New Hampshire Unemployment Benefits

Unemployment Resource

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for unemployment compensation, you must meet the following requirements in each week:

• You must be totally or partially unemployed. You are totally unemployed for any week in which you did not perform any work and for which you have no wages payable to you. Self-Employment is work and must be reported when you file claims. Work for spouses and/or children, whether compensated or not, must also be reported.
• You must register for work using the NHES Job Match System, to be eligible for benefits, unless you have been specifically exempted. When you enter your Application Resume information into the NHES Job Match System, either online from home or by using a PC in the NHES Resource Center, you have fulfilled the mandatory work registration. The system will conduct a match of your skills against available jobs.
• You must be available for full-time work. This means that with limited exceptions you must be ready and willing to accept full-time work on all shifts and during hours when the work you are qualified to do is normally performed.
• You must be able to perform full-time work. This means that you must be physically and mentally able to work each day of the week. Benefits cannot be paid for any week during which you are unable to work.
• You must actively look for full-time work and keep a list of employers you contact about a job. Each week, you must try to find work on your own by contacting employers who are likely to have work in your usual occupation. If you cannot find work in your regular occupation, you are expected to look for work in other occupations for which you are qualified. If you are only partially employed, you must make a continuing effort to find full-time work.
• You must file timely claims for benefits. You must participate in Re-employment Services if selected by NH Employment Security. You must disclose whether or not you are required to make child support payments, or whether you owe an uncollected over-issuance of food stamp coupons. You must report any offer of work you refuse. Refusal of work may or may not result in disqualification. You must notify NH Employment Security immediately of any change in address or telephone number. Call the Benefit Adjudication Unit (BAU) for instructions at 1-800-266-2252, press option 4 and wait for a Customer Service Representative (or contact your local office).

File a claim

Your claim is your responsibility. Filing a claim is a two-step process. You must complete both steps to be potentially eligible for payment. Once you have opened your claim, either by filing in person at your nearest NHES Office or by telephone if you are filing an interstate claim, then go to step two for filing your continued claim.

Open your claim by filing in person in the office nearest you, unless you are filing an interstate claim. If you are filing an interstate claim see interstate claims. An interstate claim is a claim against New Hampshire, if you worked in New Hampshire, but you live in another state, or if you are filing against another state because you worked in another state and/or recently moved here. Please call 1-800-266-2252 and see interstate claims. If you live in another state, but within 25 miles of a New Hampshire Employment Security office, and you file a New Hampshire claim, you must file your claim for benefits in person in a New Hampshire office.

Step One: Initial Claim: This is the first claim you file after becoming unemployed, your first claim in a benefit year, or the first claim you file after having stopped filing continued claims for whatever reason. It is not a request for compensation, but it serves as a notice to the Department and your employer that you may claim benefits. You must file your initial claim in person;
within three business days after you become unemployed; OR
not later than the last business day of the first week for which you wish to file for benefits; OR
if you were previously assigned a day to file claims, not later than the day of the week previously assigned to file claims

For filing purposes you are considered to be unemployed on the last day you actually work or on the day your work hours are significantly reduced.

Step Two: Continued Claim: Continue your claim by filing for weekly benefits by calling 1-800-266-2252 (or 665-1500 in the Manchester area) after the week is over. Your continued claim is the actual request for payment of benefits that is made after the first calendar week of unemployment is over. (The week is not over until Saturday at midnight.) Your continued claim will usually be filed by telephone. Individuals living outside the Manchester calling area will call 1-800-266-2252. You may call to file your continued claim from 12:01 a.m. Sunday through midnight Friday, except during the hours of 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday. The system is available all day on Sunday, but not available on Saturday.

When you call, you will be routed to an automated system that will ask you many questions. Please listen to all questions carefully. You will be asked to pick a 4-digit PIN number for your private use. This PIN number is your legal signature, and it is important that you do not communicate it to anyone. You will be held responsible for all activities that require your PIN. You may be routed to a Customer Service Representative or Certifying Officer who will take additional information and complete your claim.

The best time to call is other than business hours, and not between 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. You will need to answer two questions (whether you have a touch-tone phone and whether you speak English) before moving to the main menu. Select Option # 2 from the main menu to file your Continued Claim. To be timely, the call must be made no later than six days after the week ending date of the week to be claimed. Your first continued claim will be for a one-week period. Subsequent claims will be filed every other week. Continued claims for two-week periods cannot be filed until after the second Saturday in the two-week period has ended, because we consider the week to end on Saturday. You will have six days after the second Saturday has ended to file your continued claim for this two-week period.

You will be asked to respond to questions using the keypad on your telephone. You should receive a message confirming that your claim was accepted. If you do not receive this confirmation, please call during normal business hours - Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and choose the option for a rotary phone user/or language assistance and stay on the line for a Customer Representative.

If you have a rotary telephone or one of your responses requires us to obtain more information, you will be directed to call during normal business hours. Listen for the option for a rotary phone user and stay on the line for a Customer Service Representative.

If you are told you will be contacted, please allow 72 hours for us to contact you. If we have not done so after 72 hours, please call during business hours and choose Option No. 3 ("check status of claim" option) and wait for a Customer Service Representative.

What do I do if I am unable to file by telephone due to technical difficulties with my phone or the Department's telephone system?

If you are unable to file your continued claim by telephone due to technical difficulties with either your phone or with the Department's telephone system, you are allowed to file your claim by mail, or visit your local office. There is a Continued Claim Form available to print and file your continued claim by mail. The mail claim is only used when you are unable to file your claim by telephone due to technical difficulties or when the Department directs you to file by mail.

If, for any reason, you do not wish to claim benefits for a week, but wish to claim benefits for a subsequent week, you must report to the local office to "restart" your claim. You must report to your local office if you have "Higher Earnings" for a week, whether you claim the week or not. "Higher Earnings" means you worked and made more than 30% more than your Weekly Benefit Amount. You would report to your local office after the week in which you worked ends.

Get ready for filing your initial claim by telephone! First, before you make the call, please have this information ready:

• Your Social Security Number
• Address (mailing and home address)
• Telephone Number
• Alien Registration Number (if you are not a U.S. Citizen)
• Amount of separation, holiday, sick, or retirement pay you received or will receive
• Military Form DD-214, member 4 copy (if you were in the military in the past year)
• Form SF-8 (if you worked for the Federal government in the past year)

In addition, for each employer you worked for in the past 24 months, have the following information available when you call:

• Complete name and address of each employer (including zip code) that you worked for
• Payroll address, if different
• Employer's telephone number (including area code)
• Beginning and ending dates of employment (day, month and year)
• Reason for separation

When you file your Interstate Claim, you will open your claim by calling 1-800-266-2252. You will need to answer two questions (whether you have a touch-tone phone and whether you speak English) before moving to the main menu. Select Option No. 4 from the main menu to file a new claim or reopen a claim. Calls are accepted from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Mondays and any day from noon to 1 p.m. are peak business hours and you may experience delays during these times.

You will be routed to a Customer Service Representative who will ask you many questions. Please listen to all questions carefully.

To file your Continued Claim, please refer back to Step Two.

A determination regarding your eligibility will be mailed to you. If you are eligible for any payment, your check is usually mailed the same day as the Determination. If you disagree with any part of any Determination, you may file an appeal of the decision.

If you have a touch-tone phone, our new automated phone service allows you to access specific information about your claim without the need to wait for an available Customer Service Representative. This service is available Monday through Sunday, any hour of the day or night (other than 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.). The system is down on Saturdays and between the hours of 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. everyday and cannot provide you with information during these times.

Dial 1-800-266-2252 (or 665-1500 in the Manchester area) and answer the first two basic questions: Do you have a touch-tone phone? If yes, Press 1. If you need language assistance or have a rotary phone, you are directed to stay on the line. (This question is not asked on Sunday.) Or if you do not have a telephone, you may visit your nearest NHES Resource Center located at NHES Offices across the State and use a touch-tone phone located in their Resource Center with direct access to the Unemployment Claim Line are available without charge.

If you are hearing impaired, call TDD ACCESS: RELAY NH 1-800-735-2964 and the operator will call the Unemployment Claim Line for you. If you do not have a TDD telephone line, visit the center nearest you. A TDD telephone is available in each center for you to use without charge.

You then will select options from the main menu. Press 3 for "Status on claim information" which means specific information about your claim. For the "Status on Claim Information" option, you will be asked to enter your social security number and PIN number. Once your identity has been verified, you will be told:

The date your last check was issued The amount of that check What the next week ending date to be claimed is and be given a reminder of the phone numbers to file your continued claim Questions about Unemployment Compensation in General?

Anyone can call the Unemployment Claim Line. General information is available to all. Access to this general information does not require a PIN. You can call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. After dialing 1-800-266-2252, select Option No. 1 for rotary phone, and then Option No. 5 for "General Information."

After you file your claim, your claim is reviewed and entered into the NHES computer system. Your former employer(s) is/are contacted by mail to verify the information you provided about your separation and any payments received upon separation from employment.

A written Determination will be mailed to you and your employer. If you are eligible for a payment, your check will be mailed the same day as the Determination. If you are unemployed due to lack of work and there are no problems with your claim, you can generally expect to receive your first check within two weeks, after you file for your first week. If you are unemployed for any reason other than lack of work, more time is needed to process your claim. If you or your employer disagree with any part of a Determination, you may file an appeal. Your appeal rights are listed on the Determination.

You may appeal a Determination if you disagree with it. You must appeal within 14 calendar days from the date the Determination was mailed to you. Your Determination will show the date of mailing and the final day for receipt of your appeal by this Department.

You may file an appeal in person or by mail. However, your appeal must be filed in accordance with the following requirements, and your appeal must be filed in writing:

• You may file your appeal in person at the local NHES office where a special appeal form will be provided to you. Bring the document(s) you are appealing with you.
• You may also file by mail by sending a letter to NH Employment Security, stating that you wish to appeal and why. Send a copy of the document(s) you are appealing with your letter. The letter should be sent to:
  • NH Employment Security
    Attn: Appeals Unit
    PO Box 9505
    Manchester, NH 03108-9505

If mailed, your appeal must be postmarked within the 14-day time limit described above.

If your appeal cannot be filed within the 14 days, you should explain the cause of the delay. The time can be extended by the Commissioner only for good cause.

To file a claim by phone for unemployment insurance benefits in New Hampshire, call the NHES office nearest you.

Source: New Hampshire Department of Labor