The definition of a dislocated worker
Dislocated workers are people eligible for unemployment benefits because they meet one of these criteria:
1. They were terminated or laid off by their employer (or received a notice that they will be)
- AND are unlikely to return to the same industry or job
- AND they are eligible for, or exhausted, their unemployment insurance, OR they were employed for a while but are not eligible for unemployment benefits because they haven’t earned enough money or they worked for an employer that isn’t covered under Connecticut’s unemployment compensation law
2. They were or will be terminated or laid off by their employer because the plant, facility, or business is closing or conducing a substantial layoff within 180 days.
3. They were self-employed (including as a farmer, rancher, or fisherman) but are unemployed because of general economic conditions in the community or a natural disaster.
4. They are “displaced homemakers” who
- Have been providing unpaid services to a family member in the home while depending on the income of another family member but are no longer supported by that income,
- OR are dependent spouses of members of the Armed Forces on active duty whose income is significantly reduced because of deployment, call or order to active duty, permanent change of station, or their service-connected death or disability AND are unemployed or underemployed and experiencing difficulty in obtaining or upgrading employment.
5. They are the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces on active duty who:
- Has lost their job because their spouse has a permanent change in duty station
- OR is unemployed or underemployed and having difficulty getting or upgrading their employment
Call or ask at your local American Job Center to be certified as a dislocated worker.