Unemployment Compensation Article

Unemployment Compensation

Able, Available, and Actively Seeking Work

To receive unemployment benefits, a person must have been separated from employment through no fault of their own, made a certain amount of money while employed,  and be able, available and actively seeking full time work. This article focuses on the “be able, available and actively seeking work” requirement. 

To show you are able, available, and actively seeking work you have to meet all of the following:
1.    You must be accessible to a labor market
2.    You must be ready to work on a full-time basis
3.     Your personal circumstances must leave you free to accept and undertake some form of full-time work
4.    You must be actively seeking work or following a course of action reasonably designed to result in prompt reemployment in full-time work.

Actively Seeking Work

To show that you are actively seeking work you should keep a log of all jobs you apply for, all job fairs you attend, and all job interviews you go to.
Ready to Work on a Full-Time Basis
Ready to work on a full-time basis means that if you left your last job due to an illness or injury that kept you from doing your job, you are not eligible for unemployment compensation benefits if the illness or injury still keeps you from working.  You may be eligible for unemployment compensation benefits when the illness or injury no longer stops you from working.
You also may be eligible for unemployment benefits if the illness or injury prevents you from no longer working in your usual occupation, but you can do other work.  You will need to show:
•    That you are able and available for  other full-time work, and
•    That such work exists in your community, and
•    You would accept such work.

Students

If you are a full-time student, you are not available for work. However, you may be eligible for unemployment compensation benefits if you can show all of the following:

•    You attended school full-time and worked full-time for the nine months before you filed for unemployment; and
•    You did not leave suitable full-time work voluntarily or reduce your hours to part-time work.
•    You are a part-time student, and you show that schooling is secondary to full-time employment.;
•    You did not quit full-time work to be a part-time student;
•    There is full-time work available at times when you do not attend class;
•    You will change your class time or drop classes to accept full-time work.

Refusal of Suitable Work

 You will lose your unemployment benefit if you turn down an offer of "suitable" work without "good cause." Suitable work is work that fits your training, experience, skills, health, physical fitness, prior earnings, and is within 20 miles of your home.

For example, if you are an auto mechanic, you will not have to accept the open job at a fast food restaurant. However, if an auto mechanic job is available, you will have to accept an auto mechanic job or lose your unemployment compensation unless you have "good cause" to refuse the new offer.
Good cause to turn down an offer of suitable work means one of the following applies to you:
•    There was a reasonable prospect of other work, which means a written offer for another job;
•    The distance to the available work from home is more than 20 miles, or more than 1 hour commuting time one way, or commuting expenses would be 15% 0r more of gross wages.;
•    The work would adversely affect an existing physical or mental impairment;
•    The work required take a polygraph test as a pre-employment requirement.
•    The wages, hours or other conditions of the work are much worse than those for similar work in the community;
•    The job offered is not in the worker’s customary occupation and there is a good prospect of obtaining work in the customary occupation.
•    The work is offered because of a strike, lockout or other labor dispute;
•    You would have to join a company union or to resign from or refrain from joining a bona fide labor organization as a condition for work. (A.R.S. §§ 23-775, 776).

The Department of Economic Security (DES) manages unemployment compensation in Arizona. DES has on-line unemployment benefits applications and other useful information for job seekers.

The on-line unemployment benefits application is here: https://des.az.gov/content/apply-ui-benefits.

Other useful information about unemployment compensation in Arizona is here: https://des.az.gov/services/employment/unemployment-individual/eligibility-unemployment-insurance-benefits.

A Guide to Arizona Unemployment Compensation Benefits is  here: https://des.az.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/dl/PAU-007.pdf.

Attached Document
 Unemployment Compensation

On 8/11/07
nancy said
i was sent a notice that denied my unemployment,stateing i failed to return from an fmla,i was fired and my doctor had me schld returning pending medical findings,which resulted in a surgey/ a lower lumbar disk fusion.

On 11/8/06
need help said
eeks notice, I recived appeal hearing and was denied because I went back to work after being told I would not have work history if I didn't give 2 weeks notice

On 11/8/06
NEED HELP said
I was verbally assulted and embarassed by drunk owners in front of many coowners and coworkers.I quit my job!manager called me begging to come back I said no,he said you dont want to leave with no work history for last 7yrs do you? So I agreed to 2 w