Do I Get Extended Unemployment Benefits in Nebraska If I Am a Full Time Student?
- In 2011, after exhausting their usual allotment of up to 26 weeks of unemployment benefits, Nebraska residents can receive an extension. The extension, funded at the federal level, adds 34 weeks in Nebraska for a maximum of 60 weeks overall. The federal funds are due to expire on Jan. 3, 2012, at which point all extensions become unavailable unless Congress votes to authorize continued spending on the program.
- As long as extended benefits remain in effect, they are available to anyone whose initial benefit year ended in May 2007 or after. A recipient's weekly benefit amount will be the same during the extension as it was during regular benefits. Tier I of the extension, formally known as Emergency Unemployment Compensation, pays up to 20 weeks. Tier II pays up to 14 weeks. Further extensions, which are in effect in many states, are not available in Nebraska because of the state's relatively low unemployment rate.
- Full-time students in Nebraska might be ineligible for extended benefits because they might not be eligible for unemployment benefits in the first place. State law prohibits students who regularly attend school from receiving benefits unless they had earned the majority of their qualifying wages while in school. To maintain their eligibility while receiving either regular or extended benefits, students must be able to work a full shift at least four days a week and must not reject any suitable job offer.
- Nebraska residents who have qualified for unemployment benefits and then choose to enroll in a technical or vocational school can receive a waiver allowing them to forgo the usual work-search requirements and continue receiving benefits. They also would be eligible for any available extension of benefits. According to the state labor department, "the training program must give you skills that prepare you for jobs in demand in your area," and cannot be to earn a bachelor's degree or higher. The state will not pay benefits to anyone who has voluntarily quit a job to attend a training program.
