No you may not file an unemployment claim for your brother. No, he is not eligible for unemployment while he is incarcerated. No questions. If this happens, it is prosecutable fraud and could result in his having more jail time, with your company.
Unemployment insurance eligiblity is dependent upon a person's being out of work through NO FAULT OF HIS OWN. If he was fired because he could not be at work because he is in jail, guess what, that's considered his own fault.
He must also be able and available for full time work immediately. And he's not going to meet that one. Work release is never going to be that generous.
When he gets out of jail, he can file for unemployment insurance at that time. He will have to have the wages in the base period to set up a claim monetarily, this will go back approximately 18 months and pull in wages. If he does have these wages enough to set up a claim, they will then go into the issue of why he lost his job. Being fired for non-attendance because you were in jail and could not come to work is not usually a "through no fault of your own" simple separation issue.
What I'd suggest he do as soon as he gets out is go back and talk to his former employer, admit the error of his ways, and ask very humbly for his job back. If they say that's not possible, he needs to file for unemployment right then. He may not get approved for it, but he will have a claim set up, and he may be able to draw it later after working elsewhere. Then he needs to begin looking for work everywhere, including temp agencies, part time, contract, anything, anything. He needs to start rebuilding a new work history where "I was fired because I went to jail" is not going to be the reason for leaving his last job.
But do not try to help him by signing him up for something he is not eligible for, with both of you committing fraud.
