Anyone else waiting for unemployment money?

[msallied]

Hi there. I usually post on GD:P, but I figured this question was better for this board.

My husband was let go from his job back in mid-October and we filed for unemployment immediately. Because he was technically terminated (though not due to any wanton disregard or anything under the state guidelines that would result in a denial of benefits), they said it would take 6-8 weeks to render a decision. Has anyone had to wait that long or longer to receive unemployment?

We are both looking for jobs in the meantime (I was a SAHM/freelancer when this happened), and it's been a hard slog trying to get by with zero income for the last month and a half. There are job listings, but it the difficulty seems to be in getting follow-ups or even interviews. I was just wondering if anyone else here has gone through this and if you knew of anything we could do or any appeal we could make to speed up the process at all. We're on government assistance right now, and I want nothing more than to get off of it. Especially TANF, which is a really wearying process in and of itself.

[msallied]

1. PS: That should have read GDP.

I think I got a colon in there. Didn't mean to stick my tongue out at anybody. lol

[kentauros]

2. It happens all the time

;)

Just write it GD-P or GDP and people will know :)

I'm on UI in Texas since last May and they wouldn't give me anything for a while because I got a severance package (two weeks' pay.) Of course, that amount was far more than the weekly UI amount, so I had to wait 5-6 weeks before it kicked in. But, it gave me more incentive to finally get the divorce paperwork done and get my past-wife off my bank account and that drain on the "income".

I haven't had any interviews, either, but a good friend said this is the worst time of year to get any responses anyway. Businesses are still getting their budgets together for the coming year and aren't ready to start hiring again. The beginning of the year is when they will finally start noticing us.

Good luck in your searches and making it through. I'm sure things will work out for y'all :)

[JoDog]

3. My roommate

just got his first extension after a year unemployed. However, in that switch, he loses a week of benefits, and his amount goes from about $1000 a month to around $800.

At the beginning, he had to wait while his former employer contested. I don't think that it was as long as 6-8 weeks. It may be that the influx of cases is slowing everything down.