Adventures in unemployment
May. 26th, 2009 11:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fbhjrWhen I was laid off two months ago I was eligible for unemployment insurance, for which I quickly registered.
One of the requirements for it is that you keep a record of where, when and how you look for a job. No problem, I would have anyhow.
You have to show that you have done at least three things each week to look for a job. Again, no problem.
There is an on-line form to use to keep the record with the useful statement of “do not submit this form until requested” on it.
When I filed my weekly status as still having no job on Sunday, it popped up with a little note saying “it is now time to turn in your job search record.”
What it did not say was: where do I sent it?
No address, real or electronic, was listed on the site.
I did a search of the entire unemployment department web site.
4 references to form. All 4 say “do not submit this form until requested” and nothing else.
So, I called.
The 38 minute estimated wait on hold did not encourage me.
So, I said to myself “when you’re out and about today, just swing my the unemployment office in Worcester and drop it off.”
I go to the office at 1, just as their lunch break was ending. The 17 people in front of me in line got there a bit earlier...
I was tempted to come back later, but I heard someone behind me in line say “this is just as bad as the last time I tried”. So, I thought I might as well sit it out.
Finally, I got to the front of the line.
“Hello,” I said to the woman behind the counter. “I was told I have to turn in my job search worksheet, but can’t find anything about where to send it.”
“So, why did you bring it here?” She asked.
“This is the unemployment office, I hoped you would know,” I said.
She turned to the man at the next position at the counter.
“Do we take job search worksheets now?” she asked him.
“God I hope not,” he said.
“We don’t take them,” she said to me.
“Who does?” I asked.
“We’ve got forms coming out of our ears already,” the man said to me. “We don’t need any more.”
“So, where should I send it?” I asked.
“Don’t leave it here!” he said.
“The message on my computer was quite clear I needed to turn it in,” I told the woman in front of me. “What should I do with it?”
“Maybe they’ll send you an envelope for it,” the man at the next window said.
“Yeah,” the woman said. “Whoever wants it will probably send you something telling you where to send it.”
“But, it won’t be here,” the man said.
“Wait for someone to ask for it,” she said. “They’ll tell you where to put it.”
So, I left, forms still in hand.
Hopefully someone will tell me where to put it.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-05-27 12:10 pm (UTC)Well, we're stil in the final few days of Hg retrograde -
Date: 2009-05-27 04:52 pm (UTC)In a similar vein, I hate having to do it, but I've had to continuously hassle my last/current customer to pay me. Ever since I switched working from working for their R&D group to their test engineering group, I haven't received a penny, though I have submitted invoices exactly as I was instructed to. Finally, this morning we get to the bottom of it - even though the engineer I am working with was getting PO#s approved and had filled out the forms, no one in accounting was LOOKING for new POs to pay against because no one had CALLED them to tell them to look for the new POs (in spite of the fact that the whole system in computerized and tied into their Lotus Notes email system).. Sigh. Hopefully I'll start get check soon. I've got about another week or so worth of work left, and then I am done - and I too am searching for new (contract) work.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-27 09:13 pm (UTC)I'm so sorry you had to go through that.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-27 09:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-27 10:06 pm (UTC)