Unemployment Resource
File a claim
Unemployment insurance is a benefit available to persons out of work through no fault of their own. It replaces part of the income you lose when you become unemployed. It is financed entirely by covered employers.
Unemployment insurance claims can be filed via the Web at http://wyui.doe.state.wy.us. If you live in Wyoming, claims can be filed by calling the Wyoming Claims Center at 1-307-473-3789. If you live outside Wyoming, you can file a claim by calling the Claims Center at 1-866-729-7799.
You will be required to certify for each week of unemployment. You will receive benefits for each eligible week that you claim until your benefits are exhausted. Each of these weeks is called a benefit week.
You may claim your benefits by filling out the payorder which is sent to you every two weeks, or you may choose to claim your benefits using the voice response system. Claims are filed bi-weekly. They need to be filed no later than the Friday following the week-ending date on the payorder. They cannot be filed until the Sunday after the week-ending date. Thus, you have a period from Sunday through the next Friday to file a timely payorder.
Full benefits can be paid no longer than 26 weeks during your benefit year. If you have weeks with reduced benefits because of other income, benefits could last as long as a year. The actual number of weeks depends on your base period earnings and the maximum allowed by Wyoming statutes.
You need to report your earnings each week and continue to search for other work. Your weekly benefit amount will be reduced when your earnings exceed half of your weekly benefit amount. You will not be paid benefits for the week if your earnings equal or exceed your weekly benefit amount or if you work 35 or more hours that week. If you request that your hours be reduced, this may be considered a voluntary quit, which may disqualify you from receiving benefits.
Unemployment Insurance benefits are considered taxable income for Federal Income Tax purposes. You have the option of having 10% of your benefits withheld and sent to the Internal Revenue Service. You may change your choice on this option once in your benefit year. You are responsible for any taxes owed on these benefits.
You will be issued a Form 1099G at the end of January showing the amount of benefits paid to you. The 1099G is not reduced by any repayments you may have made for overpaid benefits. Therefore, if you repaid any benefits, you must maintain your record of payments, such as receipts and canceled checks to make adjustments to your taxable income and as documentation for the Internal Revenue Service when you file your tax return. Contact the UI division if you did not keep receipts and need assistance in furnishing documentation for tax purposes.
You have a choice of how to file your bi-weekly claims. You may file by telephone using the Interactive Voice Response line. The number is (307) 473-3893. You may also mail your pay order to the Wyoming Department of Employment, P.O. Box 2479, Casper, WY 82602.
In either case, you are filing for two weeks at the same time. The weeks that you are filing for are printed on the payorder. They are also repeated on the phone.
You have the right to file a protest or appeal any disqualifying determination. The appeal must be postmarked within 15 days of the date the determination notice was mailed to your address of record. Your appeal must be in writing. If a hearing is held, you need to be willing to attend, by phone or in person. The hearing will give you and other interested parties the opportunity to tell all sides of the story. The hearing officer will later issue a written decision.
Source: Wyoming Department of Employment
