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To file an unemployment insurance claim the first thing that you would need to do is go online and open up your web browser in the browser bar type in www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov and hit enter this should bring you to our main website page to continue to file your unemployment claim scroll down to about the middle of the page under where it says lost your job apply for unemployment and click the learn more button this will bring you to the page where you need to begin your claim application it gives you some general eligibility requirements also note that we will ask to verify your identity you can either do that through the online verification in the claim application or you can provide required documents to proceed click on the apply online now button this will bring you to the username and password screen if you have filed for unemployment insurance in the past and remember your username and password you can go ahead and enter it here and sign in if you have not applied in the past you will need to register as a new user by clicking on the register new user button this will then bring you into the claim application system to create a username and password please create a username that may be easy for you to remember place your cursor in the first field next to the username any field that has a red asterisk beside it is a required field and requires input to proceed so I will create a username then to tab to the next field you just hit the tab button the next item is the password I need to create a password it needs to be at least six characters but not longer than 20 characters you can use letters and/or numbers but do not use any special characters I'll tab to the next field and I need to confirm that password that I just created the next field is first name the next required field is a last name you can choose to put an email address in or not it's not required once you have completed the screen you click on register button now we're going to begin the claim application process you will need to read the instructions if the claim you submit today is a new claim you will get a monetary record form the form shows the wages iwd used to set up the claim we're looking at wages between October 1st of 2018 and ending on September 30th 2019 if I want to proceed I'm going to accept the terms of the application by clicking the I accept button here begins the first screen of the claim application this involves your personal information so looking at this I'm going to fill in the required fields so I'm going to start with the address as it has filled in the first name and last name the next field that I'm going to fill in is the city the state has a drop-down menu for you to select which state you reside the next field is the zip code the next field we want you to select a local Iowa work center that is nearest you so it has a drop-down menu with all of our workforce centers select the one that's closest to your home the next field is a daytime phone number again I have the option to put in an email address or not the next field is the social security number no dashes just numbers then it asked me to verify that number so I enter it again and it asked for my date of birth the next field is drop-down have you moved out of Iowa since you last worked in Iowa yes or no select the highest grade completed in school again a drop-down menu are you a citizen or national of the United States yes or no if you select no is then going to ask for the alien registration number and the expiration date it asks for gender ask if I'm Hispanic or Latino and the race those are not required fields the gender the race those are all not required we do have an address verification if the address is not recognized by the Postal Service this which will appear you can choose to either modify your address or use the address as we typed in it does give a warning that important documents regarding your claim will be mailed to you failure to provide a correct address may result in delay or loss of benefits do I want to proceed I will click yes this takes me to the second section of the application it wants to know how I wish to receive my benefit payments this is a drop-down menu we have three options you can either have benefits directly deposited into your own checking or savings account or you can select the debit card option in which case you will be mailed a debit card issued by Bank of America to have your payments deposited to if you select checking or savings we are going to want to know more information from you we need the name of your bank or financial institution the branch where you bank the city where your financial institution is located the state the zip code your nine digit bank routing number and you will be required to enter that twice and then also your account number that can be up to 17 digits and you will also have to enter that twice included we've included a copy of a check to give you an idea where the routing number and account number are located Iowa Workforce Development encourages you to verify your bank routing and account numbers with your financial institution and is not responsible for erroneously reported bank routing account numbers or institutions that are not participating in the direct deposit program through the Federal Reserve System I am not going to select that I'm going to select the debit card option this gives you information regarding the debit card and the servicer Bank of America along with their contact phone number once I've entered how I want to receive my payments I will click the next button the next section asks about work performed in other states so did you work in any states or possessions other than Iowa since October 1st of 2018 this is a yes or no question if you select yes we want to know what states you have worked in those are drop-down menus you can select the states if you have more than 10 States you can type them in the line at the bottom click next to proceed the next section talks about the military service were you an active member of the US military on active duty since October 1st of 2018 if you select yes to this question we want to know additional information regarding your branch of service your character of service your entry date your separation date the days lost the days of accrued leave are you a military retiree as of october 1st 2018 have you applied for or are you receiving from the Department of Veterans Affairs a subsistence allowance for vocational rehabilitation have you applied for are you receiving from the Department of Veterans Affairs and educational assistance allowance under the war orphans educational assistance and have you had other employment since your military service ended on the separation date if this is a new claim and you indicated you served on active duty with the military you will need to fill out a request for determination of federal military service and wages form and provide a copy of your dd-214 if you are currently in your local workforce office you can see a representative to fill out those forms if you are filing from home or at a different location you will receive a letter in the mail with instructions to fill out this form and return it to IWD with a copy of your dd-214 the original monetary records you receive may not list wages earned with the military once the required paperwork is received IWD will request the military wages be sent to iowa once those have been received the wages will be added to your claim and a corrected monetary record will be mailed to you when you've completed this section click Next to proceed did you work for the federal government at any time since October 1st 2018 if you select yes we want to know additional information about your work for the federal government we want to know your position title the federal agency name the employment city the employment country the employee type whether that is full-time or intermittent or part-time the date that you began employment for the federal agency the date of your separation and have you had other employment since your employment ended on the separation date again if this is a new claim and you indicated that you worked for the federal government IWD will request the federal wages be sent to Iowa the original monetary record you receive may not list wages earned with the federal government once the federal wages are received they will be added to your claim and a corrected monetary record will be mailed to you once you have completed this section click on the next button to proceed in the past fifty-two weeks did you file receive or apply for unemployment benefits if you select yes we want to know which state you applied filed or received unemployment insurance benefits from once that is completed click the next button tax withholding unemployment benefits are taxable income if you choose not to have federal and state taxes withheld from your benefit payments you will be responsible for paying all of the taxes on those benefits at the end of the calendar year do you want federal tax withholding equal to 10% of the gross weekly benefit deducted from your unemployment insurance benefits you select yes or no do you want Iowa tax withholding equal to 5% of the gross weekly benefit deducted from your unemployment insurance benefits again it's a yes or no once you have completed those questions click on the next button to proceed the next section asks about your dependents do you have a spouse children or other dependents you answer yes or no if you select yes the first question that appears is do you have a spouse that earned one hundred and twenty dollars or less last week do not in count earnings from spouse's self-employment if you answer yes to that question we want to know your spouse's name and if your spouse has filed an unemployment insurance claim within the past twelve months do you have dependents other than yourself or a spouse that you are able to claim on your federal tax return last year again if you select yes we want to know the names of your dependents please enter the names of dependents do not include your name or your spouse's name in any of these entry fields first and last names will be required once you've completed this section click the next button to move to the next now we want to know about your most recent employer so who you most recently worked for was this work for this employer performed in Iowa yes or no if you answer no a field comes up we want to know your employers name the address of the employer based on the payroll address usually that can be found on your w-2 or paycheck stub the city the state the zip code your employer's phone number the last job title that you held so we can type in an company here our last job title and then you will be required to select an O net job title so this is a drop down menu based on the information that you typed in regarding your job title select the best or closest option that's available select a separation reason so those options are layoffs lack of work layoffs due to business closing a business closing means that the employer is no longer in operation and that you will not be returning to that employer quit or a discharge or a strike or you're still working reduced hours we want to know the date that you began employment for this employer and the most recent last day that you physically worked did you or will you receive vacation and/or severance pay on your last paycheck or at the time of separation if you answer yes to that question you will be asked what date you would be paid through meaning if your last day of work was Thursday March 19th of 2020 and you are being paid for eight hours of vacation you would need to put March 20th of 2020 in this field to cover the day after your last day of work if you answer no you do not get an additional question once this is complete continue to next if your work was performed in Iowa for this employer it will give you some options for selecting the wage records that we have on file for you again I'm selecting what is the most closely resembles the type of work that I did the last day of work and no vacation I'm finished so I will click Next please select the statement that best describes your employment status with your most recent employer this is a drop down menu so if you are filing due to a temporary layoff as a result of COVID 19 coronavirus that's the first option or you are not likely to return to your most recent employer you are on a temporary layoff or still working for your most recent employer you refuse to bump a less senior employee or you obtain work through a Union hiring hall and you are a member in good standing select the one that best fits your situation we'll just select the first one and click on the next button to proceed your work search requirements this tells you what your work search requirements are to fulfill your requirements for unemployment insurance because I selected the temporary layoff it tells me that I do not have to look for work and that I am not required to complete a full registration for job search assistance had I selected that I would not be returning this would tell me that I would need to do work search and what those requirements are if you're interested in the National career readiness certificate you can click the box if you're interested in a registered apprenticeship you can also click that box then you can click Next this is the certification page so I certify under penalty of law that I am a citizen or national of the United States or I am a refugee with permanent residency in the united states or I am an alien with employment authorization status issued by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service or I am not a citizen and am not claiming satisfactory immigration status select the correct option the unemployment insurance benefits handbook will answer most questions about your claim for unemployment insurance and help you avoid problems delays or improper payments it explains your rights and responsibilities while claiming unemployment insurance benefits it is your responsibility to read and know the contents of this guide this guide contains general information only and does not have the force and effect of law rule or regulation by checking this box I certify that I am responsible for reading and knowing the contents of the unemployment insurance claimant handbook and it is my responsibility to access the handbook online or obtain a copy for my reference an online copy is available here you can click on that link if you cannot access the online version you may email uiclaimshelp@iwd.iowa.gov or call the UI customer service line at one eight six six two three nine zero eight four three to obtain a copy this is your certifying that you everything you have answered in this application are true and correct to the best of your knowledge and belief I acknowledge the information I provide to Iowa Workforce Development may be requested and utilized for other governmental purposes including but not limited to verification of eligibility under other government programs I further certify that I will read the unemployment insurance benefits handbook and I will follow the instructions provided in that guide if I have a question I will contact Iowa Workforce Development once you've read this and clicked the box and certified click the next the next section is verification if there are enough information in your verification file it will prompt you to answer a series of questions once you've completed this section click on next the next section is to submit it tells me that I'm applying for benefits on March 20th 2020 and that my claim starts on Sunday March 15th and ends on Saturday March 21st this is the first week of my claim you will be able to go online at that web link to request payment for the first week on Sunday March 22nd you'll receive a confirmation number and weekly continued claim instructions after you click on the submit button below this is the summary of how you answered the questions on your claim application once that is correct you would click Submit if you need to change something you can click on the tab up at the top and go to the section that you need to change once I am sure that everything is correct I will click Submit and I get the claim confirmation number it's good to either print this screen or to save that claim confirmation number this tells me that I have successfully filed an unemployment insurance claim it again gives a link to the handbook it gives me the weekly continued claim instructions it tells me that I need to begin that on Sunday March 22nd and I have until Friday of that week to file that weekly claim to receive your unemployment insurance benefits each week you must complete your continued weekly claim online at that link the best hours to file online are between 8 a.m. - 11:30 p.m. on Sunday or Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. when filing your weekly claim you'll answer questions that are listed below that are you unemployed or working reduced hours are you able and available for work have you not refused any job offers or referrals are you actively looking for work if it's required and are you reporting any pay or pension that you are receiving when you make your continued claim online for the first time you will be asked to enter a personal identification number or pin number be sure to select a pin that will be easy to remember since you must use the same pin each time you go online to file your weekly claim do not use the same numbers in sequence such as 1 1 1 1 or 3 3 3 3 or numbers in sequence such as 1 2 3 4 in some cases you will need to select a new pin the first time you go online to complete your continued claim after reactivating an existing claim you can print this or you can simply log off your claim has been submitted and you are now ready to prepare to file your weekly claim if you have further questions please contact the unemployment insurance customer service line at eight six six two three nine zero eight four three