If I get a lump sum severance package from my employer, can I collect unemployment right away or do I have to wait?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If I get a lump sum severance package from my employer, can I collect unemployment right away or do I have to wait?
I am being offered a lump sum severance package since my job is being eliminated due to corporate downsizing. Can I collected unemployment benefits right away or will I be made to wait X amount of weeks. I will claim the amount when I get it during the week that I file. I just wonder how that affects benefits?
Asked on May 31, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Nevada
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
As a general rule, you can collect unemployment if you're given a severance package. The reason is that severance pay is not considered to be “wages” that would otherwise count against your right to collect unemployment benefits. That having been said, sometimes there is a short term delay in eligibility in collecting such benefits depending on how the severance payout is stuctured. If severance is paid in a lump sum it will probably not affect your unemployment benefits; if severance is paid over time as if you are still on the payroll, then it may delay your ability to collect.
At this point, you should contact your local unemployment office for further information.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.