- A Massachusetts unemployment claim lasts until you are not longer eligible. The way the state verifies your eligibility is through the weekly claims certification. By asking you answer a series of eligibility questions before it releases a payment, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development can ensure that only those who meet the eligibility requirements receive compensation. If you don't certify, you don't receive payments and the office assumes you no longer want to apply for benefits.
- Massachusetts unemployment offers you two ways to file your weekly claims certification. You can use either the Internet or a phone. You use your Social Security number and the four-digit personal identification number you established when your originally filed your claim. You can file your certification any time between Sunday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. following the week for which you are filing the claim. Neither method is available on Saturdays or legal holidays.
- If you forget to file your certification in the available window, the office will not release your payment for that week and will close your claim. To reopen your claim for future weeks or to file for a week you missed, you must call the Department of Unemployment Assistance Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Select the option to speak to a claims agent and have your Social Security number and PIN ready.
- All of the information you provide to the LWD during your weekly claims certification process must be true to the best of your knowledge. The information you provide helps determine how much in benefits you receive. If a benefits overpayment occurs, you have to pay it back to the LWD, whether the mistaken information was intentional or not. If it was intentional, you can lose your right to future unemployment or have criminal charges filed against you.
Purpose of Weekly Certification
Methods
If You Don't File
Fraud
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