Apply for unemployment benefits as a federal employee

Federal employees who recently lost their jobs or who are not working due to furloughs can apply for unemployment insurance.

What you need to apply

To complete your application for unemployment benefits, you may need information from:

• W-2(s) from the most recent tax year
• Pay stubs or Leave and Earnings Statements (LES) from the last 15 months
• SF-50 and SF-8 forms

If you don’t have access to this information, answer the questions you can.

Learn more about accessing federal personnel documents

What to know if you are furloughed

If you’re not working due to a federal government shutdown, and you meet all other eligibility requirements, you can apply for unemployment benefits. If you're working but not getting paid, you're not eligible for unemployment.

If you are approved for benefits:

• You will need to pay those benefits back when you return to work. If you don't pay them back, DUA will send you an overpayment notice.
• You must file a weekly claim each week that you need benefits, including proof of 3 work search activities.
• You may also be required to complete work search seminars with a MassHire Career Center.

Due to reduced staff during a federal shutdown, it may take longer for your employer to respond to requests for more information about your claim. To help us process your claim:

• Complete the Claimant's Statement of Federal Civilian Service, Wages, and Reason (Form 934/935), which you will get when you complete your application for benefits.
• For faster processing, upload your Form 934/935 online:
  • Log in to Unemployment Services for Workers
  • From your dashboard, select View more benefit details
  • Select Additional services
  • Select Upload federal wages and follow the prompts to complete
• If you can't upload your documents, you can mail them (this may slow down claim processing time). Forms can be mailed to:
  P.O. Box 9511
  Boston, MA 02114

If you receive retroactive pay for the furlough period, you need to repay unemployment benefits collected during that period.

How to apply

You can apply for unemployment benefits online or over the phone. You may need more information for certain sections of the application:

Reason for separation

• Select "Lack of Work" if:
  • You are not working due to furloughs
  • Your position was eliminated due to reorganization
• Select "Discharge - Job Performance" if performance is listed as the reason for separation
  • In Massachusetts, poor job performance does not automatically disqualify you from receiving benefits

If you are not working because of a federal government shutdown, select “Lack of Work” as the reason for separation.

What happens after you apply

You can start filing a weekly claim for benefits the week after you apply. You must submit a weekly claim for every week you need to receive benefits.

What to expect after you apply for unemployment insurance