altaltaltaltaltalter's journey

I have been on unemployment for about a month after being laid off from my job in Ohio. Recently, my lawyer received two checks from my former employer as part of a discrimination settlement. One check is for "Compensatory Damages" and falls under a 1099-MISC box 3, while the other is a W-2 payment that doesn't specify its purpose, just stating that I wouldn't have received it without the settlement agreement. I'm trying to figure out if I need to claim the W-2 check as income for my unemployment benefits, since it isn't clearly labeled as wages. I've received some advice that the 1099 is for punitive damages and not deductible, but I'm still unsure about the W-2. I wonder if there are any allocation dates for the W-2 payment, as that could affect how it's treated for unemployment purposes.

This week, I had a phone interview with a major healthcare system in Ohio. I received an email from the recruiter asking to schedule the interview, which I did. However, the recruiter was 30 minutes late, so we had to reschedule for the next day. After that, I got another email stating that I wasn't qualified for the position, but the recruiter still wanted to proceed with the interview, which I found a bit strange. The actual interview lasted only about 2 minutes. They asked about my work location preference, and when I mentioned it, they informed me that there were no other roles available at that location and abruptly ended the call. I’m not sure if I should consider this a real interview, but it was scheduled as one. Can I count this as a job search activity?