How do you file a weekly claim in Louisiana?

Ask to be paid for each week, separately, every week you are out of work. That request is its own step: the first claim you filed opens the claim but releases no money, and Louisiana Works pays a benefit week only once you have asked for it.

How to file your weekly claim

A benefit week in Louisiana begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday. Ask for payment of each one in either of these ways:

• Log in to your HiRE account and file a weekly benefit request.
• Call the Easy Call System at 1-866-783-5567.

The local Easy Call numbers have all been switched off, so the toll-free line is the one that takes a weekly claim by phone. It is also the number for anyone who cannot file online, or who needs to speak to someone about the claim.

File your first weekly claim the Sunday after you apply. If you forget to file on Sunday or Monday, you can still file that week's claim any day before Saturday at 11:59 p.m. Central.

HiRE handles the rest of the claim as well. From the same account you can upload documents, check the status of your claim, reopen a claim, update your address or your banking details, change your tax withholding, view your Form 1099-G, and send a message to the agency. Tax on Louisiana unemployment benefits covers the withholding choice.

What the weekly claim asks you

The questions are short, and your answers decide whether that week gets paid.

• Whether you worked. Report all earnings for the week you worked, before taxes or deductions, even if you have not been paid yet.
• Whether you were able to work, available for work, and actively searching for work. Each of those has to be true for the week you are claiming.
• Whether you have received, or expect to receive, any payment from an employer, such as vacation pay, severance, a pension, or a bonus.
• Your work search activities for the week. Keeping your own note of what you did each week is worth the minute it takes, because you are certifying to it.

How many work search activities you need

Claims first filed on or after January 4, 2026 need 5 work search activities a week. If you first applied before that date, your claim keeps the older requirement of 3 a week. The increase came from a law of the 2025 Regular Session, signed by Governor Jeff Landry, that took effect December 31, 2025.

Louisiana Works publishes these as examples of what counts, not as the only things that do:

• Applying for jobs online, in person, or through job boards and staffing agencies
• Attending interviews in person, by phone, or virtually
• Registering with job placement services or staffing agencies
• Using reemployment services such as workshops, training, or career counseling
• Taking part in job fairs, networking events, or job clubs
• Updating your resume, cover letter, or job profiles, as long as you make real changes
• Taking a civil service or industry certification test
• Looking for freelance, gig, or contract work
• Any other activity Louisiana Works approves that supports your job search

Not everyone has to do them. Louisiana Works can waive work search activities for people who are temporarily laid off, for union members, and for claimants in approved training, and it tells you if that applies to you.

Louisiana law also requires you to be registered for work and to keep reporting as Louisiana Works directs.

When and how you get paid

Louisiana Works has to verify your identity before any benefits can be paid.

The first week after your new claim takes effect is usually your waiting week. You still have to file for it, and it will not be paid.

Allow at least 21 days after you file your first weekly claim for a determination on your benefits.

You choose how the money reaches you when you file the claim through HiRE: direct deposit into your bank account, or a U.S. Bank debit card. For a card that is lost or expired, or any other trouble with it, U.S. Bank takes those calls at 855-274-0354.

If you work during a week you claim

Picking up hours does not automatically end a claim. Earnings up to 50% of your weekly benefit amount leave that week's benefit untouched. Past that halfway mark, each dollar you earn takes a dollar off that week's benefit, so a week in which you earn your full weekly benefit amount or more pays nothing.

When that happens 3 weeks running, stop filing. The claim goes inactive at that point, and it also goes inactive if you miss a week. To start it again, file through HiRE, then wait until Sunday to resume filing weekly.

Keeping your claim active

If you move, update your address with Louisiana Works straight away. Filing a change of address with the U.S. Postal Service does not change it with the agency.

You may also be told to visit an American Job Center for an eligibility review and reemployment services appointment. Your benefits may be denied if you do not attend. Denials, appeals, and overpayments covers what happens after a decision goes against you.