Feldman (FGCU): Who qualifies for unemployment?

Most of the individuals that qualify for unemployment are usually on the poorer side of the economy.  Yet, at the same time, with the recent recession, many are not.   One for example, is my father.  My father was in the Coast Guard for 28 ½ years and retired as an E9, also known as Master Chief Yeoman, the highest ranking as a Yeoman in the Coast Guard.  When he retired, almost 2 years ago now, he found a job right away working for a Cruise Line.  Then one Monday morning, they told him to get a box, pack up, and leave.  Since then, he has been actively seeking for work for over a year, with no solutions.   Since then, our family income has significantly gone down, even though he is still receiving a retirement pension.  Equally, since he is receiving a retirement pension, it is unfortunately too much to qualify for unemployment.  But is that fair?

                    According to Floridajobs.org regarding unemployment, it states, “Any individual who is currently unemployed or partially unemployed can file a claim.  Two determinations must be made on a claim to determine eligibility.  The first determination will advise the individual if you have had sufficient work and earnings in Florida to establish a monetarily eligible claim.  A monetarily eligible claim does not necessarily mean that you are eligible to receive benefits.  The second determination pertains to the separation from the last or possibly next to the last employer.  The reason for separation from the last employer, possibly the next to the last employer and other eligibility requirements must be examined to determine if you are eligible to receive benefits. This second determination will not be issued until the claim is filed and the claimant has actually certified for weeks of unemployment.”  Claims are only the beginning to applying to receive unemployment.

                    Also according to Floridajobs.org, they explain the minimum requirements to qualify for unemployment. “To establish a monetarily eligible unemployment compensation claim, a person must have worked and earned wages during the first four quarters of the previous five completed quarters prior to filing a claim.  This period of time is called the “base period.”   The base period changes every three months at the beginning of each new quarter starting in January, April, July and October. To qualify monetarily, a person must:

·        Have been paid wages in two or more calendar quarters in the base period;

·        Have total base period wages of at least 1-1/2 times the wages in the quarter having the highest earnings;

·        Have at least $3,400 total wages in the base period. “

These are only the minimum requirements though.  There are many other qualifications and requirements that are involved.  Overall, my point is, is this fair?  Even though my father is receiving a pension and it is something to live off of while unemployed, it essentially is not enough to maintain the lifestyle we lived while he was employed.  Should we have to give up what we had just to make ends meet because of some qualifications on paper? 

Works Cited

State of Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation. State of Florida, Agency for Workforce Innovation. 2010. Web. 22 February 2010

This entry was posted on 23. February 2010 at 02:11 and is filed under Introduction to Sociology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.