(1) For the purposes of 39-51-2305 , MCA, and of this rule, the following definitions and interpretations apply:

(a) "Grade or class of workers" means:

(i) workers who are members of a particular bargaining unit; or

(ii) workers whose jobs are similar or integrated or who have substantial mutual interests or similarities in wages, hours, and other conditions of work.

(b) "labor dispute" means any controversy concerning terms, tenure, or conditions of work or concerning the association or representation of persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing, or seeking to arrange terms or conditions of work, regardless of whether the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and employee.

(c) "strike" means a concerted cessation of work by workers in an effort to obtain or to resist some change in conditions of work.

(2) A worker is considered to be participating in the labor dispute at the factory, establishment or other premises where the worker was last working that caused a strike, as provided in 39-51-2305 (1) , MCA, if the worker:

(a) is picketing, refusing to cross a picket line, or refusing to report for work; or

(b) is a member of a bargaining unit that voted to authorize the strike.

(3) A worker is considered to be financing the labor dispute at the factory, establishment or other premises where the worker was last working that caused a strike, as provided in 39-51-2305 (1) , MCA, if the worker, or the union of which the worker is a member, has contributed time or money directly or through any special assessment in an attempt to affect the outcome of the labor dispute, further the objectives of the strike, or provide aid or support to the union involved in the labor dispute or to the workers participating in the strike.

(4) A worker is considered to be directly interested in the labor dispute at the factory, establishment or other premises where the worker was last working that caused a strike, as provided in 39-51-2305 (1) , MCA, if:

(a) the labor dispute involves one or more of the terms or conditions of the employment agreement under which the worker was working at the time of the commencement of the strike; or

(b) the resolution of the labor dispute may reasonably be expected to affect the wages, hours, or other workers' conditions of work.

(5) The factors enumerated in (2) , (3) , and (4) are not exhaustive and, therefore, other circumstances not contemplated in this rule may be found by the department to constitute participation in a labor dispute or direct interest in a labor dispute or financing of a labor dispute strike by a worker, if such a finding is supported by a preponderance of the evidence and as a matter of law.

(6) (a) The department will determine that a labor dispute was caused by an employer's violation of law pertaining to collective bargaining, as provided in 39-51-2305 , MCA, if the strike that exists because of the labor dispute is found, by a state or federal agency or court with jurisdiction to make such a finding, to have been, from its inception, an unfair labor practice strike. If the strike is found to have been converted into an unfair labor practice strike, a worker disqualified pursuant to 39-51-2305 (1) , MCA, will remain disqualified until the end of the week during which the conversion is found to have occurred.

(b) The department will determine that a labor dispute was caused by an employer's violation of law pertaining to hours, wages, or other conditions of work if:

(i) the strike that exists because of the labor dispute is found, by a state or federal agency or court with jurisdiction to make such a finding, to have been caused by the employer's violation of state or federal law pertaining to hours, wages, or other conditions of work; or

(ii) the employer is found, by a state or federal agency or court with jurisdiction to make such a finding, to have violated state or federal law pertaining to collective bargaining, hours, wages, or other conditions of work and, in the absence of any finding by the agency or court as to whether the violation was the cause of the strike, the department determines that the violation was the cause in fact and proximate cause of the strike that exists because of the labor dispute.

(7) If no violation of law is found as described under (6) above, a worker disqualified pursuant to 39-51-2305 , MCA, will remain disqualified until the end of the week in which:

(a) (i) the strike is abandoned; and

(ii) the worker, or the union of which the worker is a member, makes an unconditional offer to return to work; or

(b) there has been a complete and bona fide termination of the work relationship between the worker and the employer. The permanent replacement of a striking worker will be considered to constitute a complete and bona fide severance of the work relationship between the worker and the employer only upon a final determination by a state or federal agency or court with jurisdiction to make such a determination that the worker has no rights of reinstatement.