A reader writes:
I work for the Texas Workforce Commission and am familiar with a few other state's eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits. Based on what your reader said, she may be eligible for UI benefits. Just because her work was "project based" does not automatically render her ineligible. I don't know what state she lives in, but it wouldn't render her ineligible in Texas and many other states. In Texas, if someone is hired for a definite period, and the work ends as anticipated, they can receive benefits barring some other disqualifying factor. This upsets many employers who end up having to pay benefits, but the statutes and precedents are clear on this point. Under these circumstances the claimant (that's what we call people who apply for UI benefits) will get benefits.
I won't bore you with further details re UI benefit eligibility in Texas. But unless she was told by whichever agency administers her state's UI benefits that she is ineligible, she shouldn't assume that she is ineligible without applying.