North Dakota Unemployment Benefits

Unemployment Resource

Phone: (888) 263-3453

Eligibility

To be eligible for unemployment benefits you must be monetarily eligible. A claimant establishes monetary eligibility based on work performed during a specific one-year period called the base period.
Also must:

• Be able to work
• Be available for work
• Be actively seeking employment
• Have been separated from employment through no fault of your own.

File a claim

To register for benefits by telephone, call toll-free 1-888-263-3453. Calls are accepted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. central time, Monday through Friday. Call during the week you want your claim to start.

To file your claim you will need to have the following information available:

• Your social security number
• Name, address and telephone number of all employers for whom you worked in the last 18 months or since last registering
• If you have military service in the last 18 months, you need to provide your DD214 (member 4). If registering by phone you need to fax a copy of your DD214 (member 4) to 1-701-328-2728 or mail a copy to JSND CS/CLAIM CENTER, P.O. Box 5507, Bismarck, ND 58506-5507
• If you have Federal Civilian employment in the last 18 months, you need to provide your Standard Form 8 (SF8) and Standard Form 50 (SF50) issued to you by your federal employer. If registering by phone you need to fax a copy of your SF8 and SF50 to 1-701-328-2728 or mail a copy to JSND CS/CLAIM CENTER, P.O. Box 5507, Bismarck, ND 58506-5507
• If you are not a US citizen but are authorized to be employed, your alien identification number
• If you are a union member, the name and local number of your union hall
  • In addition, you need to provide information concerning:
    • Your occupation and skills
    • Wages you are willing to accept
    • Special working accommodations you may need
    • Your geographical location

You will be receiving a Monetary determination in the mail. This form lists the employers you worked for and the wages reported by these employers during the base period of your claim. It also shows the Maximum Benefit Amount (MBA) available on your claim, and your Weekly Benefit Amount (WBA). Please review your wages carefully.

If you think they are wrong, call the Claims Center at 1-888-263-3453 (Monday thru Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time) and a representative will help you request a correction. Your North Dakota claim is available for one year; this is your benefit year . You cannot file another new claim until that year is over. Your benefits, however, may not last the entire year. Unemployment Insurance generally allows for 12 to 26 weeks of benefits.

To receive a benefit check you need to call the Quickline at 1-888-263-3453. A claim week runs from Sunday through Saturday midnight. You may call the Quickline to claim each week of benefits anytime after Saturday midnight, but you must certify your claim within two weeks of starting your claim or within two weeks of the last week you certified on the Quickline.

You must call to certify each week that you desire to claim benefits. You will answer questions about your previous week's work activities using the touch pad of your telephone. (You must use a touch-tone phone when calling the Quickline).

When you certify your weekly claim you need to report the amount of your gross earnings for that week. Gross earnings are your total earnings before any deductions from your check. You must report all earnings, even if you have not yet been paid. Please refer to the Claimant's Guide for more information about working and receiving unemployment benefits. Requires FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader.

To use Quickline, a personal identification number (PIN) is required. Your PIN protects you so unauthorized persons cannot obtain information about your claim. If you have not established a PIN, call 1-888-263-3453.

Note: The first week you certify and are determined eligible for benefits is called your waiting week. You must certify the week to get credit for your waiting week, even though you will not receive a check for that week. You must certify each week that you desire to claim benefits.

If a question or issue comes up about your eligibility for benefits, we will either send you a letter requesting information or conduct a telephone interview to obtain the necessary information to make a decision. Continue to certify each week by calling 1-888-263-3453 while waiting for a decision.

We will send you a written decision about your eligibility for benefits. Benefits may not be paid until a decision is made. If you or your former employer disagrees with the decision, an appeal can be filed. Instructions for filing an appeal will be included with the decision. Additional information can also be found in the Guide to Unemployment Insurance Appeals.

Your weekly benefits are based on earnings from employers who pay unemployment insurance on your wages earned in a specific period of time called a base period. You may be eligible for 12 to 26 weeks of benefits depending on the wages reported in your base period. This can be paid out througout your 52-week benefit year.

What if I disagree with the amount of money you show I earned during the base period?

There could be many reasons why the information about the wages you earned during your base period could be incorrect. If you believe the wages to be incorrect or if wages are missing, you may request a wage investigation of your earnings during the base period. If, after the wage investigation results are provided to you, you still disagree with the monetary determination, you may file an appeal within 10 days of the determination's mailing date.

To request a wage investigation, call 1-888-263-3453.

Source: North Dakota Department of Labor