After your application for unemployment insurance benefits is approved by the Utah Department of Workforce Services, you can start to actually collect your benefits. But you can’t just sit back and wait for the money to hit your bank account: You must meet certain continuing eligibility requirements to qualify for benefits every week. After your initial claim for unemployment benefits is approved in Utah, you will receive benefits only if you:
- are unemployed or underemployed (generally, earning no more than roughly what you receive in weekly benefits)
- are able and available to work
- are actively looking for work, and
- file to continue to receive benefits.
Unemployed Or Underemployed
You have to be unemployed or earning significantly less than you used to (also called being “underemployed”) to remain eligible for unemployment benefits. You have to report any earnings from work to the Utah Department of Workforce Services when you file your weekly benefits claim. You will still receive some benefits if you earn less than your regular weekly benefit amount in a given week (although your benefits will be reduced). Some states will allow you to continue receiving benefits even if you earn a bit more than your regular weekly benefit amount. You will be allowed to set aside some of what you earn (the amount varies from state to state). The rest will be subtracted from your usual weekly benefit amount, and you will receive the difference. Check Claimant Guide: Unemployment Insurance Benefits for information on reporting your earnings and how partial unemployment benefits are calculated.
Able and Available To Work
You have to be able to work and available for jobs that you can do in order to collect unemployment in Utah. Some states allow people who become disabled or ill after applying for unemployment benefits to continue to receive benefits, at least for a period of time. Check Claimant Guide: Unemployment Insurance Benefits to find out how Utah defines “able” to work for unemployment benefits purposes.
You also must be available to accept suitable work. Whether a job is suitable depends on where the job is located, your prior training, physical fitness, experience, and prior earnings level, among other things. Some states will require you to accept work that is increasingly outside of your geographical area, salary range, and/or skill set once you’ve been collecting unemployment for a certain number of weeks. Check Claimant Guide: Unemployment Insurance Benefits for more information about what is considered a suitable job in Utah. If you turn down an offer for a job Utah considers suitable, you will no longer be eligible for benefits.
Actively Looking for Work
You have to actively look for work to receive unemployment benefits in Utah. Scanning the want ads while sipping your morning coffee is not enough. You have to check job listings, send in applications, and contact hiring employers. You may be required to register at a state workforce agency, which will allow you to access help putting together a resume, finding job listings, and applying for jobs. Some states require that you make a certain number of job contacts per week. See Utah’s Work Search Requirements section of the Claimant Guide: Unemployment Insurance Benefits to learn more about its work search requirements, what records you will need to keep, and how you must report them.
Filing To Continue To Receive Benefits
You must file with Utah Department of Workforce Services to receive weekly benefits. See Weekly Claim Filing Instructions section of the Claimant Guide: Unemployment Insurance Benefits, at the Utah Department of Workforce Services website, for detailed information on how to file your claims.