While you must still meet the same overall earnings requirements, the Alternate Base Period will allow some of your more recent wages to be counted towards establishing your claim. Your claim will start with the Sunday of the week in which you first file your claim if you are totally unemployed or employed part time and earn less than your benefit rate. This begins your Benefit Year. The Benefit Year is a 52 week period. In instances when a subsequent claim would cause base periods to overlap, the benefit year is 53 weeks.
Most eligible customers get their first check during their third week of unemployment.
You must serve a Waiting Period at the start of your new claim. In either case you would be entitled to a Waiting Period for that week. You must serve a Waiting Period only once during each Benefit Year. By law, a maximum weekly benefit rate is determined annually. Your weekly benefit rate remains the same throughout your benefit year.