How earning income affects a Colorado unemployment claim

Starting a new job while receiving unemployment benefits can raise a lot of questions — especially in Colorado, where the rules balance both entitlement (your right to claim benefits) and eligibility (meeting the weekly requirements to receive them). At Greschler Unemployment Representation, an unemployment attorney, we help claimants navigate these rules so they don’t lose benefits they’ve earned through no fault of their own.

When to Stop Filing for Unemployment

Once you begin a new job and consistently earn more than your weekly benefit amount each week, you can simply stop filing your weekly bennifts becuse you are eligible to recive bennifts for any week in which your income exceeds your weekly bennift amount. After two or three weeks of not filing, your claim will automatically close with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE).

This closure doesn’t mean your benefits are gone forever — it only pauses your claim.

How to Reopen Your Claim

Your benefit year lasts 52 weeks from the date you first filed your claim. During that year, you may collect up to 26 weeks of benefits — but those weeks do not need to be consecutive.

If you later find yourself working fewer hours or earning less than your weekly benefit amount, call the CDLE 303-318-9000 immediately to reopen your claim. You can resume collecting benefits as long as you remain unemployed or underemployed and meet ongoing eligibility requirements.

Entitlement vs. Eligibility

The easiest way to understand this distinction is through example:

Imagine someone laid off for lack of work. They’re entitled to 26 weeks of unemployment benefits but decide to take a few weeks off to bike across the country. While on the trip, they are not eligible to collect benefits because they can’t work or search for work. When they return and resume their job search, they may reopen their claim and continue collecting for the remaining weeks of entitlement.

Working Part-Time While Claiming

If you accept a part-time job (less than 32 hours per week) after having worked full-time in the majority of your benefit year, you must still actively look for full-time work to remain eligible for unemployment benefits if you are trying to collect benefits for that week. If your part time job pays more than your weekly benefit amount, you will not receive benefits for that week for that reason, so no need to continue looking for full time employment in those weeks. Here’s how your earnings affect your weekly benefits:

If you earn less than 25% of your weekly benefit amount, your benefit payment isn’t reduced.

If you earn more than 25%, benefits are offset dollar-for-dollar above that threshold.

Example:

If your weekly benefit amount is $1,000 and you earn $250 or less, your unemployment benefit stays the same. If you earn $600, then your benefit is reduced by $350 for that week.

Key Takeaways

You can collect up to 26 weeks of unemployment within a 52‑week period.

Stopping weekly filing automatically closes your claim but does not cancel it.

You can reopen your claim if your hours or pay drop below your weekly benefit amount.

Keep searching for full-time work to maintain eligibility if you started part-time employment.

If the part time employment pays more than your weekly benefit amount, you may choose to stop filing because you will not receive any benefits for those weeks. If you stop filing, no job search is required in that week.

Greschler Unemployment Representation, is a Colorado unemployment attorney available to guide Colorado workers and employers through every step of this process — from filing and unemployment appeals to understanding how part-time or new employment affects benefits. If you have questions or need help reopening or protecting your claim, reach out today. You earned these rights, and we’re here to help you keep them. We are your Colorado unemployment lawyer