Workers should apply for unemployment as soon as possible, experts said. Delays are likely amid the purge of government workers.
Those claiming UCFE benefits will likely need to include certain documents with their claim, including a SF-8, or a Notice to Federal Employee About Unemployment Insurance, as well as a SF-50, or a Notification of Personnel Action, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
Those applying for UCX benefits should have a copy of their service and discharge documents — DD-214 or a similar form, the Labor Department said.
Federal employers are supposed to provide these forms to workers upon separation, but Aniskevich said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau still hadn't given her those documents as of Friday.
For now, she filed her unemployment application in Washington, D.C., without them.
"It's stressful to have uncertainty about whether my claim can be processed given the lack of forms," Aniskevich said.
Federal agencies appear to be citing lackluster performance as rationale for many job cuts in termination letters, experts said. Even so, workers should still apply for benefits, Evermore said. The cause must generally rise to the level of "gross misconduct" to prevent people from receiving aid.
This could delay benefits if the government contests a claim, however, experts said.
