Beginning Thursday, January 29, Tennessee workers will have another means for filing initial claims for unemployment insurance. This new service is a temporary measure to help relieve the state’s overloaded telephone network for processing claims.

During the meetings claimants will complete their required forms.  They will be prepared to certify their eligibility on a weekly basis, either online or by phone, which is required as long as they are receiving unemployment benefits.  Staff will then approve and process the claims onsite.

In order to file during the mass meetings, the claimant must have been laid off from his job due to lack of work and must have a separation notice or letter from his employer stating that the separation was because of lack of work or reduction in force (sometimes written as furloughed).  Tennessee employers are urged to provide each of their employees a separation notice stating separation due to lack of work.  The separation notice form can be found at www.tn.gov/labor-wfd/Employers/forms/LB-0489.pdf.

Requirements to participate in the mass claims session

Athens

Bristol

Chattanooga

Clarksville

Columbia

Cookeville

Crossville

Dyersburg

Gallatin

Humboldt

Jacksboro

Jackson

Johnson City

Knoxville

Lawrenceburg

McMinnville

Murfreesboro

Nashville

Paris

Rogersville

Talbott/Morristown

Tullahoma

410 Congress Parkway

1712 West State Street

5600 Brainerd Road, Suite A-5

Veterans Plaza, 350 Pageant Lane, Suite 406

119 Nashville HWY, Suite 106, Northway Shopping Ctr

3300 Williams Enterprise Drive

60 Ridley Street

439 McGaughey Street

175 College Street

1481 Mullins Street

1016 Main Street

362 Carriage House Drive

2515 Wesley Street

1610 University Avenue

702 Mahr Avenue

107 Lyon Street

1313 Old Fort Parkway

2200 Rosa L. Parks Blvd. (prev Metro Center Blvd.)

1023 Mineral Wells Avenue, Suite F

1112 East Main Street

6057 W. Andrew Johnson HWY, Alpha Sq., Suite A

111 East Lincoln Street

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. My account has been suspended what does that mean?
A. When your account is suspended that means that your PIN has been locked. You can visit your local career center to fill out a form to release that, and we can fax that into the claim center or you may call the claim center at these numbers: 615-253-0800 or 1-877-813-0950.

Q. May I still draw unemployment benefits if I’ve found a part-time job?
A. You can earn up to 25% of your weekly benefit amount without it affecting your
weekly check; however, if you do go over your weekly benefit amount, it will suspend
your claim and you will need to actually re-open your claim in order to receive
unemployment benefits in the future. And what you will do is report this on your
weekly certification.

Q. If I need to change my address, how do I go about doing that?
A. You can change your address one of two ways. You can actually visit a local career
center and fill out a change of address change form and fax that into the claim center.
You may additionally go online to https://ui.tn.gov and do that online as well.

Q. If I’ve answered a question wrong on my certification, what do I need to do to fix that?
A. Again, you can visit your local career center and you can ask to fill out a form and ask for that response to be changed and fax that in to the claims center at 615-253-0808.

Q. What happens if I am unable to certify on the day that I am assigned?
A. If the phone line is busy or you are unable to call in on your required day, say if that
is Sunday, your days to make that up would be Tuesday through Friday, 7 am to
midnight.

Q. I have already filed my first weekly certification but haven’t received a check. When do I receive a check for my waiting week?
A. You will receive your waiting week check in your fourth consecutive filing, meaning
that you have to certify four times in a row and meet all eligibility requirements and
that first week’s check will be sent in the fourth week, which means that you will get
basically two checks in your fourth week.

Q. Is there a minimum amount of non-work days required to qualify for benefits?
A. To be paid benefits for any week, a claimant must have a qualifying reason to apply and the total gross wages earned during the UI Week must be less than the claimant’s weekly benefit amount. A UI week is calculated from one Saturday night midnight to the following Saturday night midnight. Gross wages are those earned during this seven day period. If the gross wages are equal to or exceeds the claimant’s weekly benefit amount, the week is considered to have excess wages and be disqualified.

Q. Is there a difference in eligibility if five days are taken together or spread out?
A. Yes, being employed most of the week would probably result in excess wages and the week would be disqualified.

Q. If five days is not enough to qualify for benefits, should people file in case they are forced to take more days off, or are fired, later in the year?
A. When a claim is filed, the base period is set up with wages and the claim may be used with in the next 52 calendar weeks if the individual is otherwise eligible. An individual must have worked and earned sufficient wages from covered employment (the employer pays Unemployment Insurance (UI) taxes on the earned wages) to become eligible monetarily. The three primary conditions of eligibility are: Sufficient wages earned in covered employment during the base period to set up a monetarily eligible claim. This means that the claimant would have worked long enough to qualify for a weekly benefit amount and be entitled to a maximum benefit amount. The claimant must have a qualifying reason for separation from the separating employer. This means that when investigated the claimant’s separation will not be caused by his or her work related actions. And the third condition, is that the claimant must be able to work, available for work and making a reasonable effort to secure work.

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Q. If applicable, how and when should people file a claim?
A. Individuals should file a claim after they are separated from their work. Generally if you are separated after working the majority of the work week, you would file the next week of total unemployment. Gross wages earned in a week that exceed the maximum weekly benefit amount ($275) or the claimant’s individual weekly benefit amount would disqualify the week from serving as a waiting period or being a payable UI week. If in doubt, always file the claim. An individual may file by telephone 1-877-813-0950 or 615-253-0800 and on the Internet at https://ui.tn.gov.

Q. What is the formula for compensation?
A. An otherwise eligible claimant shall be entitled during any benefit year to a total amount of benefits equal to whichever is the lesser of (A) twenty-six (26) times the claimant’s weekly benefit amount; or (B) one fourth (1/4) of such claimant’s wages for insured work paid during such claimant’s base period.

The weekly benefit amount is determined on the individual’s base period and the two calendar quarters in which such total wages are highest. The minimum weekly benefit amount in Tennessee is $30 and the maximum weekly benefit amount is $275.

The base period means the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the first day of an individual’s benefit year; provided, that the first quarter of the last five completed calendar quarters was included in the base period applicable to any individual’s previous benefit year, such individual’s base period shall be the last four completed calendar quarters.