5.1 General Principles

All states have a regular unemployment compensation (UC) system, which originated in federal relief programs responding to the worldwide depression of the 1930s. States accept federal money for administrative costs and, in return, must comply with minimal federal requirements to avoid financial penalties.1  During periods of high unemployment, those who exhaust their regular claim may also be able to get extended benefits.

Louisiana’s UC programs are run by the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC).2 In addition to the Louisiana Employment Security Law, the LWC’s operations are also controlled by administrative regulations.3  The purpose of the Louisiana Employment Security Law is neither to reward the employee nor to punish the employer, but rather to protect the stability of the state and the family in a time of hardship.4  Thus, the law is remedial in nature and its provisions must be liberally construed in favor of awarding benefits.5  This principle should be an underlying theme in all of your UC advocacy.

All unemployment assistance is time-limited, can take time to arrive even if there’s no dispute, and rarely will replace lost earnings entirely. However, because most low-income families have little or no savings and few have family members able to help out for long, UC is often the only possible source of cash aid for the unemployed. So, do what you can to help your clients apply if they might be eligible, help them overcome barriers along the way by reaching out to agency workers if you can reach them or by appealing if needed, and, if your clients need intervention you can’t provide, connect them with a legal services program able to do so. If you are pursuing another legal claim against a client’s former employer, the pursuit of unemployment benefits might also lead to helpful evidence or information.

On application and throughout the pendency of a claim, the agency may issue negative determinations for a variety of reasons and send separate determination notices on each issue; each notice requires separate timely appeal. Many seeking unemployment benefits experience housing instability or inability to pay phone bills, leading to communication issues. Even if adverse determinations are received, they are often misunderstood because of the way they are written. So, when you are helping a client with an unemployment claim, double check a client’s self-report of issues needing action. You can usually see most claim activity through the agency’s website6  and thus ensure that all negative determinations get a timely response. Even if you enter an appearance as counsel in an appeal, the agency only copies you on notices relating to that particular appeal, so regular checks are usually still needed for some clients.

• 126 U.S.C. § 3301, et seq.; 42 U.S.C. § 501, et seq.; 26 C.F.R. § 3301, et seq.
• 2See La. Workforce Comm’n.
• 3La. R.S. 23:1471, et seq.; LAC 40:IV:101, et seq.
• 4La. R.S. 23:1471.
• 5Parker v. Gerace, 354 So. 2d 1022 (La. 1978); Nat’l Gypsum Co. v. Administrator, 313 So. 2d 239 (La. 1975).
• 6La. Workforce Comm’n.