West Virginia Unemployment Benefits, Amount, Services & Filing

West Virginians who experience a layoff or see a substantial reduction in hours will likely be eligible for state unemployment insurance (UI). When they exhaust these benefits, they will be eligible for the federal government's Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), and after they exhaust their PEUC amount, they will qualify for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). Self-employed people or independent contractors will be eligible for PUA.

The one-week waiting period for unemployment compensation has been waived due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The minimum weekly benefit amount (WBA) in West Virginia is $24, while the maximum weekly benefit amount is $424. The WBA is based on the total covered wages a claimant was paid in their base period. The base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the start date of their new claim.

A worker must have been paid wages of at least $2,200 in covered employment during their base period and paid wages in at least two quarters of their base period to be eligible for unemployment compensation benefits. When a worker is not eligible during their regular base period, WorkForce West Virginia will explore the alternate base period to help them establish eligibility.

A claimant can choose to receive payments from WorkForce West Virginia through direct deposit or a Key2Benefits Mastercard. If the claimant chooses the debit card, they can avoid surcharges and transactions fees at Key, Allpoint or WesBanco ATMs. They can also engage in free transactions with tellers at any Mastercard member bank. The first deposit should come within two weeks of a claimant’s initial filing.

West Virginia workers are eligible for 26 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits. To qualify for state unemployment compensation, an individual must have earned wages in West Virginia in the past 12 to 18 months and been paid the minimum amount determined by the state’s guidelines. A worker should file their initial Unemployment Compensation Online at uc.workforcewv.org and select the button,

To File a New/additional Initial Unemployment Claim. If a worker receives a Low Earnings Report from their employer, they can complete the form in person or by mailing it to the nearest unemployment claims office. They must file the form within 10 days of receiving it or lose credit for any weeks they were off work.

A worker who is on a paid furlough, receiving a bonus or being paid for sick leave, annual leave or vacation time, and the payment is above their WBA, is not eligible for unemployment insurance.

An individual claiming unemployment must be able to work full time, available to work full time and actively seeking full-time work for each week. A claimant is required to register with their local job service office or one-stop center before filing for their sixth week of benefits.

An individual who belongs to a union that refers members to jobs through a hiring hall and is in good standing, doing what the union asks to be subject to call when jobs are available, is not required to seek work or complete job service registration.

An individual who is partially employed and receiving benefits with a Low Earnings Report is not required to look for another job or take a job offered by another employer, but they must be available for full-time work as it is available through their employer.

When a worker exhausts their UI benefits, they are eligible for 53 weeks of PEUC or until the program, which was continued by the American Rescue Plan Act, expires on September 4, 2021.

PUA is available to individuals who do not qualify for regular unemployment, such as gig workers and independent contractors. In addition, an individual is eligible for PUA if they received a diagnosis of COVID-19, are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, or are caring for a family member of their household who has received a diagnosis of COVID-19. PUA is available for 79 weeks or until the program expires on September 4, 2021.

WorkForce West Virginia offers assistance to job seekers online and in person. WorkForce centers around the state are open, and job seekers can review WorkForce’s online and in-person job fairs and hiring events. MACC is West Virginia’s largest job database. It is set up to help applicants find jobs in their local area.

A claimant can earn up to $60 per week without having money deducted from their WBA. If they earn more than that, WorkForce West Virginia will deduct the earnings dollar for dollar from their weekly benefit amount. A claimant should report their return to work to WorkForce West Virginia.

After a claimant has submitted an application for unemployment benefits, they can file their weekly claim certification online in their WorkForce account or by calling 800-379-1032. A claimant must file their claim certification weekly to remain active. They must submit their weekly claim certification between Sunday 12:01 a.m. and Friday 5 p.m. They are filing for the prior week.

Before the pandemic, an individual was required to search for work every week. They also had to keep a record of their work search activity on the Job Contact Record provided to them. This requirement was temporarily waived early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is likely to return at a later point. Claimants should be ready to resume work searches as well as register with the WorkForce West Virginia Employment Service when notified of a change in the weekly certification process.

The U.S. Department of Labor gave WorkForce West Virginia a $7.4 million National Emergency Grant to provide retraining and reemployment services to dislocated coal miners and displaced homemakers that have been affected by mass layoffs and coal mine closures. The funds are meant to help participants find new career paths outside of the coal mining industry and long-term reemployment opportunities. Participants can receive up to $5,000 per person to get Classroom Occupational Skills Training in a job expected to be in high demand, such as welding or HVAC. A participant who meets the training program attendance requirements is eligible for training allowances to cover the cost of gas, food, child care and other items up to $20 per day, with a total of $100 per week.

The National Emergency Grant is not unemployment compensation, but funds for a particular program available to individuals who would otherwise claim unemployment compensation. When an individual receives training, they must certify that they started the training when certifying weekly. Their answers on the weekly certification questionnaire clarify what they have been doing that week.

A displaced homemaker is a person who has provided unpaid services to family members in the home and was dependent on the income of another family member. They are now no longer supported by that income and are unemployed or underemployed. A displaced homemaker can be a spouse or other member of the family living in the home.

West Virginia public schools have reopened for in-person learning. If the number of COVID-19 cases linked to schools increases, districts may see closures. A parent or guardian may not claim unemployment benefits if they choose not to return to work because they want their child to engage in distance learning. A parent or guardian may claim unemployment benefits if their child’s school closes and they need to stay home to care for their child until the school reopens.

A claimant who disagrees with the decision regarding the amount of their WBA or a denial of unemployment compensation should file an appeal. They must file the appeal with their local WorkForce office within eight calendar days of the mailing date of the determination. A claimant will receive a notice of hearing regarding the appeal hearing. The hearing may be held in person or by phone. If the hearing is by phone, it will clearly be marked as such on their notice.

The claimant must call the Board of Review as soon as they receive the hearing notice and any time up to two days before the hearing date to leave their phone number. It is important that they not wait until the hearing time to call the Board of Review. The claimant should be prepared for a possible delay if the judge has difficulty contacting all parties.

Claimants should be aware that WorkForce West Virginia has received thousands of fraudulent applications for PUA. Many of these applications are related to incidents of identity fraud. Hackers are using personal identifying information accessed in the 2017 Equifax data breach, including names, addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers and driver's license numbers. Once an unemployment claim is filed, WorkForce West Virginia automatically sends the claimant a debit card in the mail.

In June 2020, WorkForce stopped allowing claimants to use a prepaid card or personal account for the deposit of their initial unemployment benefits. In order for a card or account to receive money, a WorkForce West Virginia staffer must verify a claimant’s identity and income. A person who did not file for PUA, but received a Key Bank card from WorkForce West Virginia in the mail, should report the unemployment fraud to WorkForce and destroy the card.

A claimant engages in unemployment fraud when they fail to report required or truthful information to WorkForce West Virginia, particularly their weekly earnings. A claimant who makes a false statement will be penalized from receiving benefits for 52 weeks. Further, WorkForce West Virginia will add a 20 percent penalty to an individual’s overpayment amount. If the individual fails to pay the overpayment, the state will report the amount owed to a credit bureau as a debt.

An individual could also be prosecuted in criminal court for failing to report complete and accurate information. Each false claim is a separate offense. For example, filing three weekly certifications without sharing that the individual worked during those weeks can cause them to be charged with three separate criminal acts.

As of mid April 2021, West Virginia does not have a WorkShare Program. This type of program allows an employer to reduce hours for a group of employees in order to retain all the employees. The state legislature has legislation before it that would create a work-sharing program. If the bill is signed into law, an employer could follow a work-sharing plan for up to a year to reduce their employees’ hours by 10 to 60 percent.

An individual who has received an overpayment of unemployment compensation can request that their obligation to repay the debt be waived by submitting a request for waiver of overpayment form. The claimant must explain why they were not at fault in causing the overpayment and explain why it would be unfair for them to have to repay the overpayment. They must submit a financial affidavit that lists all the monthly income for their household and also explains what monthly expenses they have.