Unemployment benefits in Maryland

Can I get benefits?

You must have been paid at least $1,176.01 in the quarter of your base period with your highest wages, and wages in at least two quarters that together add up to at least 1.5 times the top of your line in the state's benefit schedule (at least $1,800).

Law: Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. secs. 8-802, 8-803(a)

If you quit

If you quit, you are disqualified unless you had good cause connected with the job or the employer's actions, or a "valid circumstance" (a substantial job-related reason, or a reason so necessitous or compelling that you had no reasonable choice but to leave).

If you were fired

Being fired does not by itself stop benefits.

Law: Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. secs. 8-1001, 8-1002, 8-1002.1, 8-1003, 8-1005

Quit, fired, refused work and the federal rules →

The wage test, the amount and your estimate →

How much and how long?

Weekly benefit

$50–$430

Weeks

Up to 26 weeks

Waiting week

No waiting week

Working part time

The first $50 you earn in a week is not deducted.

How it is figured, the full rules and the estimate tool →

How to file in Maryland

File online in BEACON, or by phone with a claims agent at 667-207-6520, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. You may need to verify your identity before your claim is processed. In-person help is offered at a few American Job Centers and at 100 S. Charles Street in Baltimore.

File as soon as you are out of work.

What to have ready

• Your Social Security number
• Your address, phone number and email address
• The name, address, phone number and your start and end dates for every employer in the last 18 months, and the reason you left each job

Certify (claim your weeks)

Weekly. Each week, first record your job search in the Maryland Workforce Exchange, then file your weekly certification in BEACON, the MD Unemployment for Claimants app or by phone (410-949-0022 or 1-800-827-4839).

Everything about filing →

Appeal a denial

• Appeal to the Lower Appeals Division — 15 calendar days from the date the determination was mailed or otherwise delivered to you (the last day to appeal is printed on the determination)
• Appeal to the Board of Appeals — 15 calendar days from the date of the Lower Appeals Division decision (the last day to appeal is printed at the end of the decision)
• Petition for judicial review in circuit court — 30 calendar days

Deadline calculator, appeal letter and hearing checklist: Appeal details →

The hearing

Format

Lower Appeals hearings are held by telephone.

Overpayments and waivers

An overpayment is benefits you were paid but were not entitled to.

Appeal within

30 days from the mailing or delivery date of the overpayment notice

Fraud penalty

15% added when the overpayment is fraud

Waiver

The state can waive some overpayments.

Law: Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. sec. 8-809

Waiver details and the hearing checklist →

Someone filed a claim in your name

If someone used your identity to file a Maryland unemployment claim, call 667-207-6520 to start an investigation, or mail the Request for Investigation of Unemployment Insurance Fraud form to Attention: Benefit Payment Control, 100 South Charles Street, Tower 1, Baltimore, MD 21201. For a 1099-G for benefits you did not get, mail MD Labor's affidavit form with a copy of your photo ID to the same address.

• Report it online
• Phone: 667-207-6520

National steps

1. Report it to the state where the claim was filed and follow its instructions. Some states ask for a police report or a sworn statement.
2. If you got a 1099-G for benefits you did not receive, the state will send a corrected 1099-G. When you file taxes, report only the income you actually received; do not wait for the corrected form.
3. Check your free credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com or 877-322-8228. Report other identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov.
4. You can also report unemployment identity fraud that happened after March 2020 to the U.S. Department of Justice National Center for Disaster Fraud. You must still report it to the state.

U.S. Department of Labor: report unemployment identity fraud

Good to know in Maryland

• Maryland has no unpaid waiting week, and its weekly benefit comes from a 381-line schedule written into the law ($50 to $430, plus $8 per child under 16 for up to 5 children, capped at $430 total) (Lab. & Empl. secs. 8-803, 8-804).
• Firing is graded in three levels - misconduct (10 to 15 weeks), gross misconduct (until you earn 25 times your weekly benefit) and aggravated misconduct (30 times).

  Law: Lab. & Empl. secs. 8-1002, 8-1002.1, 8-1003

• Benefit appeals must be filed within 15 days, but appeals of overpayment recovery decisions have 30 days (Lab. & Empl. secs. 8-806, 8-809(c)).

Questions about unemployment in Maryland