Understanding Employee Eligibility for UI Claims
Before a former employee can receive Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits, they must meet certain eligibility requirements. First, they must be monetarily eligible, meaning they earned enough wages during the base period(explained below) to qualify. Second, they must be unemployed through no fault of their own – UI is intended for workers who lost jobs due to lack of work (layoffs) or other qualifying reasons, not for those who quit without good cause or were fired for misconduct. In short, an ex-employee who was laid off or had hours reduced can likely file a claim, whereas someone who resigned voluntarily or was terminated for cause may be disqualified. Finally, claimants must also be able and available to work and actively seeking new employment to receive benefits. If these conditions are met, the individual can file a UI claim with the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) either online or by phone.
Calculating the Base Period Year and Its Significance
Nevada uses a base period year to determine a claimant’s monetary eligibility and benefit amount. The standard base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the claim is filed. In practice, this roughly equates to the wages earned in the one-year period about 3 to 18 months prior to the claim. For example, a claim filed in May 2025 would use wages from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024 as the base period. (Nevada law also provides an alternate base period using the latest four completed quarters if the worker doesn’t qualify under the standard base period, which can require employers to report recent quarter wages early.) The base period is critical because it determines three things: