I finally got laid! Laid off!

[Remyd]

Unemployment officials love hearing and reading these types of statements they naturally assume everyone is out to cheat the system and all it takes is a " Your claim is under further review" letter for you to understand where I'm coming from and if you were my son the first thing I would tell you is " keep your mouth shut and just do it " maybe the world has changed too much for me to understand it I wish you all the best.

There are zero things wrong with that statement. If the unemployment guys find it, they will know I'm spending some time in the music biz. That's true; no problem. They will know that I don't want to go back to work in a corporate office. That's true; no problem.

The thing I did not expect about this thread is that everyone would take my over-the-top-ethical self and assume that I am running some kind of scam.

 

[Remyd]

Your post read as though you expected to earn enough through music for it to be your full time job. Your music earnings would be deducted from your unemployment payments. Can't double dip.

I know how much musicians make. If they take that hamburger and fries out of my unemployment check I will not cry. I haven't made any real musician money in about 15 years anyway. That's half the reason I'm starting anyhow.

 

[2.6kHz]

When collecting unemployment, still look, or they will cut your unemployment benefits. You can be randomly audited and have to provide evidence you are contacting employers in order to keep your benefits. I was collecting unemployment for about 2 months, but missed a letter telling me to go to a seminar at a local state job center. I had to completely re-apply for benefits, plus attend seminar, before I got my benefits back which took a few weeks to get going again. They also asked for proof I was actively job seeking. That will follow you around in the system if you ever need to re-apply in the future. Don't burn yourself here.

You can in most cases work on the side and still collect, as long as your earnings fall below a threshold. Doubt music earnings would harm your ability to still collect. I could have worked like 10-15 hrs a week and my benefit amount would not have been touched. Unemployment isn't full salary, states understand that many people need close to full salary to cover bills and will work with you on that.

Loving how people think you collect unemployment from your previous employer. So much bad information here. Your employer pays unemployment insurance in your behalf, out of your paycheck, as required by law. It is already salary paid by employer, it cannot possibly be stealing if it was your salary to begin with. As an employee your only responsibility under the law is to follow the rules when you collect. The only thing collected from prior employer here is severance, no one should ever have any moral issues with cashing severance checks, it's a legal settlement.

 

[SirMjac28]

There are zero things wrong with that statement. If the unemployment guys find it, they will know I'm spending some time in the music biz. That's true; no problem. They will know that I don't want to go back to work in a corporate office. That's true; no problem.

The thing I did not expect about this thread is that everyone would take my over-the-top-ethical self and assume that I am running some kind of scam.

I don't think that at all but most companies and the government think their employees and citizens are out to screw them any chance they get so they sometimes look for anything to justify that even when there's nothing to base it on and you may just get that one jerk who thinks they're Perry Mason and starts snooping and decides to put a hold on the claim just to make themselves look better because there is nothing an unemployment office loves more than finding fraud and just look at the four pages of comments you've received on this thread so far now imagine all of the different mindsets the people reviewing your claim might have . It may seem like I'm being hard on you I'm not I love the fact that you took the time to run the numbers more than once but I've learned from experience the less you say the better it cost me a huge promotion that I eventually got but "twelve years" later when I think about all of that lost income it still makes me sick. I was very sincere about wishing you the best.

 

[BluesWalker]

Unemployment compensation is meant to help meet your expenses until you get your next job, the expectation being that you are actually looking for a job. Unemployment is not meant to give you a nine month vacation. People who take advantage of the system are the reason that Congress is reluctant to extend benefits to people who are actually looking for a job but can't find one.

Sorry but there is nothing ethical about using your unemployment benefits to fund an extended vacation and or career as a full time musician. Also, any money you make is required to be reported and your unemployment benefits will be reduced accordingly.

There is nothing wrong with using the system to you fullest advantage, especially in this day and age where employeers routinely discard excellent employees as if they are rancid meat. Remember, his employeer contributes to the unemployment insurance pool, the amount dependent upon how many of their former employees draw from it. So he is not "screwing the system" while he is exploring retraining/repositioning himself for a new career. Using the down time to look for another indendured servent job (yes, I am on of them) is no different from re-training, entering a new career where you are working for yourself and managing your own fate.

 

[Stealth Fighter]

The OP was required by law to contribute to unemployment insurance. After his pay from the employer stops and while he is seeking employment and/or being retrained for a new career he is entitled to his unemployment benefits. Unlike many of the "undocumented" workers in the US (aka illegal aliens), he has worked for years "contributing" to the funds like unemployment insurance and social security. Those were earned by him as opposed to the government raiding the funds to give as perks to illegals and those who refuse to work in exchange for votes. I believe the OP should seek his dream while he can afford it. He should keep looking for other employment in the meantime because the longer you are unemployed the harder it is to find employment. It is a good idea to contact the State Unemployment folks now and see what career job training exists.

The OP should go forth and pursue his dream; but, maintain a "plan B". Sometimes the desire to life indoors and eat daily wins out over your dream job.

This (bold part above) may be true in your state, which I seriously doubt, but it is not true in North Carolina: "Unemployment insurance (UI) tax is a tax on employer payrolls paid by employers from which unemployment benefits are paid to qualified unemployed workers. Unemployment tax is not deducted from employee wages. Unemployment tax payments made by employers are transferred to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund in Washington, D.C. Each year a prorated share of the interest earned on this trust fund is added back to the account of each North Carolina employer having a credit experience rating balance." Link Removed


While the unemployment payroll tax the employer pays could be used to augment the employee's salary, there is no guarantee that it would be used to the employee's benefit, and I see no evidence that it would be. Obviously, employers do not like to pay this tax, and in some cases will fight to prevent the employee form being able to collect unemployment. I know firsthand of one such case (ex-wife) and I have been told, by the effected employee, of other cases.


I don't think anyone in this thread is trying to discourage the OP. I wish him well. However, I believe he is getting some very bad advice, and others and I are only trying to help him avoid trouble and a possible loss of any income assistance. I suspect that all states have websites similar to the one I linked in the above paragraph. I suggest the OP find his and read it.

 

[Pork_Chop]

I'm not going to post about the intended use of unemployment benefits. My main question to the OP is how he is going to make a livable wage? He did state that his earning would equal that of his corporate salary, and that that wouldn't include side gigs etc. There is an old saying..."The difference between a hobby (amateur) musician and a professional musician is that the amateur musician has a good paying job, while the professional musician's wife has a good paying job." Best of luck to the OP, and I truly hope that the pain from losing his job turns into the dream of being a professional musician. I think a lot of us would be envious.

 

[kdrabbit]

I don't begrudge Remyd any of this comments. I've been in this situation before, while it was a long, long time ago (1980), I followed all the rules, reported every dime of self-employment earnings (as a musician) and looked for work. I was fortunate to have been eligible for a profit-sharing payment after I was laid off and I reported that as well. I looked for fulltime work diligently and when I finally did interview for a position, during the interview I was asked a couple of questions that were oriented towards understanding my ethnicity (the interviewers were blatantly trying to find out if I was italian-american) as it was obvious that they were concerned how their town council would view that. I was offered the job but I turned it down because of the inappropriate questions about my race. I also reported that to the employment service, they summarily stopped my unemployment immediately (because I had turned down the job offer from the racist county organization) and after about 6-months or so (this after I did find another more suitable job through a paid employment agency) they requested I pay back about two months worth of unemployement (I declined). Now, after almost 35 years, I'm sure if I ever had to file for unemployment again (fingers crossed), I would not be able to receive it unless I made restitution for that long-ago incident. So, Remyd, use it as best you can, I wish you well and hope that you find either 1) good employment as a full/part time musician or 2) find another job that you enjoy. Good luck.

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

If the OP is on severance, do whatever the fudge you want. If you are on EI, there is an onus that you are looking for comparable work. Nobody is saying you have to go work at Home Depot, but to not look for real work while chasing $50 gigs seems a little ludicrous. I wonder how many of the people supporting the OPs decision complain about welfare cases and taxes. As much as the OP paid into this pool with his wages, he is probably going to take more out in nine months. Everybody chips in so somebody can not work, not one person covers one person.

I once had a student who wanted to be a full-time musician and was asking lots of questions. I told him 9/10 "professional" musicians I know are on social assistance or sell drugs. I would gather this rings true in pretty much every jurisdiction in North America. The wife comment above (by Pork_chop) is fairly comical, yet true.

If the OP is fine with it, then go nuts. Not my place to tell you how to run your life. Just be sure to claim your income and do not take any out of town gigs.

 

[AudioDwebe]

To the OP: Good luck, man. I hope you succeed and are able to support yourself as a musician.

 

[therumour]

"Congress is reluctant to extend benefits to people who are actually looking for a job but can't find one."
Congress is not reluctant to extend benefits, they have just stopped entirely paying them out , but they haven't stopped collecting unemployment tax from employers. How ethical is that? We'll take your money but we won't give it back.

I think Congress is guilty of many things... but not what you have suggested. The Feds collect what the states don't, and the Feds use that for (administration?) and making the payments for states that don't have unemployment insurance programs. Extensions come out of the "general fund" (i.e. the income tax you pay each year) and Congress usually "extends" when elections are near, and then "stops" when the election protection is no longer needed.

The trick (imho) is to make sure the politicians that will help keep your (former) employer (and other employers who would want to use your skill-set) in the black are the ones who get elected.

http://payroll.intuit.com/support/kb/1000105.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/qa-unemployment-benefits

 

[warrplayer]

i wish to hire you to hunt licensed crawdads

I believe only crayfish may be official licensed.

 

[tbz]

I got laid off from my day job on Wednesday. My "position was eliminated for cost-cutting reasons". Not exactly a fanfare exit, more like the bum's rush. I've been with the company for a long time and got a pretty good severence which will take me into the first part of 2015 at full salary (not huge, but enough to keep the budget in the black if only just)......You guys, I think I get to be a professional full-time musician until summer at least!

Hopefully you can still find work at that point. A nine month gap usually indicates an inability to successfully find work.

Many folks that I know that have had that kind of employment gap, in this market end up taking positions that pay less than their former one.

Please note I'm employed in a high skill/high training field that is constantly in demand, where you literally cannot find enough qualified candidates. Folks with large resume gaps are still viewed with suspicion.

Good luck, hopefully I'm just crying wolf.

 

[Remyd]

My wife's friend heard about all of this through the grapevine and just offered to let me borrow her DB for the next year if I replace the strings.

How is this not some next-level stuff? Before I even start on this journey, a DB basically falls out of the sky? Wow, man.

 

[singlemalt]

You priced DB strings yet?

It is a fine offer on her part. You get to live with a DB, and find out if it's your thing. Blue painter's masking tape with some "cheater" marks will get you started. DB is a big adventure all on its own.

Layoffs suck. Take your time and good luck.

 

[Lackey]

Hey best of luck man, personally I have no qualms with you using your unemployment pay during your (forced) break from the rat race. I will say that being a gigging warrior isn't too easy based on my brother and good friends experience, but any success you find will probably be due to 1) skill and diversity 2) personality 3) connections 4) connections 5-10) connections.

With that said, my bro and 2 friends are full time pro musicians, and able to make a living - Some years have been preeeetty rough though. My brother went a whole week eating tortillas and mustard a few years back.

 

[Carl Hillman]

You guys, I think I get to be a professional full-time musician until summer at least!

Good luck.

Not to discourage you, but I've been freelancing for 27 years and business for me is currently as slow as I've ever seen it. Hopefully, you live in a part of the country with a lot more gig opportunities

 

[lfmn16]

There is nothing wrong with using the system to you fullest advantage,

I never said there was.

especially in this day and age where employeers routinely discard excellent employees as if they are rancid meat.

This is irrelevant when determining what constitutes ethical behavior.

Remember, his employeer contributes to the unemployment insurance pool, the amount dependent upon how many of their former employees draw from it.

This has been posted numerous times.

As I said before, I hope he makes a go of it. I just hope he follows the rules.

 

[hsech]

Once your severance runs out and if you start unemployment while working as a full time bassist, you better get a Tax EID for your bass playing. Pay taxes on your earnings and report the income to the state unemployment. If they find out you are not doing this, they can zing you for back taxes plus hit you up for a refund of unemployment.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Actually, no they don't have to- look it up, they and about 5-6 other southern states do not comply with the minimum wage standard. see link - They only pay it if you are working a "federal" job in Georgia- not all the rest of the typical min. wage job such as Home Depot- and the Fed jobs pay more than that anyhow. http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm#Georgia

So the sad reality is- in Georgia- even if you would rather just do any job- you actually make more on UnEmployment than Min. Wage- thus the problems set in. It's simple pay a 'living" wage for work- or don't even offer the job.

Let me check with the US Department of Labor, as well as check the state statute. That doesn't seem right. As I understand it, you can always file in state court or the US DOL.