One wrong move on weekly certification can throw off unemployment benefits

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — Morgan Haynes is a hairstylist in Kannapolis but the business had to close in March. She applied for unemployment and finally got through.

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“I got a couple of checks and then I answered a question wrong [on my weekly certification],” she told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke. “I answered the question, it asked if you have ever ... received benefits, state or federal. And I thought to myself, ‘Ok, this is a federal benefit I’m receiving.’ So I answered ‘yes’ and put the total [dollar figure]. And then, for two weeks there, I didn’t get anything.”

“(It was) stressful because the bills still roll around. They still come every time. You know, your mortgage payment, your power bill, even though they won’t cut you off right now, it’s still going to add up. So it was hard,” she said.

Haynes said she called and emailed the North Carolina Department of Commerce, which runs the unemployment program, but had trouble getting a response.

“It became a nightmare trying to get through to someone to help,” she said.

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She finally got it sorted out. When the weekly certification asks for your income, don’t include your unemployment checks. The state only cares about the money you make outside of that.

Even then, you can make some money without jeopardizing your unemployment. Look at how much your unemployment check is for -- without the extra $600 PUA money -- and you can make up to 20% of it and still be OK.

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