the date you began working and the date you last worked for each employer.
You will be asked to provide your driver's license or state-issued identification number, if you have one. If you are not a U.S. citizen or National, you will be asked to provide your alien registration number and the date your work authorization expires.
If you file a claim for benefits through the Internet claim application, you will be able to complete the entire process online in most cases. If you file by telephone through a regional call center, you will enter basic information through an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, then you will speak to a claims representative to complete your claim.
In either case, your claim will be effective the Sunday of the week in which you contact the office. Do not delay in filing your claim. After you file your claim, a form called Unemployment Insurance Determination will be mailed to you. This form will show:
- The beginning date of your claim
- Your base period
- The amount of wages for insured work paid by each employer
- Your weekly benefit amount
- Your total benefit amount
If you believe that wages on your determination are listed incorrectly or wages are missing, contact a regional call center for assistance. You will be asked to provide proof of the correct wages, such as check stubs, W-2 statements or other documents. Failure to provide the required information may cause you to lose the right to use these additional wages. You must continue to claim benefits while your wages are being checked.
The Unemployment Insurance Determination is meant to inform you whether you have sufficient earnings to establish benefits. It does not mean that you will receive checks. If a determination of your eligibility to receive benefits is necessary, you will be informed of this and the determination will be made at a later time.
When you file a claim, report all employment you have had in the last 18 months, including employment in any other state, military service and federal employment. Provide complete addresses and dates of all employment. If you served in the military in the last 18 months, you will be asked to provide information from your DD-214, Member 4; if you had federal civilian employment, you will be asked to provide information from your Standard Form 8 (SF-8) and Standard Form 50 (SF-50).
We will request wage information from the other state(s), your branch of service or the federal government for use on your claim. If you do not have sufficient base period wage credits to be entitled without these wages, your claim will be delayed until we receive the requested payroll information. Your monetary entitlement will be re-determined when we receive the requested wage information and an Unemployment Insurance Determination listing these wages will be mailed to you.
These claims must be filed through a regional call center to insure that we obtain all information necessary to establish your claim properly.
To calculate your weekly benefit amount, multiply your highest base period quarter wages by 4.25 percent. If the amount is higher than the current statutory maximum weekly benefit amount, the maximum weekly benefit amount becomes your weekly benefit amount. If the figure is less than the current minimum weekly benefit amount, the minimum weekly benefit amount becomes your weekly benefit amount.
To calculate your total benefit amount, a) multiply your weekly benefit amount times 26; and b) divide the total of the base period wages by three. Compare these two answers. Your total benefit amount is the lesser of these two answers. The total amount of benefits available to you cannot exceed 26 times your weekly benefit amount. This means that your benefits will end when all benefits are paid, even if your benefit year hasn't ended.
If you are filing a claim now and have filed a claim previously, you cannot be paid on the new claim unless you have worked since filing the previous claim. You should contact a claims representative in the regional call center if you have questions about this requirement.
Regional Call Centers
Office Hours: 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Central time, Monday through Friday, Except Holidays
- Filing New or Reopened Claims
- Change of Address
- Assistance to reset your Personal Identification Number (PIN)
- Filing new claims for Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA)
Weekly Claims Line
Access to the Weekly Claims Line is available:
Monday: 12:00 a.m.to midnight
Tuesday-Friday: 7:00 a.m. to midnight
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. to midnight
Sunday: 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. and noon to midnight
Kansas Division of Employment Security Regional Call Centers
To file an unemployment insurance claim application, contact:
Kansas City UI Call Center
PO Box 2098
Kansas City, KS 66110-0098
Fax 913-287-1182
To file for benefits or to get claims information:
Local Calling Area 913-596-3500
Outside Local Calling Area 800-292-6333
Topeka UI Call Center
PO Box 3539
Topeka, KS 66601-3539
Fax 785-296-3249
To file for benefits or to get claims information:
Local Calling Area 785-575-1460
Outside Local Calling Area 800-292-6333
Wichita UI Call Center
PO Box 877
Wichita, KS 67201-0877
Fax 316-266-8674 To file for benefits or to get claims information:
Local Calling Area 316-383-9947
Outside Local Calling Area 800-393-6333
Hearing/Speech Impaired TTY Users Only
To file a claim application or for other assistance 1-877-457-5432 or,
Kansas City local number - 913-287-6488
NOTE: The numbers above are to be used to file a new unemployment claim or reopen an existing claim. The numbers are also used if you need to change your address, if you have forgotten your PIN or if you need information not available through the automated system. When you call, please make the appropriate menu selection.
Telephone Inquiry Line
- File weekly claims for benefits
- Obtain claims information, including the date and amount of most recent three checks issued (please allow three working days from the time you file your weekly claim until you call the system to inquire about your benefits) check your weekly benefit amount and balance of your claim.
Access to the Weekly Claims Line is available:
Monday: 12:00 AM to Midnight
Tuesday-Friday: 7:00 AM to Midnight
Saturday: 9:00 AM to Midnight
Sunday: 12:00 AM to 6:00 AM and Noon to Midnight
Kansas City Weekly Claims Line
(913) 287-6913
Topeka Weekly Claims Line
(785) 296-4337
Wichita Weekly Claims Line
(316) 269-0633
