What do people ask about filing for unemployment in Idaho?

The filing questions come first, in the order people meet them. After them are the programs Idaho runs outside the Department of Labor for health coverage, food, and local help, which many people need in the same week they file.

Who can file for unemployment in Idaho?

Anyone who is out of work, or short of hours, through no fault of their own: laid off for lack of work, quit with good cause, or fired for something other than misconduct. The Department of Labor checks your wages and your reason for leaving after you apply, so you do not have to settle that first. Who qualifies in Idaho sets out the wage test and the rules on quitting and being fired.

When can I file for unemployment in Idaho?

In the week your hours are cut or your job ends, before Saturday at midnight, when Idaho's benefit week closes. The Department's words are "Don't wait until the week is over": it gives no credit for a week you apply in after it has closed, not even as your unpaid waiting week. Leaving the military, you can file any time after your release from active duty, but not before your release date. When to file explains when your claim starts.

What do I need to file for unemployment in Idaho?

Your Social Security number, your driver's license or state ID number, an email address (the Department advises against a work or shared one), and the details of every employer from the past 2 years, including gross earnings, dates worked, and why each job ended. Add your bank's routing and account numbers if you want direct deposit, and a Member 4 copy of your DD Form 214 if you served in the military. The complete list includes what noncitizens bring.

Can I file for unemployment online in Idaho, or by phone?

File online, or at a local Labor office. Online, you sign in to the Claimant Portal through ID.me and file there, which the Department's flyer says takes 30 to 45 minutes. Without internet access, you can file at your nearest local Labor office, and if you cannot get through ID.me, bring a driver's license, passport, or state-issued ID, your Social Security card, and proof of your address to that office. Phone claims are the Department's call: its how-to-apply page says it takes none, while its filing rule lets it accept one at its discretion. See how to file online and filing without a computer.

How do I file for unemployment in Boise?

The same way as anywhere in Idaho, on the Claimant Portal, so you never need to travel to Boise. For help in person, the Boise office is at 317 W. Main St., 1st Floor, East, phone 208-332-3575, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except observed holidays. Filing in Boise adds the Meridian and Kuna mobile hours.

How do I file for an unemployment extension in Idaho?

Going by the Department's FAQ, there is no extended benefit program to file for: it says none are available, in a line that carries no date. Idaho law does pay training extension benefits, a separate program, to a claimant otherwise eligible for regular benefits, but only when the Department finds all of this:

• You are unemployed.
• You have used up your regular benefits, any extended benefits, and the federal increase paid under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
• You are enrolled in training the Department approves or in a Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act training program, and if you left a declining occupation or lost your job to a permanent cut in operations, the training prepares you for a high-demand occupation.
• You are making satisfactory progress in that training.
• You get no similar stipend or training allowance for costs other than the training.

How to file for an extension covers what those weeks pay and the unemployment levels at which the law would switch extended benefits on.

When does the first payment come?

The Department's pages give different answers. Its payment page says no sooner than 2.5 weeks after you first apply, and that eligibility issues or late weekly certifications delay it. Your first weeks after filing sets every timeline the Department gives side by side.

What if I worked or live outside Idaho?

• Wages in Idaho and another state: you may transfer them to the state where you file, which the Department calls a combined-wage claim. The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands count as states, and wages earned in Canada cannot be combined.
• Living in Idaho, wages from elsewhere: you can file your claim in that other state.
• Living elsewhere, filing an Idaho claim: you file it on the Claimant Portal like anyone else.
• Moving away while you claim: update your address on the Claimant Portal, and register for work in your new state within 2 weeks.

The Department's how-to-apply page answers each of these.

Can I withdraw an Idaho claim I filed?

Yes, at any time, by sending a written request, as long as you did not lie or leave out a fact on the claim and you agree to repay any benefits you were paid. Simply stopping your weekly certifications does not withdraw it. The Department's Claimant Portal FAQ says to ask it if you have questions first.

How can I tell a real text from the Department?

Texts from the Department are opt-in, a choice you make on the Claimant Portal home page, and they come from 43365, which may show on your phone as IDDOL. An urgent or detailed text may carry a link or a phone number, so check the sender before you tap anything. It never asks for your Social Security number by text, and never asks for credit card details by email, text, or phone call. Text STOP to 43365 to opt out, and call 208-332-8942 to start texts again. Opting in does not replace the mail: important determinations still arrive on paper.

How do I get health coverage after losing my job in Idaho?

Idaho runs its own health insurance marketplace, Your Health Idaho. Loss of current coverage, such as through a job loss, is one of its qualifying life events, and depending on the event you have 60 or 90 days afterward to enroll or change coverage, and you can apply for a tax credit at the same time. Its special enrollment page lists every event, and its Idaho-based support center answers 855-944-3246 on weekdays until 5:00 p.m. MT. Idaho Medicaid, Health and Welfare's health coverage for low-income people and families, sends applicants to idalink.

Where can I get help buying food in Idaho?

The Department of Health and Welfare runs SNAP, the program once called Idaho Food Stamps, for low-income families. How much a household gets depends on its size, its income, and other factors, and the benefit comes on an EBT card used like a debit card for eligible food. If you need food right away and meet the expedited criteria, Health and Welfare can provide benefits within 7 days. Its SNAP page covers who qualifies, and idalink, its online portal for healthcare and food assistance, is where you view benefits and report changes.

What is the 211 Idaho CareLine?

A free statewide referral service of the Department of Health and Welfare that points you to local nonprofits, charities, and faith-based groups for help with food, housing, mental health, and more. Its community resource specialists take calls at 211 or 800-926-2588 and texts at 898211, weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. MST, and the 211 Idaho CareLine site has its program database.