How Do I Claim Unemployment Benefits with the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services?

If you are living in Washington, D.C., you are entitled to know how to properly claim unemployment benefits. Residents of the District of Columbia will enjoy the guide we have put together for you below. This guide will help you to claim unemployment benefits through a fairly simple, step-by-step process. Let's begin the guide now:

1. Please apply as soon as you possibly can for unemployment benefits in the District of Columbia in the event you have lost your job. This is important because it will allow you to receive your benefits faster.

2. In the District of Columbia, you should have earned income from employment during the previous 2 quarters. Also, your combined total of wages during the entire base period must have been $1,950 at least. You also are required to have earned $1,300 at the very least in a single quarter during your base period. After your application is approved by DC Works, you will be eligible to receive your benefits.

3. If you earned $9,000 throughout the last quarter, your unemployment benefits would amount to $346. That is 1/26th of your earned wages during the quarter of the base period that you had the highest earnings in. Washington, D.C. has a $444 per week maximum unemployment benefit amount.

4. There is a 26-week maximum period that you can receive unemployment benefits in Washington, D.C.

5. You must have lost your job for a reason that is not your fault. This means that you must have lost your job for a reason that was not misconduct or failing drug testing, for example. If that's the case, you will be eligible for benefits.

6. To be eligible for benefits, go ahead and prepare this list of important things: the address where you get your mail, your prior employer's contact number, the specific reason you lost your job, your email, your phone number, your social security number, your state driver's license number or your state identification number, a completed DD Form number 214 (if you were in the military within the last 2 years), information on any severance pay you may have received (if that is applicable), complete employment history for the last 18 months, your checking or your savings account information if you would like to be paid through a direct deposit, your most up-to-date wage details, current home address, and an alien ID number or registration number (if you're a non-US citizen).

7. After you have prepared the previous list of things, you will be able to apply directly to DC Works on their website.

8. If your case is denied, you can file an appeal with the Appeals Unit of the Washington D.C. Office of Unemployment Compensation.

9. If you would like more help with your claim, please use our dedicated DC Works contact page by clicking here. We will put you in touch with a human directly so you can have your questions answered now.