See message - Khee-bord Wizard

I hope I understood your question correctly. 

If you are an Employee, you can file for Unemployment Benefits in the State where you reside (not in the State where the MTSO has its headquarters).  All wages paid to EMPLOYEES are “insured wages.” 

If you are an Independent Contractor or Statutory Employee, you are not eligible to receive Unemployment Benefits. 

The best way to get Unemployment is to be laid off – very little the company can do to prevent you from receiving Unemployment Benefits if they lay you off.  If you are fired, the company can claim that you were discharged for cause, which may delay your Unemployment Benefits.  If you quit, you can still file for Unemployment Benefits, but the company will definitely file an objection.  This will not only delay getting any Unemployment Benefits, but you may not get them at all after waiting for weeks while they process your claim.  Some States will pay Unemployment Benefits to people who quit under certain circumstances, such as the company not providing the amount of work you were hired for or for making forced unreasonable job duty changes (including change in hours, days, etc).

It really all depends on the State you live in.  Some States (California for one) are very generous with their Unemployment Benefits.  You can quit your job and still have a good chance of getting Unemployment Benefits.  Other States make it next to impossible to get any Unemployment Benefits unless you are laid off.  Even if you are fired, it is a battle to get anything and can take a long time. 

Also, each State has different requirements.  All States require companies with a certain number of Employees to pay into the Unemployment Insurance Fund.  These are the “insured wages” you are inquiring about. 

Asking your State Unemployment Office would give you accurate information.  You may be able to e-mail them (I know getting through by phone in almost all States is a pain now).  They may also have answers to your exact questions on their Website FAQ.  I am sure others have had those same questions. 

A lot of people do not know how employers are charged Unemployment.  For those who do not, here is how it works. 

Unemployment is paid by the State government. Employers pay into a fund based upon the number of employees they have. The State government collects the money paid in and puts it into a trust fund. Unemployment benefits are then paid out from the trust fund. The amount of money (unemployment insurance premiums) an employer pays is based upon their history of payouts. A company that has high numbers of payout will pay more per employee then will a company who fires or lays no one off  (like auto insurance - a person with more accidents on their history pays higher premiums then a driver with a clean record).  This can range from 0% to 6% of taxable payroll. They also have to pay an Administrative Tax to the State, who has to keep track of the UC Claim and print out the check, etc.  This is also a percentage. It gets pretty complicated after that. 

That is why employers fight every new Unemployment claim. 

Hope this helps. 

Good Luck. 

Thank you very very much for the info. It really helped - yochana