History
I have been working fairly consistently since I was 15 years old. The only other time (besides now) I have not been working was in 2010 when I moved from Florida to Maryland. I was out of work for 3.5 months during that time. Otherwise, I have always been actively employed since 1980.
Current Situation
I have been working as a Contractor for the last 18 months for this banking company. It was suppose to be a temp to perm job until we switched departments.There was no issue with my performance as it had to do with their policy. It seems this new department I was working for had 2 policies. One was that a contractor could only work 18 months maximum. The other rule was that they did not hire contractors. They did try to get my job extended (my company and the group I worked with).
It was suppose to be all squared away and I was working another 6 months. However, on the way home from work yesterday, I got a call from the Contract company saying it did not go through as thought and not to report to work tomorrow. WTF - have job - not have job now - LIFE SUX!
The thing that made this extra hard for us was that my wife (who is also a Contractor) has her job ending this Thursday. This makes it worse as now not only don't either of us have jobs, but also no Health Insurance. COBRA you say - how about $1700.00/month just for Healthcare (not including Dental or Vision). On a fixed income with only some savings and 2 unemployment checks, this would not be possible.
DAY ONE
I had to stop at my bank to let them know that I needed to be placed on a Free Checking Account. I had an interest bearing account, but since I was no longer getting direct deposits, I had to switch or get fees. I recommend everyone check with the bank if something dramatic happens in their life. You don't need to incur crazy fees that could of otherwise been avoided.
It was the very first time I have ever claimed unemployment benefits. Not really happy about this as I never ever thought this would be me.
The place to start of course is the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulations (DLLR for short). You will need to get to the Department of Unemployment Insurance to start your claim however. You will need to click on the link for Claimant Info. This is where you will given the information to start the process.
I was able to do this online as I had been working for the same company for 18 months. You can find out more info when you file for your Initial Claim like I did. It was easy to complete as I had all the information required which was nice. Now I just have to wait for the Mail-person to deliver the claim information packet so I can get started.
Since you need to at least apply to 2 jobs per week, I went over to the Maryland Workforce Exchange site to update my info. After updating everything, I was also able to find 2 Computer Support jobs as well. One was in Hagerstown and the other was in Frederick which is where I used to work. Hopefully one of these will pan out and this will be a short blog :D
Well, now that I am home, I need to do some house work and make dinner. Just call me Mr. Mom for the next couple days.
Jobless Cartoon of the Day
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