Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of thousands of Mississippians have filed for unemployment. For those who continue to collect unemployment benefits, an important waiver will expire on August 8th.
The Mississippi Department of Employment Security has announced that the “Work Search temporary waiver” enacted by an executive order issued by the governor is set to expire, meaning that anyone receiving benefits must meet the work search requirements that currently exist under Mississippi law.
MDES states that an individual must be actively searching for full-time work in order to receive unemployment benefits. The department defines “actively” seeking work as follows:
- You must be registered for work with MDES Employment Services (Mississippi Works).
- You must contact 3 employers each week to apply for full-time work (35 hours or more).
- An actual application must be completed with at least one of the three employer contacts. An application is defined as any completed application or resume submitted to an employer for suitable work, either in person, via mail, or via electronic communication. Resume is honored as an ‘application’ by MDES if that is the acceptable mode for applying with that employer. The work applied for must be appropriate in light of the labor market and your skills and capabilities.
According to MDES, if you do not meet these requirements, you will be denied benefits.
