Yes, you can file and start getting checks, but there are caveats. You have to show up weekly or biweekly (can’t recall which) and document X number of attempts at finding employment.

The benefits don’t even come close to the amount of your actual income before filing. If you do happen to find any sort of employment on the books, you must claim that dollar value, and your next check is REDUCED by that amount.

So there is no particular incentive to actually FIND an on the books job, either full time or as a supplement to unemployment, because they actually penalize you financially for any income you report.

I find that ridiculous, given that the benefits provided don’t even begin to cover most folks actual expenses. I’d much rather see some sort of sliding scale to mitigate this issue.