UI Claimants Handbook
UI Claimants Handbook
UI
FRAUD
Fraud
Employment Security Division
Top 10 Things you should
know...
about Unemployment Insurance (UI)
when filing your claim in Nevada
2. Report Any Wages You Earn. You must report all gross wages
(before any deductions) in the week they are earned, regardless of
when the wages will be paid. Failure to report wages is consid-
ered fraud, which is a felony in Nevada. Be sure to accurately re-
port all earnings on your weekly claim certification – even those from
self-employment, part-time, or temporary work.
10. Ask For Help. Navigating through the UI system can be con-
fusing. If you have additional questions, please visit our website or
contact a Telephone Claim Representative for assistance.
UI
FRAUD
Fraud
Long Distance
or
Interstate
(888) 890-8211
Unemployment Facts
Monetary Requirements
WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM?
Nevada employers pay all costs of Unemployment Insurance. There
is no deduction from your wages.
WHAT TYPES OF CLAIMS ARE THERE?
• A regular Unemployment Insurance claim—Nevada wages only.
Unemployment Insurance Facts 3
or
2. Wages in each of at least three of the four quarters in the past
base period.
Under both conditions, you must earn at least $400 in the high quarter.
Please note: If wages are reported for you that you did not earn, you
must report this fact to the Nevada Telephone Claim Center.
A claim may be cancelled for any reason before the 11-day final-
ity date on the monetary determination. Requests should be made
in writing.
Your base period is the shaded area. Please notice the first quar-
ter is dropped and the most recently completed quarter is used.
Use of the alternate base period is not a choice. The alternate base
period may only be used if you are not eligible for any benefits using the
first four of the last five completed quarters to calculate your benefit
amount.
If you had an on-the-job injury, you may also be entitled to an
extended base period claim that uses wages prior to your injury. Your
claims representative will explain the requirements to you.
Your Claim
Eligibility Requirements
affect your UI eligibility, and they will allow you an opportunity to remove the
barrier if possible.
An Eligibility Review Form is used during the RESEA and REAnv appoint-
ments to obtain information from you about your availability for work and
your plans to find work. The form must be completed and returned as
instructed as well as providing your work search activity record. Failure to
complete and return the forms as instructed may result in delay of payment
or denial of benefits.
Subsequent follow-up appointments may be scheduled to discuss work
search efforts, reemployment plan accomplishments, potential barriers, and
provide additional services or referrals. Failure to attend a follow-up appoint-
ment may result in a delay payment or denial of benefits.
PROGRAM EXEMPTION
Claimants who have been granted a waiver of work search from UI,
including members of a hiring hall union, claimants on a temporary layoff
returning to work for their previous employer within four weeks from initial
claim filing, or claimants covered under the Illness & Disability provision, are
excluded from RESEA/REAnv selection.
WHAT IF I REFUSE REEMPLOYMENT SERVICES?
Public Law 103–152 specifies that an individual who is determined likely
to exhaust unemployment benefits and will need job search
assistance must be referred to such services. If you are offered
reemployment assistance by a Worker Profiling and Reemployment
Services Representative and refuse to participate without a justifiable
reason, it may result in a delay or denial of benefits.
THE CAREER ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM (CEP)
The Career Enhancement Program (CEP), sponsored by Nevada employ-
ers, is a training and employment program designed to assist
Unemployment Insurance claimants to return to work through intensified
work search or job skill training that enhances their employability.
The purpose of the program is to place program-qualified, job-seeking
clients into training and retraining programs designed to increase their
potential for employment, and decrease the probability of future unemploy-
ment. It also ensures that Unemployment Insurance claimants continue to
meet eligibility requirements to receive benefits.
You may be randomly selected for the CEP. Should this be the case, you
will receive a letter stating that you have been selected to participate in the
program. Make sure to follow the instructions on the letter, as failure to do
so may cause your claim to be delayed.
However, if you are not randomly selected for the CEP, you may contact
your JobConnect office CEP representative to inquire about becoming a
CEP volunteer.
10 Unemployment Insurance Facts
Reporting Requirements
Wages include:
• Commissions
• Tips
• Cash/Casual Labor
• Cash Value of Meals (meal allowance per pay)
• Lodging (work in exchange for rent)
• Dividends paid to a Corporate Officer
• Profit Sharing
• Severance/Vacation/Wages-in-lieu/Holiday pay
• 401K and other Deferred Plans
• Other type of compensation for services (working off a debt)
• Military active duty
• Residual pay
• Back pay awards
• Bonus payments
Reporting your tip income correctly is not difficult. You should keep a
daily tip record. The value of noncash tips, such as tickets, passes or other
items of value, is also considered wages.
Seventy-five (75) percent of your gross weekly earnings will be deducted
from your weekly benefit amount each week you report earnings. You will
not receive benefits for any week your earnings equal or exceed your
weekly benefit amount or if you are working full time. While you are work-
ing part time or on call, you must seek other full-time work.
If you work and become unemployed, you must contact the Telephone
Claim Center or use our Internet Claim Filing system to reopen your claim.
12 Unemployment Insurance Facts
ADDRESS CHANGES
The United States Postal Service will not forward Unemployment
Insurance (UI) Debit Cards and other important UI related documen-
tation. It is a requirement that you change your address when you
relocate (even within the same city and state) and keep your telephone
number up to date. Failure to update your address may result in a delay
or a denial of your benefits.
You can update your address yourself using the Internet UI Claims
System, also known as CSS, at ui.nv.gov. After you log in to CSS, you
arrive on the “Customer Menu” screen. On the left-hand side of the
“Customer Menu” screen, click on the “Claimant Homepage” link
located at the top of the screen. Click on the Change Personal Info
link that will allow you to update your address. This screen will also
allow you to update your e-mail address, name, and registration
information.
number when you relocate. See the Address Changes section of this
book.
Benefits cannot be paid to you if you reside in a country with which
the U.S. has no UI agreement. Foreign residency does not allow you to
readily register for work and continue to report to an Employment
Service’s Office or a hiring hall union.
REOPENING A CLAIM
WHAT HAPPENS TO MY CLAIM WHEN I RETURN TO WORK OR
IF I JUST QUIT FILING?
A benefit claim is valid for one year from the time you filed for unem-
ployment insurance benefits. If you stopped filing because of work or for
any other reasons within your benefit year, payments will stop until you
reopen your existing claim.
If you wish to reopen your existing claim, you must do so following
your separation from work and/or the week in which your gross earnings
are less than your weekly benefit amount. Separation information and
dates of employment are required for your last two employers, or your
last two on-call, temporary, or union assignments. Your reopened claim
will become effective from the Sunday of the week in which you reacti-
vate your claim. Remember to file your weekly claim to receive benefits.
Benefit Rights
UI
FRAUD FRAUD
• Using a name and/or Social Security number other than your own
legal name and the number issued to you by the Social Security
Administration to file a claim for benefits.
In an effort to ensure that no one else claims benefits using your
name and Social Security number, the Division will ask you personal
identifying information. This information is compared against records
on file with other government agencies, including the Department of
Motor Vehicles and the Social Security Administration, to verify your
identity. This information is kept strictly confidential and is used to pro-
tect you from identity theft. You may also be asked to complete an
identity affidavit, which must be notarized and mailed back to the
Division. You may also be asked to report in person for verification of
your identity. Failure to complete and return the form as instructed, or
to appear for an appointment to verify your identity, may result in delay
of payment or denial of benefits.
Employers report the names and Social Security numbers of their
newly hired employees. The Employment Security Division’s computer
system matches the employer’s information with benefit payments and
investigates all cases where it appears a person worked at the same
time they filed for unemployment benefits. The Division also verifies
work search activities, school attendance, and job separations. You
MUST tell us about anything that keeps you from working or looking for
work. You MUST truthfully answer all questions that affect your rights
to benefits. Withholding information is just as serious as giving false
information. If you knowingly make a false statement or fail to disclose
information to get benefits, you may be prosecuted. If you are found
to have committed fraud, you WILL be disqualified until all money
is repaid, plus any penalties and interest. The Nevada Employment
Security Division has legal authority to intercept your Federal
Income Tax Refund, garnish your paychecks and prosecute you for
felony theft.
REPORTING UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE FRAUD
If you have any information about unemployment fraud, please con-
tact our Investigation Unit at (775) 684-0475 and select option 4, or you
may submit a tip on the Division’s website https://uifraud.nvdetr.org.
The information you provide will be kept confidential.
WHAT IF I AM OVERPAID?
Occasionally, benefits are improperly paid. Overpayments may occur
for a variety of reasons that may include, but are not limited to, claimant
error, appeal reversals, fraud, failure to report earnings or income, or
Division errors. All overpaid benefits must be repaid to the Division.
IF YOU ARE OVERPAID UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE BENE-
18 Unemployment Insurance Facts
FITS, the Division will notify you. If you were not at fault for creation
of the overpayment, the Division may withhold your weekly benefit
entitlement and apply that amount to repay the overpayment. You may
be eligible for a reduced weekly withholding. Contact the Benefit
Payment Control Collections office at (775) 684-0475 to discuss your
eligibility for this option. You may also apply for this option through the
Telephone Claim Center.
NON-DISCLOSURE
The Division will take civil and criminal action to collect fraud over-
payments if no repayment is received.
Benefits may not be withheld to repay the fraudulent amount
received except in circumstances where you have been making good-
faith efforts to repay the amount overpaid and subsequently become
unemployed through no fault of your own, upon approval of the
Administrator. This change in the law has the effect of leaving a person
disqualified for fraud ineligible until they repay all benefits received due
to the fraud, as well as any penalties and interest. Nevada has legal
authority to intercept any Federal Income Tax refund you may be due
to recover fraudulent overpayments that have not been repaid and can
require your employer to recover on behalf of the Division by garnish-
ing your paycheck up to 25% of your pay.
REPAYMENT
You will be directed to repay the amount by mailing in a check or
money order made payable to the Nevada Employment Security
Division. Be sure your name and Social Security number is written on
your check or money order. However, if you are unable to pay the
amount in full, a repayment agreement can usually be arranged that will
allow you to repay the overpaid amount in monthly installments.
If you feel that repaying the overpayment would cause you extreme
hardship, you may request that the overpayment amount be waived.
Waiver request must be in writing and include all financial and/or per-
sonal circumstances to support your claim of hardship. Waivers
CANNOT be granted if the overpayment is due to fraud or willful
non-disclosure, regardless of the hardship.
BANKRUPTCY
Unemployment insurance benefit overpayments are eligible to be
discharged via bankruptcy if the overpayment is not due to fraud or
willful non-disclosure. Should you file bankruptcy, you must advise the
court as to why you were overpaid. If you fail to disclose a fraudulent
act that resulted in the receipt of benefits, the court may dismiss your
bankruptcy petition.
Unemployment Insurance Facts 19
APPEALS
You have the right to file an appeal to any amount overpaid. If your
overpayment was caused by a determination, you must appeal the
Notification of Overpayment letter. You must file your appeal within the
date requirements stated on the Notification of Overpayment. You will
be notified of the date and time of the appeal hearing.
I M P O R TA N T
CAN I RECEIVE INFORMATION FROM MY
CLAIM FILE?
While you are filing for benefits, you will receive important doc-
uments about your claim. Keep these documents for your records
in case you need information about your claim to give to other
agencies, insurance, mortgage and credit card companies, future
employers, etc. If you misplace the documents you have
received, some of the documents sent to you can be obtained by
clicking on the “Determination History” link found on the
“Customer Menu” screen after you have logged in to CSS.
Confidentiality and disclosure of information—The
Employment Security Division is restricted by law, in most cases,
from providing copies of claim documents, answering question-
naires or verifying information about your claim. For this reason,
it is very important for you to keep copies for your records of all
documents and messages you receive about your claim.
Although you may have originally provided the information, the
Division may not be able to give information about your claim to
you or anyone else if you need it for the purposes listed above.
Making Purchases
Purchase with a signature:
• Present or swipe your card.
• Choose “credit”.
• Sign, take your card and receipt.
Purchase with a PIN (Personal Identification Number):
• Swipe your card.
• Choose “debit” and enter your PIN.
• If needed, ask for cash back.
• Take your card, cash and receipt.
Accessing Cash
Getting Cash at an ATM:
• Insert your card and enter your PIN.
• Select “checking” and enter the amount to withdraw.
• Take your card, cash and receipt.
To get cash at a bank or credit union that accepts MasterCard:
• Verify your available balance.
• Present your prepaid debit card and ID to the teller.
• Request the dollar amount you want from your balance.
• Take your card, cash and receipt.
FINDING A JOB
You MUST complete a weekly work search activity record for each
week you file for unemployment benefits. It is your responsibility to
provide the required information. Work search activity records may be
reviewed at any time by both the Telephone Claim Centers and the
JobConnect Offices, and you may be required to provide supporting
documentation. You must conduct several different work search activ-
ities each week using methods customary to the occupation you are
seeking. Failure to provide weekly work search activity records may
result in a delay or denial of your benefits. A work search activity record
can also be completed at ui.nv.gov.
32 Unemployment Insurance Facts
Unemployment Insurance Facts 33
34 Unemployment Insurance Facts
You must volunteer full information about anything that affects your
claim. Withholding information is just as serious as giving false
information. In any case, money improperly received must be repaid.
Take our word, it’s not worth it!
DETR
Nevada Department of Employment,
Training and Rehabilitation
UI
FRAUD
Fraud
A N G O OD G O
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NM
EN
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TTLE BORN
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INN
N E VA D A
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NEVADA
TAXPAYERS
ASSOCIATION
January 2018
Employment Security Division
500 E. Third Street
Carson City, NV 89713
First Class