I have never applied for unemployment in 40 years. Although I could have. I have been looking for work for 6 m

Question

I have heard that an employer will not hire you if you have done so. Is this correct?

I used to work for a company that was selling background checking services and for a fee a person can find that information plus more.

Answer 1

I have never heard that. I have been on unemployement a couple of times in my life and I never had to justify it to a subsequent employer. You pay money into that fund. A portion of your paycheck goes to Unemployment for you, should you need it. You've been paying the insurance for all these year, use the benefits.

Peace!

PS - Yes, the employer is the one who sends the money, but don't you think they consider it part of the expense of an employee and therefore part of the employee's benefits package? Employers pay for health insurance too - seems the same to me. It's all part of what an employee earns.

Answer 2

Due to the Privacy Act a potential employer should not have access to your history of filing for unemployment insurance (UI). The only parties privileged to such information would be you, the local department responsible for administering benefits and any past employers affected by your claim. I worked for my local office which administered UI for several years and I do not recall one instance of an employer calling to check on a potential employees history of receiving benefits. This is not to say that it has never happened, but I would find it very unlikely and, frankly, a waste of a reasonable employer’s time.

F.A.Q. is right in that UI is not a tax paid by the employee. UI is a tax mandated by law. A “benefit” is something an employer would offer its employees which it is not required by law to offer. An employer cannot elect not to pay UI tax, as it may elect not to offer medical benefits. An employer’s UI tax is a factor of the number of individuals it employees and wages paid. However, the tax paid by the employer is not set aside and earmarked for each individual employee. An employer will always pay a base rate even if no claims are ever filed against it. This base rate is also referred to as the social cost. Social cost is the cost to administer UI; wages for UI employees, office space, emergency funds, special programs, etc. An employer’s UI tax will not be significantly impacted until a former employee receives benefits. An employer’s tax rate will then be augmented to recoup any UI payments made to former employees.

UI was established not only to protect the unemployed, but also to protect the U.S. economy in general and individual employers specifically. The Great Depression was an example of what happens without an insurance program; simply put, unemployed individuals had no money to spend which started a chain reaction of business failures which led to higher unemployment. The UI program helps to protect businesses by keeping money circulating through the economy during an economic downturn.

I know you didn’t ask for this much information, but hopefully your question has been answered. You shouldn’t worry about applying for benefits.

Answer 3

Carole is incorrect. Only employers pay in unemployment insurance taxes. It never comes out of an employees paycheck.

I have never heard of an employer not hiring someone because they have previously drawn unemployment.

Answer 4

it's not correct. no employer can hold you against hiring you on the basis of you collecting unemployment. collect it!!!