Really hoping someone can help, I have asked HR, surplus line and my supervisor and no one knows answer, will getting severance impact unemployment, I was surplused 11/6 and am struggling to get job so need unemployment to help, I thought I read in here once a post that this lump sum payment should not impact unemployment but I cannot find that or the reason why it should not, appreciate any input from anyone who has been in this situation
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Can you delay severance to the next year?
@am
Yep. I was in Dallas with 26 years. I was the oldest in the team.
The previous go around in April 2025, they surplused the oldest as well. I was next in line.
I was surplussed over a year ago and my state has specific laws about receiving a surplus payment and claiming unemployment. I was able to claim unemployment, but I had to wait for a while vs immediately being eligible due to the payment.
It varies by state you need to call your stat unemployment office this is not an HR question
You have to wait for however long your severance payment was. So like 6 - 7 months. 67
Texas paid out unemployment. I filed 3 months after receiving 6 moneys severance and had zero issues. Severance paperwork at states AT&T will not deny unemployment claims.
It was me that posted it. I’m in Georgia so it may vary for you. Since we receive the severance in a lump sum, you have to divide that amount by your usual pay timeline and figure out how long it would’ve taken you to make that much money. That’s when you’ll have your date of when you can start collecting unemployment. For me it was about 6 months. If you file an unemployment claim now (even knowing it will be denied) they’ll send you a rejection letter in the mail with the exact date you can start collecting.
Fu-k RTO.
It varies state to state to state. Check your state's website and/or call them. I am in Washington and the week I got severance was the only week they withheld my unemployment check. At the end I got 26 unemployment checks. Each state is different!
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In Georgia you can’t claim while you’re collecting severance. If you max out at 6 months then that’s a 6 month window you can’t collect even though you get it as a lump sum. You can claim prior to receiving, pause once it’s received, then reinstate once your x months have passed.
It is a state by state thing.
Unemployment is a state based program.
Which state do you live in?
In NJ you are fine. Severance has absolutely no impact on unemployment. You receive both.
There’s this new thing called ai. Ask Grok dummy.
New idea. Call the local unemployment office to find out about unemployment. In fact I would call twice to verify. With all the layoffs nationally some offices might be slammed and you might get different information. Heard of a couple of folks who had this happen to them. Take down all info that is provided just in case.
I was impacted on 11/6 but have an extension until 12/6 for pending job interview. My supervisor told me unemployment is part of the closeout process on her end. She has a checklist to complete that automatically starts the process.
I have a question that maybe you know. I thought our last paycheck was supposed to be 11/21 but I did not get paid. Did you have that same understanding?
Some states consider severance as still being paid by the employer. 30 days of severance equals 30 days of salary. Varies from state to state. Don’t plan on getting both at the same time until you check with your local unemployment office. Some have gotten away with getting both but some have been caught and had to pay it back depending on state rules. Also find out how much you will get from them. Don’t take the word of anyone who might have gotten the expanded benefits they offered for awhile.
It completely depends on your state and thus any blanket answer either way may be wrong. Go to your state unemployment office and speak with someone.
Rules vary by state. Call the state unemployment office where you live.
I got severance and got unemployment in Fl. Had to pay back unemployment all back, because on appeal they said it equaled x amounts of week's pay. Florida counts severance as income.
Some states require to know how much severance you get and will deduct that amount from unemployment. No single answer.
@OP I am afraid you may not get the correct answer on this message because each state has different rules for unemployment benefits. If I were you, I would either phone your state unemployment hotline or go ahead and apply online. Let them reject or decline your request rather than asking on this anonymous message board. When they do reject your request, they will normally share the reason(s) and that will help you to re-apply, if appropriate.
We are part of surplus or so called layoff. You can get unemployment.