24.11.452A ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS

(1) The department shall use the following criteria to determine whether a claimant is able, available, and actively seeking full-time or part-time work.

(2) A claimant is able to work when the claimant can perform a substantial amount of suitable work in the claimant's labor market area. For the purposes of this rule, a "substantial amount" of suitable work means full-time work, unless:

(a) the majority of the claimant's work weeks in the claim base period were part-time, in which case an amount less than full-time is authorized by the department pursuant to 39-51-2115, MCA;

(b) the claimant has submitted to the department an of assessment of a physical or mental disability from a licensed and practicing health care provider, certified and signed by the provider, of appropriate, less than full-time work hours for the claimant; or

(3) The department shall determine a claimant to be available for work when the claimant is willing and able to accept an offer of suitable work for a minimum of three days in a benefit week if those days are normal days of work in the claimant's customary occupation.

(4) The department shall determine a claimant to be actively seeking work when the claimant is making an active, good faith effort to secure insured work during each week for which the claimant requests payment of benefits or waiting week credit.

(5) The department shall determine a claimant to be ineligible for benefits when, without good cause, the claimant:

(a) fails to participate in a scheduled job interview;

(b) fails to provide information requested by the department timely;

(i) a self-imposed limitation, such as an unrealistic wage or hour restriction or refusal to travel, that curtails claimant's ability to seek or accept suitable work;

(ii) a temporarily disabling health condition that prevents claimant from being able to perform suitable work;

(iii) an employer-approved leave of absence; or

(iv) the claimant is residing in, or is traveling to or in a foreign country, which, for the purposes of this rule, means any country other than the United States of America, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or Canada; or

(v) failure by claimant to actively seek or accept suitable work due to family care-giving obligations, vacation, incarceration, lack of transportation, or any other reason.

(6) The department may determine a claimant to be ineligible for benefits when, without good cause, the claimant failed to provide the department with updated contact information within three days of a change to the claimant's mailing address. Upon receipt of the updated mailing address, the claimant's eligibility must be reinstated by the department.

(7) The department may allow benefits to be paid to a claimant who resides in or travels to a foreign country that has executed a reciprocal agreement with the United States government regarding unemployment insurance.

(8) Except as provided in (a), an eligibility decision for a discharge or a claimant leaving work is effective the week of the last date of work.

(a) If the separating action occurs after the last date of work but prior to the next regularly scheduled shift, the separation is effective the latter of:

(i) the week of the separating act;

(ii) the week the claim was filed or reactivated; or

(iii) the week payment request is filed.

(b) Effective dates of separation decisions concerning valid notice are determined under ARM 24.11.454A.

History: 39-51-301, 39-51-302, MCA; IMP, 39-51-504, 39-51-2101, 39-51-2104, 39-51-2115, 39-51-2304, MCA; NEW, 2000 MAR p. 3523, Eff. 12/31/00; AMD, 2006 MAR p. 2411, Eff. 10/6/06; AMD, 2007 MAR p. 1669, Eff. 10/26/07; AMD, 2011 MAR p. 573, Eff. 5/29/11; AMD, 2013 MAR p. 413, Eff. 3/29/13; AMD, 2013 MAR p. 2144, Eff. 11/15/13; AMD, 2014 MAR p. 593, Eff. 3/28/14; AMD, 2016 MAR p. 2058, Eff. 11/11/16; AMD, 2018 MAR p. 638, Eff. 4/1/18; AMD, 2022 MAR p. 352, Eff. 3/12/22.