questions & answers

Question: Is the state required to make a decision on your unemployment claim by a certain amount of time? What is the longest they can wait to make a decision on whether or not you qualify for unemployment? What happens if you get a job before they make a decision?

Answer: As of mid-May, the Department of Economic Security (DES) website says the following: “DES is doing everything it can to get Arizonans benefits as soon as possible. However, DES is experiencing a high number of claims due to COVID-19 and processing times could vary. Additionally, if there are issues with the claim, such as incomplete information, processing the claim could take up to 21 days. Prior to the increased claim volume, payments were being made, on average, within 14-calendar days after benefits have been processed and approved.” As a general rule, if a person gets a new job before their initial benefits claim and subsequent weekly benefits claims have been processed, their benefits claims will not be affected. However, when their employment situation changes they still must tell DES right away.