How to File for Minnesota Unemployment Benefits

Filing an unemployment claim in Minnesota is one part of Minnesota employment law. This article covers who qualifies under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 268, how the state calculates the weekly benefit amount, how to file an application, how weekly payment requests work, and the situations that can make an applicant ineligible.

Who qualifies for unemployment benefits

Minnesota’s program follows the framework shared by every state under federal law: unemployment insurance is a joint state-federal program that pays cash benefits to workers who lose a job through no fault of their own. In practice, that usually means separating from the last job because of a lack of available work rather than a voluntary quit or a discharge for misconduct.

Eligibility also depends on how much an applicant earned before filing. To establish a benefit account, an applicant must have wage credits during the base period of at least 5.3 percent of the state’s average annual wage, rounded down to the next lower $100, under Minn. Stat. § 268.07. The base period is the most recent four completed calendar quarters before the application’s effective date, defined in Minn. Stat. § 268.035.

How Minnesota calculates your weekly benefit amount

The weekly benefit amount is the higher of two calculations under Minn. Stat. § 268.07: 50 percent of the applicant’s average weekly wage during the base period, capped at 66-2/3 percent of the state’s average weekly wage; or 50 percent of the average weekly wage during the highest-earning quarter, capped at 43 percent of the state’s average weekly wage. The base-period average weekly wage is the total wage credits divided by 52.

The maximum weekly amount changes each year. Under the same statute, the state maximum applies to benefit accounts established on or after the last Sunday in October, and once an account is established, that year’s maximum stays fixed for the life of the account. Because the cap is tied to the statewide average wage, the current dollar figure is published by DEED and updated annually.

The total a claim can pay out is limited too. The maximum amount available on a benefit account is the lower of 33-1/3 percent of total base-period wage credits or 26 times the weekly benefit amount, set by Minn. Stat. § 268.07. That second limit is why regular Minnesota benefits generally run up to 26 weeks.

How to file a Minnesota unemployment application

An application for unemployment benefits may be filed in person, by mail, or by electronic transmission under Minn. Stat. § 268.07. In Minnesota, the program takes applications online and by phone through DEED. The federal directory of state unemployment insurance offices lists Minnesota’s application website along with its Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota phone lines.

1. Gather your employment information

   Have your Social Security number ready, along with the names and addresses of every employer from the past 18 months and the dates you worked for each. Complete and correct employer details keep the claim from being delayed while DEED verifies wages.

2. File the application online or by phone

   Submit the application through Minnesota’s unemployment insurance system. The application establishes a benefit account and prompts DEED to determine the base period, the weekly benefit amount, and the maximum amount available.

3. Note the effective date

   The application takes effect the Sunday of the week it is filed. An applicant who became unemployed in an earlier week can request backdating one calendar week, but no further.

4. Watch for the determination

   DEED issues a determination of benefit account showing the weekly and maximum amounts, followed by a determination of eligibility. Each determination explains the deadline to appeal if the applicant disagrees.

It generally takes two to three weeks after filing to receive a first payment, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Payment does not begin on its own; the applicant has to request benefits for each week.

Requesting payment for each week

A benefit account by itself does not pay anything. To be paid for a given week, an applicant files a continued request for that week and meets the ongoing conditions in Minn. Stat. § 268.085: being able to work, being available for suitable employment, and actively seeking suitable employment.

“Actively seeking suitable employment” means the reasonable, diligent efforts an individual in similar circumstances would make to find work, and the statute spells out how the requirement applies to union members, seasonal workers, and people in approved training. An applicant who works part time during a week reports those earnings, which reduce that week’s payment rather than ending the claim.

When quitting or a discharge affects eligibility

How a job ended drives many eligibility disputes. An applicant who quit a job is ineligible for all unemployment benefits under Minn. Stat. § 268.095, except in defined situations such as quitting for a good reason caused by the employer, quitting unsuitable work within 30 calendar days of starting it, or quitting because of domestic abuse. An applicant discharged for employment misconduct is also ineligible under the same section.

A worker laid off because the employer ran out of work is in a different position, since that is a separation through no fault of the worker. When DEED and the parties disagree about the reason for a separation, the agency issues a determination that either side can appeal.