Start here, because two things have changed and most of what you will read elsewhere is out of date.
UI Online is gone. Massachusetts moved claimants to Unemployment Services for Workers, which you reach through a MyMassGov account. Your old UI Online login will not work and does not carry over.
The call center is closed on Fridays. TeleClaim runs Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at (877) 626-6800.
And the fact that matters most if you were fired: your employer has to prove you should be disqualified, not the other way around.
How much you can get
The maximum weekly benefit is $1,105, in effect since October 5, 2025. That figure is recalculated every autumn and changes again for benefit years beginning on or after Sunday, October 4, 2026. The new number was not published as of early September.
Your own weekly amount is half your average weekly wage, calculated from your two highest-earning quarters:
Add your wages from the two best quarters of the base period, divide by 26, then take 50 percent. Round down to the nearest dollar. The result is capped at $1,105.
Dependency allowance: $25 per week per qualifying child, on top of your weekly amount. A child qualifies if under 18, or under 24 and a full-time student, or over 18 and unable to work because of disability. A spouse is never a dependent. If both parents claim, only one can count a given child.
You will see it written everywhere that the dependency allowance is capped at half your weekly benefit. We could not verify that cap anywhere. G.L. c. 151A § 29(c) contains no cap, the state does not publish one, and the federal comparison tables have said “no cap” since 2025 after saying the opposite in earlier years. Ask when you file rather than assuming.
How many weeks
Thirty weeks, currently. It drops to 26 only when the 12-month average unemployment rate is at or below 5.1 percent in all ten Massachusetts metropolitan areas at once. Massachusetts has flipped before, limiting claims filed after July 2, 2023 to 26 weeks before reverting.
What matters practically: the number locks in when you file. Check it at the time.
Whether you qualify
Two separate money tests, and you need both:
- At least $6,300 in base period wages. This figure has not moved since 2024 because it only rises with the state minimum wage, which has been $15.00 since January 2023.
- At least 30 times your weekly benefit rate in the base period.
The state’s own website says “$6,300 over the last 12 months.” That is a shorthand and it is wrong. The statute says the base period, which can reach back roughly fifteen months. If you earned the money in an older quarter, do not talk yourself out of applying.
The base period, and the one people miss
The base period is normally the last four completed calendar quarters before you filed.
There is an alternate base period that uses the last three completed quarters plus the weeks worked in the current, incomplete quarter. It applies automatically if the normal period leaves you ineligible, and you can also request it if it would raise your total benefit credit by 10 percent or more. If your recent earnings are much better than your older ones, ask.
Work search: three activities a week
You must complete and report three job search activities every week. Miss them and you are not eligible for that week. The only exception is an approved training program.
Applications, in-person visits to employers, job fairs, networking events, interviews, and registering with employment agencies all count.
The paper work search log is no longer required if you file online. Report activities in your account. If you certify by phone, keep your own written record.
If you were fired
This is where most people give up without applying, and it is usually a mistake.
Being fired does not disqualify you. What disqualifies you is deliberate misconduct in wilful disregard of the employer’s interest, or a knowing violation of a reasonable and uniformly enforced rule.
The Supreme Judicial Court drew the line in Garfield v. Director of the Division of Employment Security, 377 Mass. 94 (1979):
“When a worker is ill-equipped for his job or has a good faith lapse in judgment or attention, any resulting conduct contrary to the employer’s interest is unintentional; a related discharge is not the worker’s intentional fault, and there is no basis under Section 25(e)(2) for denying benefits.”
Read that again. Being bad at the job is not misconduct. Missing targets is not misconduct. Forgetting something is not misconduct. The statute itself says a rule violation does not disqualify you if it resulted from “the employee’s incompetence.”
The question is your state of mind: did you knowingly choose to do the thing, understanding what your employer expected?
Who has to prove it
The employer. In Cantres v. Director of the Division of Employment Security, 396 Mass. 226 (1985):
“Once the claimant establishes eligibility, the burden is on the employer to persuade the director that the employee should be disqualified for wilful misconduct.”
The employer holds the evidence about its own rules and whether they were reasonable, so the law puts the burden there. If your employer does not show up or does not explain itself, that hurts them and not you.
Both parts must be found separately. A finding of deliberate misconduct alone is not enough without a finding of wilful disregard, which is why cases get sent back when a hearing officer skips the state-of-mind question.
Three categories disqualify without any written policy: stealing at work, illegal drug use at work, and drunkenness at work.
If you quit
Here the burden flips onto you, and there are two separate doors.
Good cause attributable to the employer. Something the employer did. Personal reasons do not fit through this door, because the Legislature added “attributable to the employing unit” in 1969 specifically to exclude them.
Urgent, compelling and necessitous circumstances. The statute allows benefits where your reasons “were for such an urgent, compelling and necessitous nature as to make his separation involuntary.” This is the door for personal circumstances the first door shuts out.
The statute also writes in specific protections that most summaries never mention:
- Domestic violence, on five separate grounds including reasonable fear of violence at work or on the way, needing to relocate, and leaving as a condition of receiving shelter services.
- Sexual, racial or other unreasonable harassment where the employer knew or should have known.
- Leaving in good faith for a new permanent full-time job that then goes wrong.
- Mandatory retirement, even if you previously agreed to it.
You are generally expected to have tried to fix the problem before quitting, but not to exhaust every option. The SJC said plainly in Guarino v. Director, 393 Mass. 89 (1984): “We reject the notion that in order to be eligible for benefits an employee must request a transfer to other work or a leave of absence.”
In harassment cases you do not have to show reasonable steps at all. The requirement is expressly excluded by statute and regulation, a point the Appeals Court made in Tri-County Youth Programs v. Acting Deputy Director, 54 Mass. App. Ct. 405 (2002). That case also rejected the argument that being able to keep doing the job means the environment was tolerable.
Severance, pensions and part-time work
Severance postpones your benefits. Massachusetts treats termination and dismissal pay as remuneration, allocated to the weeks it covers. Your benefit year is extended by the same number of weeks, so you do not lose the entitlement, but you wait.
The exception is worth real money. Payment made in exchange for signing a release of claims is not treated as separation pay, because its purpose is to buy the release rather than to compensate you for service. That holds even where the amount is calculated from your years of service. If you are negotiating an exit, how the payment is characterized matters.
Also not disqualifying: accrued sick leave, accrued vacation on a permanent separation, and a lump sum in a certified plant closing. A stay bonus is fine if it was conditioned on staying to a date, but not if it was based on past years of service.
Pensions reduce your benefit by 50 percent of the pension, but only if a base period employer helped fund it.
Social Security does not reduce your unemployment in Massachusetts. You do not need to report it when you apply.
Part-time work: you can earn up to one third of your weekly benefit before anything is deducted. Above that, the excess comes off dollar for dollar. If your benefit is $270, you can earn $90 free; earn $120 and you lose $30, leaving $240.
Rideshare, delivery and self-employment income all count and must be reported.
The deadlines that end claims
More Massachusetts claims are lost to these than to anything about the merits.
| Stage | Deadline | Runs from |
|---|---|---|
| Request a hearing | 10 days | Mailing of the determination |
| Appeal to the Board of Review | 30 days | Mailing of the examiner’s decision |
| Board must act | 21 days | Filing of your appeal |
| Civil action in District Court | 30 days | Board decision, or the deemed-denial date |
| Serve the complaint | 7 days | Commencing the action |
The ten days run from the date on the letter, not the day you opened it. Late appeals can be accepted for good cause up to 30 days, and the regulations list twelve examples including postal delay, serious illness in the family, inability to communicate in English without a translator, employer intimidation, and domestic violence.
The trap nobody warns you about
If the Board of Review does not grant or deny your appeal within 21 days, your appeal is denied automatically on day 21. The statute says so:
“If the board does not render such a decision within such twenty-one day period, the application for review shall be deemed to be denied upon the twenty-first day.”
Your 30-day deadline to file in court then runs from that date. You can lose your right to go to court while waiting for a letter that is never going to arrive. Mark day 21 on a calendar when you file.
At the hearing
You may appear by phone, by video, or in person, and you choose when you file. You may bring an agent, counsel, or advocate, which means it does not have to be a lawyer. A union representative or a knowledgeable friend can appear with you.
You also have the right to subpoena documents and witnesses. Any party to a hearing under the state administrative procedure act “shall be entitled as of right to the issue of subpoenas.” Your personnel file and the supervisor who fired you are both reachable. Almost nobody uses this.
Keep certifying every week while your appeal is pending. If you win but stopped certifying, you get nothing for the weeks you did not claim.
If they say you were overpaid
Two things to know immediately.
There is no deadline to ask for a waiver. The regulation says a request “may be filed at any time.” The 15-day figure you may see is not a filing deadline, it is the point at which requesting a waiver stops collection.
The agency’s own mistake is not a defense to the debt. The regulation is blunt: “Fault on the part of the Department in making the overpayment does not relieve the overpaid claimant of liability for repayment.” What the agency’s error does affect is whether you were at fault, which is the gateway to a waiver.
To win a waiver you must be without fault, and then show either that recovery would defeat the purpose of benefits, or that it would be against equity and good conscience. Those two are not the same, and the difference surprises people:
- Defeat the purpose of benefits means repayment would take income you need for ordinary living expenses. This is the financial hardship prong.
- Against equity and good conscience means you gave up something valuable or changed your position for the worse because of the overpayment. For this prong, your financial circumstances are irrelevant.
A good faith mistake is not fault. Fault means you gave information you knew or should have known was wrong, withheld something material, or accepted a payment you knew was incorrect.
Waivers are not available at all where the overpayment was due to fault or fraud, and the 15 percent fraud penalty cannot be waived.
If you receive SSI, or SSDI combined with SSI, or EAEDC, you are presumptively eligible for a waiver on presenting documentation.
If you were paid on a 1099
Apply anyway. A 1099 does not decide the question, and the statute expressly says that failing to withhold taxes cannot be used to determine your status.
Massachusetts uses an ABC test: you are an employee unless you are free from control, the work is outside the employer’s usual course of business or performed off all of its premises, and you are independently established in that trade.
There are actually two ABC tests and they differ in a way that matters. The wage law test requires the work to be outside the usual course of business, full stop. The unemployment test lets an employer satisfy that prong either that way or by showing the work happened off its premises. So winning a misclassification case for wages does not automatically get you unemployment.
Expect a monetary determination showing no wages. Correct it by submitting an Affidavit to Correct Wages, which is how 1099 earnings get into your base period.
Where to get free help
- Greater Boston Legal Services, (617) 371-1234
- Community Legal Aid, central and western Massachusetts, (855) 252-5342
- South Coastal Counties Legal Services, southeastern Massachusetts and the Cape, (800) 244-9023
- Northeast Legal Aid, (978) 458-1465
- Volunteer Lawyers Project, (617) 603-1700
- MetroWest Legal Services, (508) 620-1830
If you hire a lawyer, fees require agency approval and are generally capped near 15 percent of your maximum benefit amount. Flat fees of $750 or less are usually approved.
There is no claimant ombudsman. The call center and an appointment at the Boston Re-Employment Center are the only routes inside the agency.
Common questions
Why can’t I log into UI Online anymore?
UI Online has been retired. Claimants now use Unemployment Services for Workers at unemployment.mass.gov, accessed through a MyMassGov account. Old UI Online credentials do not transfer.
Can I get unemployment in Massachusetts if I was fired?
Usually yes. Only deliberate misconduct in wilful disregard of the employer’s interest, or a knowing violation of a reasonable rule, disqualifies you. Poor performance, incompetence, and good faith mistakes do not. The employer carries the burden of proving disqualification.
How long do I have to appeal an unemployment denial?
Ten days from the mailing date on the determination, not the date you received it. Late appeals may be accepted for good cause up to 30 days.
What happens if the Board of Review never responds?
Your appeal is deemed denied on the twenty-first day after filing, and your 30-day deadline to file a civil action in District Court runs from that date. Track day 21 yourself.
What is the maximum unemployment benefit in Massachusetts?
$1,105 per week, in effect since October 5, 2025. The figure is recalculated annually and changes for benefit years beginning on or after October 4, 2026.
Does severance stop my unemployment?
It postpones it, and your benefit year is extended by the same number of weeks. But money paid specifically in exchange for signing a release of claims is not treated as separation pay, even if the amount reflects your years of service.
Is there a deadline to request an overpayment waiver?
No. A waiver request may be filed at any time. The 15-day figure often quoted is the point at which a request halts collection, not a filing deadline.
How much can I earn part-time and still collect?
Up to one third of your weekly benefit is disregarded. Earnings above that reduce your payment dollar for dollar.
Can I collect unemployment as a 1099 contractor?
Possibly. The 1099 does not decide it, and the law says failure to withhold taxes cannot be used to determine your status. Apply, and if the monetary determination shows no wages, file an Affidavit to Correct Wages.
Is there still a waiting week?
Yes. The first week you claim is unpaid. Your first payment covers the second week you claim.
Statutory provisions quoted from G.L. c. 151A, principally §§ 1, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 47 and 69, and from 430 CMR 4.00 and 6.00. Case law from Garfield v. Director, 377 Mass. 94 (1979); Cantres v. Director, 396 Mass. 226 (1985); Guarino v. Director, 393 Mass. 89 (1984); Still v. Commissioner, 423 Mass. 805 (1996); and Tri-County Youth Programs v. Acting Deputy Director, 54 Mass. App. Ct. 405 (2002). Benefit figures current as of September 5, 2026; the maximum weekly benefit of $1,105 took effect October 5, 2025 and is recalculated for benefit years beginning on or after October 4, 2026. We could not verify any cap on the dependency allowance. General information, not legal advice, and not a substitute for advice about your own claim.