I was fired in Sept 08 (wrongfully) by a US company I already worked who relocated me to another country. For many reasons I decided to conduct my job search from there, confident I could get work soon. As the US has a Free Trade Agreement with this country I was able to do get a work permit to do contract/freelance work, as well as getting full and long term employment.
Unfortunately I could not afford to continue to live without assitance, so I applied for unemployment through CA, where the division of the company for which I had worked for was located. In my interview I told the EDD I was living out of the country but looking for and available for work anywhere in the world. I was told that unless I was living in the US, I would unlikely get benefits.
I have now spent a lot of money to move back to the US, and my claim for the time I was out of the country was denied, as I suspected, though now I am receiving benefits, starting one week after I returned to the US.
Ironically, I have recently had many requests for interviews in the part of the world where I was living, and the companies, some US based, were willing to fly me within the region, but now that I am in the US they are reevaluating. I have just had one interview delayed since once the company found out I had moved back to the US, they had to reschedule the interview because of more difficult logistics and increased costs.
For many reasons this seems very shortsighted on the part of the US government. My questions are 1) do you know of any legislation that may be in the works to support US citizens willing and able to work in the global workforce? and 2) though I do not expect to get the benefits I was denied for the 12 weeks it took from the time I applied and the time I landed back in the US, I would like to appeal on principle, and am wondering if you or anyone you know would be interested in helping me.
Hi Anonymous,
No, I do not know of any pending legislation that would be of use to you. In fact, the most recent unemployment extension passed is all, but useless, to those who can’t find a job in the US .. let alone the global job market.
I’m sure you would have no trouble at all finding an employment attorney to handle an appeal on principle alone, if you have the $250 – $300 an hour to pay for an appeal on principle.
I simply, have to many unanswered questions about your situation to know if any help I could give, would be of value for what you’re hoping to accomplish.
I of course am always willing to review anyone’s specific problem and discuss it..