Unemployment benefits in Vermont

Can I get benefits?

You must have been paid at least the current minimum quarterly amount in one quarter of your base period (it changes each July with the minimum wage), and wages in the other quarters equal to at least 40% of that highest quarter.

Law: 21 V.S.A. sec. 1338(d), (h)

If you quit

If you quit without good cause connected to your employer, you are disqualified until you work for a real employer again and earn more than 6 times your weekly benefit amount.

If you were fired

Being fired does not by itself stop benefits.

Law: 21 V.S.A. secs. 1340(b), 1344(a)(1), (2)

Quit, fired, refused work and the federal rules →

The wage test, the amount and your estimate →

How much and how long?

Weekly benefit

up to $751

Weeks

Up to 26 weeks

Working part time

An amount equal to 50% of your earnings that week is not deducted.

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

How to file in Vermont

Create a myVermont log-on and file in Claimant e-Services, or call the Initial Claims line at 1-877-214-3330.

Open your claim during the first week you are out of work or working less than 35 hours.

What to have ready

• Your date of birth and Social Security number
• Your legal name, address, email and phone number
• Your employers in the last 18 months and why you are no longer working

Certify (claim your weeks)

Weekly. File a weekly claim online in e-Services after each week ends (Sunday 12:00 a.m. to Saturday 11:59 p.m.).

Everything about filing →

Appeal a denial

• Appeal to an Administrative Law Judge — 30 calendar days from the date of the determination you are appealing
• Appeal to the Vermont Employment Security Board — 30 calendar days from the date of the Administrative Law Judge's decision
• Appeal to the Vermont Supreme Court — 30 calendar days

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

The hearing

Format

The Administrative Law Judge hearing is held by telephone conference call and recorded.

Overpayments and waivers

If you were paid benefits and later found not eligible, you must repay them unless you get a waiver.

Appeal within

30 days from the mail date listed on the overpayment determination

Fraud penalty

15% added when the overpayment is fraud

Waiver

The state can waive some overpayments.

Law: 21 V.S.A. sec. 1347

Waiver details and the hearing checklist →

Someone filed a claim in your name

An unexpected letter or a 1099-G from VDOL may mean someone filed a claim using your information. Report it online through VDOL's fraud page (there is a separate report for a 1099-G you did not expect).

• Report it online

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 Vermont

• Vermont does not count half of your gross pay when you work part time.

  Law: 21 V.S.A. sec. 1338a, as amended in 2025

• A firing for misconduct caps total benefits at 23 weeks.

  Law: 21 V.S.A. sec. 1340(b)

• From July 1, 2026, VDOL can take no more than 50% of a weekly benefit to repay an overpayment.

  Law: 21 V.S.A. sec. 1347(d)

Changes in 2024–2026

Act 40 of 2025 amended the partial-benefit rule, effective July 1, 2025; VDOL's 2026 handbook says 50% of gross wages are disregarded. Act 85 of 2024 (Adj. Sess.) changed appeal procedure sections 1348, 1349 and 1351 effective July 1, 2024. A version of sec. 1347(d) limiting benefit offsets for overpayments to 50% of the weekly benefit takes effect July 1, 2026 (or earlier on a contingency). The maximum weekly benefit is $751.

Law: sec. 1338a

Questions about unemployment in Vermont