Permanent Resident in Delaware and Unemployment Eligibility

Processing Your Claim

When you submit your claim to the Delaware Department of Labor and it's processed, you will receive a monetary determination letter stating your weekly benefit amount. The monetary determination letter doesn't mean your claim for benefits is approved. The monetary determination letter states your employers during the base periods used to calculate your benefit amount. Your base period is the first four out of the last five quarters completed prior to filing your claim. If any information is incorrect or missing, you should report the inaccuracies to the local unemployment office where you filed your claim. You should bring all of your W-2 forms and pay stubs to prove inaccuracies. You must also bring your Social Security card. If you still disagree with information on your monetary determination letter or weekly benefit amount, you may file an appeal.

You must actively seek work to meet Delaware unemployment eligibility requirements. You must register for job search assistance with the Division of Employment and Training. You may have to verify that you're actively seeking work. You may receive a denial of benefits if you are not able to work or if you voluntarily quit your job without the presence of extreme circumstances. You may receive a denial of benefits if you experienced a job separation due to a conviction and sentence in the penitentiary. You may lose your benefits if you do not submit a pay authorization form by mail or through the Delaware unemployment phone system. In the event you become disabled while receiving unemployment benefits, your benefits are not altered unless you refuse to accept work you are deemed capable of performing.

Your weekly benefit amount is 1/46 of your earnings in your highest two quarters, up to $330. To qualify for benefits, you must have earned, during your base period, at least 36 times your weekly benefit amount. Depending on which is the least, your total benefits are 50 percent of your base period earnings or 26 times your weekly benefit amount. You must receive all of your benefits within your benefit year, which starts the first Sunday of the week you claim is approved. You cannot receive new benefits unless you have worked during the new base period. Before filing a new claim, you must have obtained new employment and earned wages at least 10 times your new benefit amount. If you are a seasonal employee working for a Delaware seasonal employer, you can only receive benefits based on the base period in which you worked. For example, if you worked from July to September you can only receive benefits for hours worked during those seasonal months.

You must report all income to the Delaware Department of Labor. Payments that you must report include state and local government pensions, union and private employee pensions, military retirement pensions, benefits from retirement plans and workers' compensation benefits. If you receive benefits, you must report all earnings and severance pay to the Delaware Division of Employment and Training. Up to 50 percent of your unemployment wages are deducted if you are required to pay child support through the Delaware Division of Child Support Enforcement.