States

How To Apply For Unemployment In Idaho

Unemployment insurance benefits claims in Idaho are administered by the Idaho Department of Labor and can be filed online at their website or over the phone by calling (208) 332-8942 between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Eligibility and amount of weekly benefits payment are determined by applicant’s wage and work history. Use the links below to review answers to the most commonly asked questions:

• General Information: Main Website for Idaho DOL
• Claimant Portal for Submitting Claims Online
• Frequently Asked Questions

You must be a United States citizen or legally authorized to work in the United States to collect unemployment insurance benefits. You will be required to go through a mandatory “waiting week” before receiving benefits, so file your claim during your final week of employment, not after that week has ended. This will help you to avoid payment delays.

Idaho Unemployment Insurance Filing Requirements

To file online for unemployment insurance benefits in Idaho, you must first log in to the Claimant Portal and create an account. Your identity will be verified with information that is on file with the Idaho Transportation Department DMV, so you must have an Idaho Driver’s License or State Identification. Use the links below to help you get started:

• Complete User Guide
• Quick Start Guide
• User Registration Guide
• File a Claim Guide
• File a Weekly Certification Guide

Out-of-state residents are eligible to file for unemployment benefits, but only if they’ve worked in-state for the required quarters in the base period (see below). Military personnel separating from service are required to produce a Form DD-214. Legal aliens will have to provide proof of legal eligibility to work in the United States. All applicants must be at least 18 years old.

Understanding Your Base Period

An unemployment insurance “base period” is the method used to calculate the amount of your weekly benefits payment. In Idaho, that base period is the first four of the last five quarters you were employed. You need to have been paid at least $1,872 in wages during two of those quarters to be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. The amount you receive weekly is a percentage of the total money you earned during your base period.

Your base period is also used to determine the number of weeks you can receive UI benefit payments. Your total wages for the entire base period are divided by the wages you received during your highest paying base period quarter. Depending on the result, you can receive payments anywhere from ten to twenty weeks based on that ratio.

Reporting of WARN Act Payments

The Worker Adjustment and Notification Act of 1988 requires that employers with more than one hundred employees give a sixty-day paid notice to all employees before closure or mass layoff. If you are unemployed due to a situation that matches WARN guidelines and are receiving payments from your employer as a result of it, you are NOT required to report those earnings when doing income verification on weekly claims.