ARC 8327C

ARC 8327C

Proposing rulemaking related to claims and benefits
and providing an opportunity for public comment

As part of the Department’s review of rules under Executive Order 10, the Department identified several instances where the current chapter duplicates statutory language and uses restrictive terms. This text is removed from the proposed chapter.

A Regulatory Analysis for this rulemaking was published in the Iowa Administrative Bulletin on September 18, 2024. A public hearing was held on the following date(s):

●October 8, 2024

Any persons who intend to attend a public hearing and have special requirements, such as those related to hearing or mobility impairments, should contact the Department and advise of specific needs.

ITEM 1.Rescind 871—Chapter 24 and adopt the following new chapter in lieu thereof:

CHAPTER 24

CLAIMS AND BENEFITS

871—24.1(96) Definitions. Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms used in these rules shall have the following meaning. All terms that are defined in Iowa Code chapter 96 shall be construed as they are defined in Iowa Code chapter 96.

24.1(1) Reserved.

24.1(2) Administrative office (state). The state administrative office of the division of unemployment insurance services of the department of workforce development.

24.1(3) Agent state. The state in which a worker claims benefits against another (liable) state through the facilities of the state employment security agency.

24.1(4) Applicant. Any individual applying for work at a workforce development center.

24.1(5) Average weekly wages.

a.For an individual worker, the result obtained by dividing the individual’s total wages in a specified period either by the total number of weeks in the period or by the number of weeks for which wages were payable to the individual during the period.

b.For a group of workers, the result obtained by dividing the total wages for one or more quarters by the number of weeks in the period, and then dividing by the average monthly employment during the period.

24.1(6) Base period. See Iowa Code section 96.1A(3).

24.1(7) Base period employer and chargeable employer. See Iowa Code section 96.3.

24.1(8) Benefit eligibility conditions. Statutory requirements that must be satisfied by an individual with respect to each week of unemployment before benefits can be received.

24.1(9) Claim. A request for benefit payment; also used to mean any notice filed by an individual to establish insured status or a notice filed by an individual to inform the administrative agency of the individual’s unemployment.

a.A claim may be filed under any one or more of the following programs:

(1)The state program of unemployment insurance (UI),

(2)The federal program of unemployment compensation for federal employees (UCFE) established by Title V of the United States Code, and

(3)The federal program of unemployment compensation for ex-military personnel (UCX) established by Title V of the United States Code.

b.Unless otherwise specified, the term claim as used in the following definitions is applicable equally to each of the three programs.

(1)Additional claim. An application for determination of eligibility filed on an established claim that follows a period of employment.

(2)Additional interstate claim. A claim filed by an interstate claimant within the benefit year of a liable state in which insured status has already been established, after a break in the continuity of filing continued interstate claims, or to establish a new series of claims against that liable state from a new agent state.

(3)Additional UI, UCFE, or UCX claim. A notice filed at the beginning of a second or subsequent series of claims within a benefit year, when a break in job attachment has occurred since the last claim was filed, concerning which state procedures require that separation information be obtained.

(4)Combined wage claim. A claim filed according to an interstate agreement that allows workers who lack qualifying wages in any one state, or who qualify for less than maximum benefits in one or more states, to qualify or to increase benefits by combining wages from all states.

(5)Compensable claim. A request for benefit payment that certifies the completion of a week of total or partial unemployment to satisfy a claim benefit for a compensable week.

(6)Contested claim. A claim that has been protested by an employer, the department or an interested party regarding the claimant’s right to benefits.

(7)Continued claim. A continued claim is a request for benefit payment. A continued claim is a compensable claim. It is an electronic, oral or written application that certifies to the completion of a week of total unemployment or partial employment to claim benefits for a compensable week.

(8)Initial claim. An application for a determination of eligibility for benefits which determination sets forth the weekly benefit amount and duration of benefits for a benefit year.

(9)Initial interstate claim. A new or an additional interstate claim.

(10)Interstate claim. A claim filed in one state (agent state) against another state (liable state).

(11)Intrastate claim. A claim filed in the state of residence against wages earned in that state or by an interstate commuter.

(12)Mail claim. Reserved.

(13)New claim. An application for the establishment of a benefit year.

(14)New interstate claim. The first interstate claim filed by a claimant against a liable state that serves as a request for determination of insured status.

(15)New intrastate extended benefits claim. The first intrastate claim filed for extended benefits in a new extended benefits period by a claimant in state having extended benefits provisions in its law. Each time such provisions become effective it is considered a new extended benefit period. Such first claims will include those that become effective, without any break in the benefit series, for the week following the week in which regular benefits are exhausted or are terminated by the end of the benefit year.

(16)New UI, UCFE, or UCX claim. A request for determination of insured status for purposes of establishing a new benefit year.

(17)Reopened claim. The first continued claim in a second or subsequent series of claims in a benefit year when no additional claim is reportable. An application for determination of eligibility for benefits and that certifies to the beginning date of a period of unemployment that falls within a benefit year previously established for which a continued claim or claims may be filed and which follows a break in a previously established claim, due to illness, disqualification, unavailability, or failure to report for any reason other than reemployment.

(18)Second benefit year claim. A new claim with an effective date for a second benefit year that is filed within 180 calendar days following the last week of the individual’s previous benefit year. The individual is notified of the expiration of the previous benefit year.

(19)Transitional claim. Reserved.

(20)Valid UI, UCFE or UCX claim. A new claim on which a determination has been made that the individual has met the wage or employment requirements (and, under some laws, other eligibility conditions) to establish a benefit year.

24.1(10) Claimant.

a.An individual who has filed a request for determination of insured status or a new claim, or

b.An individual who has filed an initial claim unless the claim is found to be invalid or the benefit year has expired.

24.1(11) Compensable week. A week for which benefits have been claimed.

24.1(12) Covered worker. An individual who has earned wages in insured work.

24.1(13) Department. The department of workforce development, the chief executive officer of which is the director, who is appointed by the governor with the approval of two-thirds of the members of the senate. The director is responsible for administering Iowa Code chapter 96.

24.1(14) Determination.

a.Benefit determination. A decision with respect to a request for determination of insured status, a notice of unemployment, or a claim for benefits.

b.Initial determination. The first determination with respect to a claim or a request for determination of insured status.

c.Monetary determination. A determination as to whether an individual meets the employment requirements necessary for the receipt of benefits; and, if so, such individual’s weekly benefit amount and maximum benefit amount.

d.Nonmonetary determination. A determination as to whether a claimant is barred from receiving benefits for reasons other than those affecting the claimant’s insured status.

e.Redetermination. A determination made with respect to a claimant after reconsideration by the initial determining authority.

f.Status determination. A determination as to whether an employing unit is a subject employer and whether service performed for it constitutes employment as defined under a state employment security law.

24.1(15) Disqualification provisions. Those provisions of a state employment security law that set forth the conditions that bar an individual from receiving benefits for a specified period or cancel or reduce the individual’s benefits or credits.

24.1(16) Employment security law. Iowa Code chapter 96.

24.1(17) Fact-finding interview. A discussion between interested parties and a department representative for the purpose of obtaining from the claimant a statement regarding a specific eligibility or disqualification issue.

24.1(18) Insured unemployment. Unemployment during a given week for which benefits are claimed under the state employment security program, the unemployment compensation for federal employees program, the unemployment compensation for veterans program, or the railroad unemployment insurance program.

24.1(19) Insured work. Employment, as defined in a state employment security law, performed for a subject employer, or federal employment as defined in the Social Security Act.

24.1(20) Insured worker. An individual who has had sufficient insured work in such individual’s base period to meet the employment requirements for receipt of benefits under a state employment security law.

24.1(21) Liable state. Any state against which a worker claims benefits through the facilities of a workforce development center or the job service division of another (agent) state.

24.1(22) Maximum benefit amount. The maximum total amount of benefits an individual may receive during the individual’s benefit year.

24.1(23) Opening. A single job for which a workforce development center has on file a request to select and refer an applicant or applicants.

24.1(24) Partial benefits. Benefits payable to an individual for a week of partial unemployment.

24.1(25) Partial earnings allowance. The amount of earnings that are disregarded in calculating a claimant’s benefit for a week.

24.1(26) Part-time worker. See Iowa Code section 96.3.

24.1(27) Placement. An acceptance by an employer of a person for a job as a direct result of workforce development center activities, provided the employment office has completed all of the following four steps: receipt of an order, prior to referral; selection of the person to be referred without designation by the employer of any particular individual or group of individuals; referral; and verification from a reliable source, preferably the employer, that a person referred has been hired by the employer and has entered on the job.

24.1(28) Qualifying wages. The amount of wages a worker must have earned in insured work within a specified period in order to be an insured worker. See also benefit eligibility conditions.

24.1(29) Referral. The act of arranging to bring to the attention of an employer (or another workforce development center) the qualifications of an applicant who is available for a job opening on file for which the applicant has been selected by a workforce development center.

24.1(30) Registration. The process of applying for work through an office of the department of workforce development.

24.1(31) Request for determination of insured status. A request by an individual for a determination of insured status.

24.1(32) Separations. All terminations of employment, generally classifiable as layoffs, quits, discharges, or other separations.

a.Layoff. A layoff is a suspension from pay status initiated by the employer without prejudice to the worker for such reasons as: lack of orders, model changeover, termination of seasonal or temporary employment, inventory-taking, introduction of laborsaving devices, plant breakdown, shortage of materials; including temporarily furloughed employees and employees placed on unpaid vacations.

b.Quit. A quit is a termination of employment initiated by the employee for any reason except mandatory retirement or transfer to another establishment of the same firm, or for service in the armed forces.

c.Discharge. A discharge is a termination of employment initiated by the employer for such reasons as incompetence, violation of rules, dishonesty, laziness, absenteeism, insubordination, failure to pass probationary period.

d.Other separation. Terminations of employment for military duty lasting or expected to last more than 30 calendar days, retirement, permanent disability, and failure to meet the physical standards required.

24.1(33) Social security number. The identification number assigned to an individual by the Social Security Administration under the Social Security Act.

24.1(34) Taxable wages. Wages subject to contribution under a state employment security law, or wages subject to tax under the federal Unemployment Tax Act.

24.1(35) Total unemployment. See week of unemployment.

24.1(36) Verification. The determination from a reliable source, preferably the employer, whether an applicant referred by a workforce development center has been hired by the employer and has entered on the job. In the case of applicants referred to seasonal agricultural openings, verification is considered complete when it is confirmed that a referred worker has been hired, even though confirmation of the worker’s entry on the job may be lacking.

24.1(37) Wage credits. Wages earned in insured work.

24.1(38) Week of unemployment. A week during which an individual performs no work and earns no wages, except as indicated and has earnings that do not exceed the earnings limit.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 96.3(5), 96.3(7), 96.4(3), “c,”96.5(5)96.6, “a”(2)96.7(2), 96.11, 96.1A and 96.23.

871—24.2(96) Procedures for workers desiring to file a claim for benefits for unemployment insurance.

24.2(1) Filing a benefit claim.

a.In order to establish a benefit year during which an individual may receive unemployment benefits, the individual, once separated from employment, must file an initial claim, verify their identity, and register for work. The claim may be filed electronically or by other means prescribed by the department. A claim filed in accordance with this rule is considered filed as of Sunday of the week in which the claim is filed.

b.When filing an initial claim for benefits, an individual must provide the following information to the department:

(1)The name and complete mailing address of the individual’s last employing unit or employer.

(2)Work history for all employers within the individual’s base period.

(3)The location of the last job.

(4)The last day of work.

(5)The reason for separation from work.

(6)Certification that the individual is unemployed.

(7)Certification that the individual registers for work.

(8)The individual’s last occupation.

(9)Number, full name, social security number, date of birth, and relationship of any dependents claimed.

1.“Spouse” is defined as an individual who does not earn more than $120 in gross wages in one week. The reference week for this monetary determination is the gross wages earned by the spouse in the calendar week immediately preceding the claim’s effective date.

2.“Dependent” means an individual who has been claimed for the preceding tax year on the claimant’s income tax return. The same dependent may not be claimed on two separate monetarily eligible concurrent established benefit years. An individual may not claim a spouse as a dependent if the spouse has listed the claimant as a dependent on a current claim.

(10)The individual’s social security number and alien registration number, if applicable.

(11)Such other information as requested by the department.

c.All claimants on an initial claim must state that they are registered for work and list their principal occupation. A group code will be assigned to the claimant to control the type of registration that is made. Code assignments are based on all facts obtained at the time of the claim filing. A group code change can be made at any time during the benefit year if additional information is obtained by the agency. The group codes are:

(1)Group “3” claimants are those “temporarily unemployed” as defined in Iowa Code section 96.1A(37)“c.” After a period of temporary unemployment, claimants in this group are reviewed for placement in group “5” or “6.”

(2)Group “4” claimants are those individuals who have left employment in lieu of exercising their right to bump or oust a fellow employee with less seniority or priority from the fellow employee’s job. Group “4” claimants have only the search for work provision of Iowa Code section 96.4(3) and the disqualification provision for failure to apply for or to accept suitable work of Iowa Code section 96.5(3) waived. The group “4” code does not apply to weeks claimed under the extended benefit or federal supplemental compensation programs.

(3)Group “5” claimants are those individuals who are members of unions, trades, or professionals having their own placement facilities. Claimants assigned to this group will be registered for work. A paid-up membership must be maintained, and weekly contact to check for available work is required. Loss of membership will result in an assignment to group “6.”

(4)Group “6” claimants are those individuals who do not otherwise meet the qualification group code “3,” “4,” or “5.” This group must complete and document re-employment activities, as established by the department.

(5)Group “7” claimants are workers who are employed on a reduced workweek with an employer who is under a department-approved voluntary shared work contract. This group pertains to those individuals who worked full- or part-time and will again work full- or part-time if the individuals’ employment, although temporarily suspended, has not been terminated. Once the contract expires, claimants in this group are reviewed for placement in group “3,” “4,” “5,” or “6.”

(6)Group “8” claimants are workers who are part of a federally declared emergency. Once the emergency period expires, claimants in this group are reviewed for placement in group “3,” “4,” “5,” or “6.”

(7)Nothing in this rule shall be construed as prohibiting an authorized representative of the department from requiring claimants for unemployment insurance benefits to avail themselves of workforce development center referral and counseling services if deemed beneficial and necessary to obtain prompt reemployment, nor shall anything in this rule be construed to deny referral or counseling service to claimants for unemployment insurance benefits.

d.In order to maintain continuing eligibility for benefits during any continuous period of unemployment, an individual must report as directed by the department. If the individual has moved to another locality, the individual may register and report in person at a workforce development center at the time previously specified for the reporting.

(1)An individual who files a weekly continued claim will have the benefit payment automatically deposited weekly on a debit card specified by the department or to an account specified by the claimant.

(2)The department retains the ultimate authority to choose the method of reporting and payment.

e.After the initial claim has been filed, the claimant will receive a notice of monetary eligibility. If the claimant is eligible for benefits, this notice will state the date on which the benefit year will begin, the amount per week, and the maximum amount for which the claimant is eligible.

f.No benefit payment is allowed until the individual claiming benefits has completed a continued claim online or as otherwise directed by the department.

(1)The claim must be submitted between 8 a.m. on the Sunday following the Saturday of the weekly reporting period and not later than close of business on the Friday following the weekly reporting period.

(2)An individual using the weekly continued claim system is to personally file the claim on the system unless the individual is disabled and has received prior approval from the department.

(3)The claim must include the following:

1.That the individual continues the claim for benefits;

2.That except as otherwise indicated, during the period covered by the claim, the individual was fully or partially unemployed, earned no gross wages and received no benefits, and was able and available for work;

3.That the individual has performed a minimum of four work search activities and documented and reported each activity to the department.

●At least three of the four work search activities for the purpose of this paragraph shall consist of one of the following:

○Applying for a potential job opening by submitting a resume or application through any of the following means:

♢Online.

♢In person.

♢Electronic mail.

♢Facsimile.

♢Mail.

○Completing a civil service examination.

●Additional work search activities for the purpose of this paragraph consist of any of the following:

○Registering with a placement facility of a school or college.

○Interviewing for a job virtually, in person, or at a job fair.

○Attending an employment workshop organized or approved by the department, which may include completing an online or in-person job search workshop, job club, or job search networking meeting.

○Attending a job fair sponsored or approved by the department.

○Attending a scheduled career networking meeting with the department.

○With the assistance and guidance of the department, completing a reemployment plan, which may include completing career direction research or work such as a job search plan or a targeted employer list.

○Participating in job search counseling with a department career planner.

○Attending an appointment with a core program partner authorized by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Public Law 113-128.

○Participating in online or in-person mock interviews organized or approved by the department.

○Completing career-related assessment approved by the department and reviewed with a department career planner.

4.That the individual understands there are penalties for false statements in connection with the claim;

5.That the individual has reported any job offer received during the period covered by the claim;

6.That the individual understands the individual’s responsibility to review the claim records to ensure there is no delay in filing the weekly claim to remain in continuous reporting status. Failure to file claims each week will require a claimant to submit a claim application to reactivate the claim;

7.Other information required by the department.

g.Effective starting date for the benefit year.

(1)Filing for benefits is effective as of Sunday of the current calendar week in which, subsequent to the individual’s separation from work, an individual files a claim for benefits.

(2)The claim may only be backdated prior to the first day of the calendar week in which the claimant does report and file a claim if the claimant filed an interstate claim against another state that has been determined as ineligible.

(3)When the benefit year expires on any day but Saturday, the effective date of the new claim is the Sunday of the current week in which the claim is filed even though it may overlap into the old benefit year up to six days. However, backdating is not allowed at the change of a calendar quarter if the backdating would cause an overlap of the same quarter in two base periods. When the overlap situation occurs, the effective date of the new claim may be postdated up to six days. If the claimant has benefits remaining on the old claim, the claimant may be eligible for benefits for that period by extending the old benefit year up to six days.

h.An individual is entitled to partial benefits for partial unemployment as per Iowa code section 96.1A(37)“b.” If the individual has been placed on reduced employment the individual may be entitled to partial benefits and should file a claim in accordance with the instructions pertaining to the partial claims procedure.

i.Any individual who is disqualified for benefits because of the individual’s failure to report may appeal to the department for the right to establish good cause for failure to report because of extraordinary circumstances. A representative of the department may deny the request, and the decision may be appealed to an administrative law judge for a hearing and decision on the merits. If the petition is allowed, the petitioner will be allowed to file a claim for and receive full benefits for each week for which such claim is filed, if otherwise eligible.

24.2(2) Filing a claim for unemployment insurance benefits (not applicable to interstate claims).

a.A notice of claim filing, which includes the name and social security number of the individual claiming benefits, will be sent to each base period employer on record and the last employer if different than the base period employer unless the separation issue has previously been adjudicated.

b.Even though the claims taker may believe that the claimant cannot meet the eligibility conditions established by statute, the claims taker will in no instance refuse to accept a claim from any unemployed individual. If the claimant elects to file a claim, even though the claimant’s eligibility may be questionable, the claim will be accepted without hesitance. The claimant may be required to provide adequate proof of identification such as a driver’s license, proof of citizenship, car registration, union membership card or supply personally identifying information.

c.If a claim filed in a previous quarter was ineligible because of no wage records or lack of qualifying earnings, a benefit year has not been established and a new claim will be taken. A new claim should not be taken if the claimant previously filed an ineligible claim in the same quarter unless the claimant insists on filing after being advised of ineligibility. The claims taker will notify the claimant that another claim filed in the same quarter would also be ineligible because additional wage credits (if any) would not be available until a subsequent quarter. The claimant should be advised to file a new claim during the first full week of the next calendar quarter.

d.If the check of the files does not disclose a previous claim and the claimant states that a claim has not been filed during the past year, a new claim will be taken.

e.Partially unemployed claims.

(1)A partially unemployed individual will:

1.File a claim for benefits in the same manner as an initial claim for unemployment insurance.

2.Report all wages that are earned for each week benefits are claimed.

(2)A claimant in a continuous reporting status, employed with the same employer, may exceed the claimant’s weekly benefit amount plus $15 for four consecutive weeks before the individual is required to file an additional claim for benefits.

f.If the check of the files does not disclose a monetarily valid claim in another state, a new claim will be taken.

24.2(3) Filing a claim for unemployment insurance benefits (interstate only).

a.All interstate claimants must file an Iowa claim.

b.When the department is acting as an agent for another state unemployment insurance agency with respect to the filing of an initial claim for benefits, the interstate claimant must complete and file an Initial Interstate Claim unless otherwise directed by the interstate handbook for interstate claims-taking provided by the Employment and Training Administration of the United States Department of Labor.

24.2(4) Cancellation of unemployment insurance claim.

a.An individual may direct a request for cancellation of an unemployment insurance claim to the benefits bureau of the unemployment insurance services division. The statement must include the specific reason for the request and contain as much pertinent information as possible so that a decision can be made. A notice with the result of the request will be sent.

b.A cancellation request that is the result of employer coercion or intimidation will be denied and the employer may be subjected to serious misdemeanor charges.

c.If a cancellation request is received within the ten-day protest period and before payment is made, the benefits bureau may upon review cancel the claim for the following reasons:

(1)The individual found employment or returned to regular employment within the protest period.

(2)Cancellation would allow the individual to refile at the change of a calendar quarter to obtain an increase in the weekly or maximum benefit amount or the individual would receive more entitlement from another state.

(3)The individual filed a claim in good faith under the assumption of being separated and no actual separation occurred.

(4)The individual did not want to establish a benefit year because of eligibility for a low weekly or maximum benefit amount.

d.Other valid reasons for cancellation whether or not ten-day protest period has expired.

(1)The individual has an unexpired unemployment insurance claim in another state and is eligible for a remaining balance of benefits.

(2)The individual received erroneous information regarding entitlement or eligibility to unemployment insurance benefits from an employee of the department.

(3)The individual has an unexpired railroad unemployment insurance claim with a remaining benefit balance that was filed prior to the unemployment insurance claim.

(4)The individual exercises the option to cancel a combined wage claim within the ten days allowed by federal regulation.

(5)The individual has previously filed a military claim in another state or territory. Wages erroneously assigned to Iowa must be deleted and an interstate claim filed.

(6)Federal wages have previously been assigned to another state or territory or are assignable to another state or territory under federal regulation. Federal wages erroneously assigned to Iowa must be deleted and the appropriate type of claim filed.

(7)If the Iowa wages are erroneous and deleted, and the wages from one other state were used, the claim shall be canceled and the wages returned to the transferring state.

e.If a claim is canceled and becomes final with no appeal being filed, a valid claim with Iowa as the paying state may not be reestablished with the same effective date.

f.If it is determined a claim has been filed under an incorrect social security number, the claim will be voided rather than canceled.

g.All unemployment insurance claims canceled will be clearly identified as such and the administrative record of the individual’s file shall be destroyed three years after final action.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 96.3(3), 96.3(4), 96.4(1), 96.4(3), 96.5(1)“h,”96.5(3), 96.6(1), 96.6(2), 96.15, 96.16, 96.1A and 96.20.

871—24.3(96) Social security number needed for filing. A claim will not become valid until the identity of the claimant has been verified by the department.

24.3(1) If the agency is unable to verify the claimant’s identity in the claim application, the department will notify the claimant, who must provide approved documents, one of which must contain a social security number. The department will determine the approved documents required to verify identity. The list of approved documents can be found at the nearest local workforce center or online.

24.3(2) The claimant’s identity will not be considered verified until approved documents have been provided. The claim will remain locked, and the claimant will remain ineligible for benefits, until the claimant provides approved documents.

24.3(3) Approved documents must be provided or postmarked by the due date provided on the notification. Once the approved documents are verified, the claim will be unlocked for all weeks following the most recent effective date of the claim application.

24.3(4) If a claimant provides approved documents after the due date, the claimant will be eligible, provided there are no other outstanding issues with the claim, as of the Sunday of the week the claimant’s identity was verified.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.6.

871—24.4(96) Benefit rights information.

24.4(1) Intrastate benefits. Benefit rights information is available online to explain those provisions in the law and rules that govern the individual’s monetary eligibility, rights and responsibilities under Iowa’s unemployment insurance program.

24.4(2) Interstate benefits. Benefit rights information is not required for each individual who files an initial claim for interstate benefits. Claimants will be advised to contact the liable state that will provide additional information explaining the individual’s rights, benefits, and responsibilities under the liable state’s unemployment insurance program.

871—24.5(96) Mass separation—definition and procedure.

24.5(1) A mass separation is a layoff of all or a large number of workers, either permanently, indefinitely, or for a specific duration by one or more employers in the same area, at approximately the same time, and for the same common reason.

a.Special procedures for mass claim filing may be applied by the department, and the procedures may include taking claims at a designated site or utilizing an electronic mass claim entry form.

b.If outside facilities must be obtained for a mass layoff, the order of precedence for obtaining such facilities will be as follows:

(1)Interested employer involved.

(2)Bona fide union representing the workers.

(3)Public facility (e.g., courthouse, city hall).

24.5(2) To enable workforce development centers to make the preliminary arrangements for mass claim taking, the major employers in the area should notify the local office in advance, as soon as they know that a mass separation will take place. The workforce development center will coordinate between the affected parties. This information should include:

a.The number of workers to be separated.

b.The date of separation and, if staggered, the number on each date.

c.Reason for layoff.

d.Its probable duration.

e.If recall is anticipated, the date it will begin and, if staggered, the number to be recalled on each date.

f.If the layoff is for vacation or inventory purposes, the employer shall follow the vacation pay procedure in rule 871—24.12(96).

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.6(1).

871—24.6(96) Reemployment services and eligibility assessment procedure.

24.6(1) The department will provide a program that consists of providing reemployment services.

24.6(2) Purpose. The eligibility assessment program is used to accelerate the individual’s return to work and systematically review the individual’s efforts towards the same goal.

24.6(3) Reemployment services and eligibility assessment may include but are not limited to the following:

a.An assessment of the claimant’s skillset, work history, and interest.

b.Employment counseling regarding reemployment approaches and plans.

c.Job search assistance and job placement services.

d.Labor market information.

e.Job search workshops or job clubs and referrals to employers.

f.Résumé preparation.

g.Other similar services.

24.6(4) As part of the initial intake procedure, each claimant is to provide the information necessary for profiling and evaluation of the likelihood of needing reemployment assistance.

24.6(5) The referral of a claimant and the provision of reemployment services is subject to the availability of funding and class size limitations.

24.6(6) A claimant must participate in reemployment services when referred by the department unless the claimant has previously completed such training or services or demonstrates to the department of other good cause prior to the appointment or service.

a.Failure to participate without good cause will disqualify the claimant from receiving benefits until the claimant participates in the reemployment services or eligibility assessment.

b.Good cause for failure to participate is an important and significant reason that a reasonable person would consider adequate justification in view of the paramount importance of reemployment to the claimant.

24.6(7) Eligibility assessment procedure.

a.Before an individual has claimed five weeks of intrastate benefits, the workforce development center will receive a computer-selected list of individuals claiming benefits within the target population for review.

b.No eligibility assessment will be performed on an individual unless monetary eligibility and nonmonetary eligibility are established.

c.Once selected for an initial or subsequent eligibility assessment, claimants are required to participate.

d.A Notice to Report will be sent by the workforce development center to an individual who is in an active status at the time of its printing. If the individual does not respond, the department will issue an appropriate failure to report decision and lock the claim to prevent payment.

e.Selected claimants must participate in staff-assisted services for the initial assessment.

24.6(8) Conducting the first eligibility assessment interview.

a.All available evidence will be examined to detect potentially disqualifying issues.

b.The individual’s need for advice, assistance or instructions will be determined and conveyed to the individual.

c.The interview will convey to the individual the requirements that must be satisfied to maintain eligibility.

d.This advice, assistance or instruction constitutes an understanding and agreement between the individual and the unemployment insurance representative at the conclusion of the interview regarding the individual’s willingness and ability to eliminate any barriers to obtaining reemployment that otherwise would result in referral for adjudication.

e.The individual will be advised of what constitutes an acceptable effort to obtain reemployment in accordance with state policy, with consideration for local labor market information and the individual’s occupation.

f.The final objective of the interview is to determine whether a subsequent interview is needed. This determination is based on expected return to work date, job openings in the area, local labor market conditions, and other relevant factors.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.4(7).

871—24.7(96) Workers’ compensation or indemnity insurance exclusion and substitution.

24.7(1) An individual who has received workers’ compensation under Iowa Code chapter 85 during a healing period or temporary total disability benefits or indemnity insurance benefits for an extended period of time and who has insufficient wage credits in the base period may qualify for unemployment insurance benefits as explained in Iowa Code section 96.23.

24.7(2) An individual may receive workers’ compensation during a healing period or temporary total disability benefits or indemnity insurance benefits until the individual returns to work or is medically capable of returning to employment substantially similar to the employment in which the employee was engaged at the time of injury.

24.7(3) The department shall make an initial determination of eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits as explained in Iowa Code section 96.23 using the following criteria for allowances and disqualifications.

a.Allowances. When the allowance criteria are met, the department will always exclude and substitute at least three quarters of the base period if the individual received workers’ compensation or indemnity insurance benefits in:

(1)Four base period quarters with no earnings in at least two of the quarters and the individual lacks qualifying earnings; the department will exclude and substitute all four quarters of the base period.

(2)Three no earnings base period quarters, with or without earnings in the fourth quarter, the fourth quarter remains in the base period and the department will exclude and substitute only three quarters in the base period.

b.Disqualifications. The request for retroactive substitution of base period quarters will be denied if the individual received workers’ compensation or indemnity insurance benefits in:

(1)At least three base period quarters but the individual is currently monetarily eligible with an established weekly and maximum benefit amount.

(2)At least three base period quarters and the individual has base period wages in three or more of the base period quarters, but the claim lacks qualifying earnings.

(3)Less than three base period quarters.

24.7(4) The individual will be asked to complete the Affidavit and Questionnaire, which requests the following information:

a.Individual’s name and social security number.

b.Name of employer responsible for the workers’ compensation benefits or the indemnity insurance benefits.

c.Names of employers and periods worked for the period preceding the workers’ compensation or the indemnity insurance pay period.

d.Name of the workers’ compensation or indemnity insurance carrier or, if self-insured, the name of the employer.

e.Specify whether the wages determined to be in the individual’s base period were or were not received for working in insured work during the base period.

24.7(5) The department will provide the individual with the monetary redetermination. When the claim for benefits is determined to be monetarily eligible for payment, the employer responsible for the workers’ compensation or the indemnity insurance benefits will be notified and will be responsible for the charges on the redetermined claim that are solely due to wage credits considered to be in the individual’s base period due to the exclusion and substitution of calendar quarters. The employer responsible for the workers’ compensation or indemnity insurance benefits maintains the right to protest as provided in rule 871—17.8(96).

871—24.8(96) Notifying employing units of claims filed, requests for wage and separation information, and decisions made.

24.8(1) Issuing a notice of the filing of an initial claim or a request for wage and separation information to employing units.

a.Notice of Claim and Request for Wage and Separation Information shall be:

(1)Addressed to the address or addresses as requested by the employing unit and agreed to by the department, to the business office of the employing unit where the records of the individual’s employment are maintained, or to the employing unit’s place of business where the individual claiming benefits was most recently employed; and

(2)Sent electronically via the United States Department of Labor State Information Data Exchange System (SIDES).

b.A notice of the filing of an initial claim or a request for wage and separation information will be sent to an owner, a partner, an executive officer, a departmental manager or other responsible employee of the employing unit or to an agent designated to represent the employing unit in unemployment insurance matters.

(1)An agent who has been authorized to represent an employing unit in unemployment insurance matters may be furnished information from the files of the department to the extent designated in the authorization and in the same manner and to the same extent that the information would be furnished to the employing unit.

(2)The appointment of an agent to act for the employing unit and to receive documents and reports in no way abrogates the right of department representatives to deal directly with the employing unit when it appears that this will best serve the interest of the parties.

24.8(2) Employing units’ response to a notice of the filing of an initial claim or a request for wage and separation information and protesting benefit payment.

a.The employing unit that receives a Notice of Claim or Request for Wage and Separation Information must, within ten days of the date of the notice or request, submit to the department wage or separation information that affects the individual’s rights to benefits, including any facts disclosing that the individual separated from employment voluntarily and without good cause attributable to the employer or was discharged for misconduct in connection with employment.

b.The employing unit may protest the payment of benefits if the protest is postmarked within ten days of the date of the notice of the filing of an initial claim. If the tenth day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, the protest period is extended to the department’s next working day. If the employing unit has filed a timely report of facts that might adversely affect the individual’s benefit rights, the report will be considered as a protest to the payment of benefits.

c.If the employing unit protests that the individual was not an employee and it is subsequently determined that the individual’s name was changed, the employing unit will be deemed to have not been properly notified and the employing unit will again be provided the opportunity to respond to the notice of the filing of the initial claim.

d.The employing unit has the option of notifying the department under conditions that, in the opinion of the employing unit, may disqualify an individual from receiving benefits. The notification may be submitted electronically.

(1)The Notice of Separation must be postmarked or received before or within ten days of the date that the Notice of Claim was mailed to the employer. If the tenth day falls on Saturday, Sunday or holiday, the protest period is extended to the next working day of the department. If a claim for unemployment insurance benefits has not been filed, the Notice of Separation may be accepted at any time.

(2)On the Notice of Separation, the employer must indicate the dates of the last day worked, the separation date and the reason the worker was separated.

24.8(3) Completing and signing of forms by an employing unit that may affect the benefit rights of an individual.

a.A notice of separation, and any response by an employing unit or its authorized agent to a notice of the filing of an initial claim or a request for wage and separation information, is accomplished by properly completing the form or computerized format provided by the department.

b.The form must be signed by, or the computerized form completed by, an authorized agent, individual proprietor, partner, executive officer, department manager or other responsible employee who handles employee information, or who has direct knowledge of the reasons for the individual’s separation from employment.

c.Failure to timely submit any notice or response requested by the department will result in the department basing its determination of the individual’s rights to benefits on the information available.

24.8(4) Issuing determinations, redeterminations and decisions to employing units.

a.An employing unit that has filed a timely response or protest to the notice of the filing of an initial claim will be notified in writing of the determination as to the individual’s rights to benefits. If an individual’s employing unit has submitted timely information affecting the individual’s rights to benefits, including facts disclosing that the individual voluntarily quit without good cause attributable to the employing unit or was discharged for misconduct in connection with employment, the employing unit will be notified in writing of the department’s decision as to the cause of termination of the individual’s employment.

b.Any notice of determination or decision must contain a statement establishing the employing unit’s right of appeal.

c.Determinations regarding an individual’s right to benefits, the cause of termination of the individual’s employment, an employing unit’s experience record and correspondence related thereto will be sent to:

(1)The address of the employing unit to which the notice of the filing of an initial claim was sent; or

(2)If the employing unit in its response or protest to the notice of the filing of an initial claim furnishes the address of an agent for the employing unit and requests that further documents and correspondence be sent to the agent, the department representative will comply, and the department has approved authorization (power of attorney) designating the agent to represent the employing unit.

871—24.9(96) Determination of benefit rights.

24.9(1) Monetary determinations. When an initial claim for benefits is filed, the department will send to the individual claiming benefits a notification consisting of a statement of the individual’s weekly benefit amount, total benefits, base period wages, and other data pertinent to the individual’s benefit rights.

24.9(2) Fact-finding. Each interested party will be afforded the opportunity to provide information to the department regarding pending eligibility matters. A telephone fact-finding interview may be scheduled upon request of either interested party. Interested parties may request an in-person fact-finding interview as a reasonable accommodation under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, or the Iowa Civil Rights Act of 1965, as amended. The department reserves the right to call any interested party in for an in-person fact-finding interview.

24.9(3) Notice of benefit determination.

a.This notice of benefit determination will be promptly given to each claimant and to any employer whose employment relationship with the claimant, or the claimant’s separation therefrom, involves actual or potentially disqualifying issues relevant to the determination. If a claimant is ineligible, this notice will advise of the reason.

b.The department will promptly notify the claimant or any other party filing the request of its decision via a notice of benefit determination that specifies the claimant’s appeal rights. Unless the claimant or any such other party entitled to notice, within ten days after such notification was sent to such claimant’s last-known address, files with the department a written request for a review of or an appeal from such determination, such determination shall be final, and benefits will be paid or denied in accordance therewith.

24.9(4) Reconsideration of determination.

a.The department, upon receiving a timely written request for reconsideration or, on its own initiative and based on newly discovered facts it may have in its possession or may acquire, and that may affect the validity of the original determination, may affirm, modify, or reverse the prior decision, or refer the claim to an administrative law judge. In such case, an unemployment insurance representative will examine the facts or request and promptly issue a redetermination. The redetermination of the monetary record will constitute a final decision unless the individual files a written appeal to an administrative law judge within ten days of the date on the redetermination specifying the grounds of objection.

b.For the purposes of this subrule, the appeal period is extended to the next working day of the department if the tenth day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday.

24.9(5) Nonmonetary determinations.

a.When a protest of an initial claim for benefits is filed, the department will mail to the individual claiming benefits, and the most recent or any other base period employing unit, an Unemployment Insurance Decision, which affects the individual’s right to benefits.

b.When an issue could result in a decision detrimental to an interested party, the interested party will be afforded the opportunity to present facts and evidence that may include an informational fact-finding interview scheduled by the department. An interested party, at the party’s expense and with the party’s equipment, may record (video or audio) the proceedings. All participants will be informed of the recording of the interview, which must not be disruptive or distracting.

c.Interested parties are afforded review, reconsideration, and appeal rights in the same manner as those provided for monetary determinations as established in subrule 24.9(4).

871—24.10(96) Employer and employer representative participation in fact-finding interviews.

24.10(1) “Participate,” as the term is used for employers in the context of the initial determination to award benefits pursuant to Iowa Code section 96.6(2), means submitting detailed factual information of the quantity and quality that if unrebutted would be sufficient to result in a decision favorable to the employer. The most effective means to participate is to provide live testimony at the interview from a witness with firsthand knowledge of the events leading to the separation. If no live testimony is provided, the employer must provide the name and telephone number of an employee with firsthand information who may be contacted, if necessary, for rebuttal. A party may also participate by providing written statements or documents that provide detailed factual information of the events leading to separation. At a minimum, the information provided by the employer or the employer’s representative must identify the dates and particular circumstances of the incident or incidents, including, in the case of discharge, the act or omissions of the claimant or, in the event of a voluntary separation, the stated reason for the quit. The specific rule or policy must be submitted if the claimant was discharged for violating such rule or policy. In the case of discharge for attendance violations, the information must include the circumstances of all incidents the employer or the employer’s representative contends meet the definition of unexcused absences as set forth in 871—subrule 24.24(7). Written or oral statements or general conclusions without supporting detailed factual information and information submitted after the fact-finding decision has been issued are not considered participation within the meaning of the statute.

24.10(2) “A continuous pattern of nonparticipation in the initial determination to award benefits,” pursuant to Iowa Code section 96.6(2), as the term is used for an entity representing employers, means on 25 or more occasions in a calendar quarter the entity files appeals after failing to participate. Appeals filed but withdrawn before the day of the contested case hearing will not be considered in determining if a continuous pattern of nonparticipation exists. The division administrator will notify the employer’s representative in writing after each such appeal.

24.10(3) If the division administrator finds that an entity representing employers as defined in Iowa Code section 96.6(2) has engaged in a continuous pattern of nonparticipation, the division administrator will suspend the representative for a period of up to six months on the first occasion, up to one year on the second occasion and up to ten years on any subsequent occasion. Suspension by the division administrator constitutes final agency action and may be appealed pursuant to Iowa Code section 17A.19.

24.10(4) “Fraud or willful misrepresentation by the individual,” as the term is used for claimants in the context of the initial determination to award benefits pursuant to Iowa Code section 96.6(2), means providing knowingly false statements or knowingly false denials of material facts for the purpose of obtaining unemployment insurance benefits. Statements or denials may be either oral or written by the claimant. Inadvertent misstatements or mistakes made in good faith are not considered fraud or willful misrepresentation.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.3(7)“b.”

871—24.11(96) Deductible and nondeductible payments.

24.11(1) Procedures for deducting payments from benefits. Any payment defined under subrules 24.13(2) and 24.13(3) made to an individual claiming benefits will be deducted from benefits in accordance with the following procedures until the amount is exhausted; however, vacation pay that is deductible in the manner prescribed in rule 871—24.12(96) will be deducted first when paid in conjunction with other deductible payments described in this rule unless otherwise designated by the employer. The individual claiming benefits is required to designate the last day paid that may indicate payments made under this rule. The employer is required to designate on the Notice of Claim response the amount of the payment and the period to which the amount applies. If the individual or the employer does not designate the period to which the amount of the payment applies, the unemployment insurance representative will determine the days following the effective date of the claim to which the amount of the payment applies by dividing the amount of the payment by the individual’s average weekly wage during the highest earnings quarter of the individual’s base period. The amount of any payment under subrule 24.13(2) will be deducted from the individual’s weekly benefit amount on the basis of the formula used to compute an individual’s weekly benefit payment as provided in rule 871—24.14(96). If the claimant received vacation pay under rule 871—24.12(96), the procedure established in Iowa Code section 96.5(7)“c” will govern. The maximum number of days the vacation pay will be applied is five workdays following the separation date. The first day the vacation pay can be applied is the first workday after the separation. The amount of any payment under subrule 24.13(3) will be fully deducted from the individual’s weekly benefit amount on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

24.11(2) Deductible payments from benefits. The following payments are considered as wages and are deductible from benefits on the basis of the formula used to compute an individual’s weekly benefit payment provided in rule 871—24.14(96):

a.Holiday pay. However, if the employer does not pay holiday pay, the individual may request an underpayment adjustment from the department.

b.Commissions. The commission payment is only deductible when based on service performed by the individual during the period in which the individual is also claiming benefits.

c.Incentive pay. Incentive pay is only deductible when based on service performed by the individual during the period in which the individual is also claiming benefits.

d.Strike pay. Strike pay is only deductible when it is a payment received for services rendered and the individual is otherwise eligible for benefits.

e.Remuneration other than cash. The cash value of all remuneration payable in any medium other than cash, e.g. board, rent, housing, lodging, meals, or similar advantage, is only deductible when based on service performed by the individual during the period in which the individual is also claiming benefits.

f.Stand-by pay. When an individual is paid to hold oneself in readiness for a call to specific work for an employer but is not called, since the work is given to another, the payment is stand-by pay that is deductible from benefits when earned by the individual during the period in which the individual is claiming benefits.

g.Tips or gratuity. Tips or gratuity are only deductible when based on service performed by the individual during the period in which the individual is claiming benefits.

24.11(3) Fully deductible payments from benefits. The following payments are considered as wages, but are fully deductible from benefits on a dollar-for-dollar basis:

a.Wage interruption insurance payment. Any insurance payment received or due from wage interruption insurance because of fire, disaster, etc.

b.Excused personal leave. Excused personal leave, also referred to as casual pay or random pay, is personal leave with pay granted to an employee for absence from the job because of personal reasons. It is treated as vacation and fully deductible in the manner prescribed in rule 871—24.12(96).

c.Wages in lieu of notice, separation allowance, severance pay and dismissal pay.

d.Workers’ compensation, temporary disability only. The payment is fully deductible with respect to the week in which the individual is entitled to the workers’ compensation for temporary disability, and not to the week in which such payment is paid.

e.Pension, retirement, annuity, or any other similar periodic payment made under a plan maintained and contributed to by a base period or chargeable employer. An individual’s weekly benefit amount shall only be reduced if the base period employer has made 100 percent of the contributions to the plan that is the same percentage as the percentage contribution of the base period or chargeable employer to the plan.

24.11(4) Nondeductible payments from benefits. The following payments are not considered as wages and are not deductible from benefits:

a.Self-employment income. However, the individual must meet the benefit eligibility requirements of Iowa Code section 96.4(3).

b.Bonuses. The bonus payment is only nondeductible when based on service performed by the individual before the period in which the individual is also claiming benefits.

c.Remuneration for work performed by the individual claiming benefits in exchange for county relief in the form of groceries, rent, etc.

d.Payment for unused sick leave.

e.National guard duty pay. This includes reserve unit drill pay for any branch of the armed services.

f.Supplemental unemployment benefit plans approved by the department. See 871—paragraph 16.3(1)“e” for criteria and employer procedure for obtaining department approval.

g.Pension to the blind.

h.Payment for terminal leave. Any payment received by military personnel for unused leave upon discharge.

i.Compensation for military service-connected disability from the department of veterans affairs.

j.Payments to the surviving spouse of a regular or disability pension based on the work of the deceased spouse.

k.Deferred wage compensation. Remuneration received by the individual for wages earned in a period prior to the individual’s claim for benefits will not be deductible during the period in which the individual is claiming benefits.

l.Witness and jury fees. These fees are reimbursement for expenses and are not considered as wages.

m.Supplemental security income. This payment is nondeductible because it is financed by income taxes and not social security taxes and is based on need factors such as age, mental or physical disability, and personal income, and not on previous employment.

n.Federal social security benefit and social security disability payments.

o.Payments conditional upon the release of any rights.

p.Payments requiring the individual to work through a specific day to be eligible.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 96.3(3), 96.5, 96.5(5), 96.11(1), and 96.1A.

871—24.12(96) Vacation pay.

24.12(1) If the employer properly notifies the department that an amount of vacation pay, either paid or owed, is to be applied to a specific vacation period, a sum equal to the wages of the individual for a normal workday shall be applied to the first and each subsequent workday of the designated vacation period until the amount of the vacation pay is exhausted, not to exceed five workdays. For the purposes of this rule, rule 871—24.13(96), and rule 871—24.12(96), the term “vacation pay” includes paid time off and annual leave payments.

24.12(2) If the employer fails to properly notify the department regarding the application of vacation pay to a specific vacation period, the vacation pay will be applied to the one-week period starting on the first workday following the last day worked as defined in subrule 24.16(4). However, if the individual does not claim benefits after layoff during the normal employer workweek immediately following the last day worked, then the entire amount of the vacation pay shall not be deducted from any week of benefits.

24.12(3) Unless otherwise specified by the employer, the amount of the vacation pay will be converted by the department to eight hours for a normal workday and five workdays for a normal workweek.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.5(7).

871—24.13(96) Vacation pay procedure.

24.13(1) The Notice of Claim, Request for Federal Wage and Separation Information, and Request for Wage and Separation Information on Federal Employment Additional Claim, which are returned by the employer for the purpose of notification of vacation pay, will be used as notification to the department that vacation pay is applicable. Upon receipt of these forms, the department will:

a.Compare the amount of vacation reported by the employer with the computer record. If there are any discrepancies that would affect the claimant’s eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits for any week claimed, the claimant will be afforded the opportunity to present facts and evidence. The department may then allow the employer to present additional facts and evidence. If the employer is afforded an opportunity to provide additional facts and evidence, the unemployment insurance representative will likewise afford the claimant the opportunity to present additional facts and evidence.

b.Consider all information submitted by the interested parties and issue to the employer and claimant the appropriate decision concerning the vacation pay. The department will then check the current status of the claim to ascertain if any weeks have been reported.

c.If the record shows that the claimant has not reported or claimed for some or all of the weeks indicated for the vacation period, take no further action on the weeks not claimed.

24.13(2) The claimant is instructed to only report vacation pay applicable to the five workdays following the last date worked and that vacation pay designated by the employer in excess of the vacation pay the claimant reported may result in an overpayment of benefits.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.5(7).

871—24.14(96) Wage-earnings limitation. Partial unemployment is defined in Iowa Code section 96.1A(37)“b.” If an individual is partially unemployed, the formula for wage deduction is a sum equal to the individual’s weekly benefit amount less that part of wages, payable to the individual with respect to that week and rounded to the lower multiple of one dollar, in excess of one-fourth of the individual’s weekly benefit amount.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 96.3, 96.4 and 96.1A.

871—24.15(96) Benefit eligibility conditions. To be eligible to receive benefits, the individual bears the burden of establishing, and the department must find, that the individual is able to work, available for work, and earnestly and actively seeking work.

24.15(1) Able to work. An individual must be physically and mentally able to work in some gainful employment, not necessarily in the individual’s customary occupation.

a.Illness, injury or pregnancy. Each case is decided upon an individual basis, recognizing that various work opportunities present different physical requirements. A statement from a medical practitioner is considered prima facie evidence of the physical ability of the individual to perform the work required. A pregnant individual must meet the same criteria for determining ableness as do all other individuals.

b.Interpretation of ability to work. The law provides that an individual must be able to work to be eligible for benefits. This means that the individual must be physically able to work, not necessarily in the individual’s customary occupation, but able to work in some reasonably suitable, comparable, gainful, full-time endeavor, other than self-employment, which is generally available in the labor market in which the individual resides.

24.15(2) Available for work. The availability requirement is satisfied when an individual is genuinely attached to the labor market (e.g. the individual is willing, able, and ready to accept suitable work that the individual does not have good cause to refuse). Under unemployment insurance laws, it is the availability of an individual who is tested, and the labor market is therefore described in terms of the individual. A labor market for an individual means a market for the type of service the individual offers in the geographical area in which the individual offers the service. It does not mean that job vacancies must exist. It means only that the type of services that an individual is offering is generally performed in the geographical area in which the individual is offering the services.

a.Shift restriction. The individual does not have to be available for a particular shift. If an individual is available for work on the same basis on which the individual’s wage credits were earned and if after considering the restrictions as to hours of work, etc., imposed by the individual there exists a reasonable expectation of securing employment, then the individual meets the requirement of being available for work.

b.Intermittent employment. An individual cannot limit employability to only temporary or intermittent work until recalled by a regular employer.

c.Jury duty. The individual is considered available for work while serving on jury duty because time spent in jury service is not a personal service performed under a contract of hire in an employment situation but rather a public duty required by law. Jury duty does not render the individual as employed and ineligible for benefits even though it may involve the individual full-time.

d.Work release program while incarcerated. For those individuals incarcerated in jail, the work release program usually does not meet the availability requirements of Iowa Code section 96.4(3), but the department will review any situation concerning an incarcerated individual who can meet the requirements of Iowa Code section 96.4(3).

e.Available for part of week. Each case is decided on its own merits. Generally, if the individual is available for the major portion of the workweek, the individual is considered to be available for work.

f.On-call workers.

(1)Substitute workers (e.g., post office clerks, railroad extra board workers) who hold themselves available for one employer and who do not accept other work, are not available for work within the meaning of the law and are not eligible for benefits.

(2)Substitute teachers. The question of eligibility of substitute teachers is subjective in nature and is determined on an individual case basis. The substitute teacher is considered an instructional employee and is subject to the same limitations as other instructional employees. As far as payment of benefits between contracts or terms and during customary and established periods of holiday recesses is concerned, benefits are denied if the substitute teacher has a contract or reasonable assurance that the substitute teacher will perform service in the period immediately following the vacation or holiday recess. A substitute teacher is not disqualified if the individual is able and available for work, making an earnest and active search for work each week, placing no restrictions on employment and is genuinely attached to the labor market.

(3)An individual whose wage credits earned in the base period of the claim consist exclusively of wage credits from on-call work, such as a banquet worker, railway worker, or substitute school teacher, is not considered an unemployed individual within the meaning of Iowa Code section 96.1A(37)“a” and “b.” An individual who is willing to accept only on-call work is not considered to be available for work.

g.Leave of absence. A leave of absence negotiated with the consent of both employer and employee is deemed a period of voluntary unemployment for the employee who is considered ineligible for benefits for the period.

(1)If at the end of a period or term of negotiated leave of absence the employer fails to reemploy the employee, the individual is considered laid off and eligible for benefits.

(2)If the employee fails to return at the end of the leave of absence and subsequently becomes unemployed, the individual is considered as having voluntarily quit and is ineligible for benefits.

(3)The period or term of a leave of absence may be extended, but only if there is evidence that both parties have voluntarily agreed.

h.Effect of religious convictions on Sabbath day work. An individual is considered as available for work if the precepts of the individual’s religion prohibit work on the Sabbath. An individual who refuses to work on the Sabbath designated by the individual’s religion because of conscientious observance of the Sabbath as a matter of religious conviction is also deemed to have good cause for refusing the work.

i.Available for work. To be considered available for work, an individual must at all times be in a position to accept suitable employment during periods when the work is normally performed. As an individual’s length of unemployment increases and the individual has been unable to find work in the individual’s customary occupation, the individual may be required to seek work in some other occupation in which job openings exist. If that does not seem likely to result in employment, the individual may be required to accept counseling for possible retraining or a change in occupation.

j.Reasonable expectation of securing employment. An individual may not be eligible for benefits if the individual has imposed limitations that leave the individual no reasonable expectation of securing employment. Restrictions may relate to type of work, hours, wages, location of work, etc., or may be physical restrictions.

k.Corporate officers. To be considered available, the corporate officer must meet the same tests of availability as are met by other individuals.

l.Lawfully authorized work. An individual who is not lawfully authorized to work within the United States is considered unavailable for work.

24.15(3) Earnestly and actively seeking work. Mere registration at a workforce development center does not establish that the individual is earnestly and actively seeking work. It is essential that the individual personally and diligently search for work. It is difficult to establish definite criteria for defining the words earnestly and actively. Much depends on the estimate of the employment opportunities in the area. The number of employer contacts that might be appropriate in an area of limited opportunity might be totally unacceptable in other areas. When employment opportunities are high an individual may be expected to make more than the usual number of contacts. Unreasonable limitations by an individual as to salary, hours or conditions of work can indicate that the individual is not earnestly seeking work. The department expects each individual claiming benefits to conduct themselves as would any normal, prudent individual who is out of work.

a.Basic requirements. An individual will be ineligible for benefits for any period for which the department finds that the individual has failed to make an earnest and active search for work. The department makes determinations on a case-by-case basis. Subject to the foregoing, applicable actions of the following kind are considered an earnest and active search for work if the department finds each constitutes a reasonable means of securing work by the individual:

(1)Applying with employers reasonably expected to have suitable openings.

(2)Registering with a placement facility of a school, college, or university if one is available in the individual’s occupation or profession.

(3)Applying or testing for openings in the civil service of a governmental entity with reasonable prospects of suitable work for the individual.

(4)Responding to appropriate “want ads” for work that appear suitable to the individual if the response is made in writing, in person, or electronically.

(5)Any other action that the department finds to constitute an effective means of securing work suitable to the individual.

(6)No individual is denied benefits solely on the ground that the individual has failed or refused to register with a private employment agency or at any other placement facility that charges the job-seeker a fee for its services. However, an individual may count as one of the work contacts required for the week an in-person contact with a private employment agency.

(7)An individual is considered to have failed to make an effort to secure work if the department finds that the individual has followed a course of action designed to discourage prospective employers from hiring the individual in suitable work.

b.Number of employer contacts. “Earnestly and actively” may be interpreted in different manners, depending on the estimate of employment opportunities in an area. The number of employer contacts appropriate in an area of limited opportunities might be totally unacceptable in another area. The number of required contacts is dependent upon the condition of the local labor market, the duration of benefit payments, a change in the individual’s characteristics, job prospects in the community, and other factors as the department deems necessary. Reemployment activities must be recorded as directed by the department.

c.Exceptions.

(1)Members of unions or professional organizations who normally obtain their employment through union or professional organizations are considered as earnestly and actively seeking work if they maintain active contact with the union’s business agent or with the placement officer in the professional organization. A paid-up membership must be maintained if this is a requirement for placement service. The trade, profession, or union to which the individual belongs must have an active hiring hall or placement facility, and the trade, profession, or union must be the source customarily used by employers in filling their job openings. Registering with the individual’s union hiring or placement facility is sufficient, except when all benefit rights to regular benefits are exhausted and Iowa is in an extended benefit period or similar program such as the federal supplemental compensation program. Mere registration at a union or reporting to a union hiring hall or registration with a placement facility of the individual’s professional organization does not satisfy the extended benefit systematic and sustained effort to find work, and individuals complete reemployment activities.

(2)The requirement for seeking work is waived if all of the following conditions apply:

1.The individual is attached to a regular job or industry.

2.The individual is a high-skilled worker. For purposes of this numbered paragraph, “high-skilled worker” means a worker whose job or position requires licensing, credentials, or specialized training.

3.The individual is on a short-term temporary layoff. For purposes of this numbered paragraph, “short-term temporary layoff” means a layoff period of 16 weeks or less due to seasonal weather conditions that impacts the ability to perform work related to highway construction, repair, or maintenance with a specific return-to-work date verified by the employer.

4.The individual otherwise qualifies for unemployment insurance benefits.

d.Week-to-week disqualification. Disqualification due to failure to conduct reemployment activities is made on a week-to-week basis and is not permanent.

e.Seniority rights. An individual who fails to exercise seniority rights to replace another employee with less seniority has the work search requirement waived during a period of regular benefits. This waiver does not apply to individuals receiving extended benefits or similar federal program benefits.

f.Search for work.

(1)The group code is used to determine which individuals are required to make personal applications for work. Other factors, such as the condition of the local labor market, the duration of benefit payments, and a change in claimant characteristics, are also taken into consideration on a weekly basis.

(2)Individuals receiving partial benefits are exempt from making personal applications for work in any week they have worked and received wages from their regular employer. Individuals involved in hiring hall practices must keep in weekly touch with the business agent of that union in which they maintain membership. All other individuals must make contacts with such frequency as the department considers advisable, after considering job prospects in the community, the condition of the labor market and any other factors that may have a bearing on the individual’s reemployment. A sincere effort must be made to find a job. A contact made merely for the sake of complying with the law is not good enough.

g.Job search assistance. Attendance at job search assistance classes, including reemployment services, that are sponsored by the department may be counted as one of the individual’s reemployment activities for that week.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.4(3).

871—24.16(96) Availability disqualifications. The following are reasons for disqualifying a claimant for being unavailable for work:

24.16(1) An individual who is ill and presently not able to work due to illness.

24.16(2) An individual presently in the hospital. If there is a change in status, the individual is to renew the claim at once if unemployed.

24.16(3) If an individual places restrictions on employability as to the wages and type of work that is acceptable and when considering the length of unemployment, such individual has no reasonable expectancy of securing work.

24.16(4) If the individual loses the means of transportation from the residence to the area of usual employment. However, an individual will not be disqualified for restricting employability to the geographic area of usual employment. More information is contained in subrule 24.20(7).

24.16(5) Full-time students devoting the major portion of their time and efforts to their studies except for students available to the same degree and to the same extent as when they accrued wage credits.

24.16(6) If an individual has a medical report on file submitted by a physician or a physician assistant, stating the individual is not presently able to work.

24.16(7) Where an individual devotes time and effort to becoming self-employed.

24.16(8) Where availability for work is unduly limited because of not having made adequate arrangements for child care.

24.16(9) The claimant requested and was granted a leave of absence.

24.16(10) Failure to report as directed to the department in response to a notice sent to the claimant.

24.16(11) If a claimant is in jail or prison.

24.16(12) If an individual cannot be contacted by the department for referral to possible employment.

24.16(13) Where a claimant has demanded a wage in excess of the wages most commonly paid for suitable work the individual is seeking in the locality.

24.16(14) Where availability for work is unduly limited because a claimant is not willing to work during the hours in which suitable work for the claimant is available.

24.16(15) Where work is unduly limited because the claimant is not willing to work the number of hours necessary in the claimant’s occupation.

24.16(16) Where availability for work is unduly limited because such claimant is willing to work only in a specific area although suitable work is available in other areas where the claimant is expected to be available for work.

24.16(17) Where availability for work is unduly limited because the claimant is not willing to accept work in the claimant’s usual occupation and has failed to establish what other types of work that can and will be performed at the wages most commonly paid in the claimant’s locality.

24.16(18) Where availability for work is unduly limited because the claimant is waiting to be recalled by a former employer or waiting to go to work for a specific employer and will not consider suitable work with other employers.

24.16(19) Where a claimant does not want to earn wages that may adversely affect receipt of social security.

24.16(20) Where availability is unduly limited because claimant is working to such a degree that removes the claimant from the labor market.

24.16(21) Reserved.

24.16(22) If the claimant is out of town for personal reasons for the major portion of the workweek and is not fulfilling reemployment requirements.

24.16(23) Where a claimant is still employed in a part-time job at the same hours and wages as contemplated in the original contract for hire and is not working on a reduced workweek basis different from the contract for hire, such claimant cannot be considered partially unemployed.

24.16(24) Failure to report any effort to find employment.

24.16(25) Failure to make an adequate work search after having been previously warned and instructed to expand the work search.

24.16(26) Failure to work the major portion of the scheduled workweek for the claimant’s regular employer.

24.16(27) Failure to attend the major portion of the scheduled workweek for department-approved training.

24.16(28) Where the claimant spent the major portion of the period traveling while relocating.

24.16(29) The claimant is ineligible for benefits because no search for work was made during the period such claimant was on vacation unless the provisions of Iowa Code section 96.1A(37)“c” are met.

24.16(30) Where the claimant left employment prior to a scheduled layoff when claimant could have remained in employment. No disqualification may be imposed in accordance with Iowa Code section 96.5(1)“g” for the period subsequent to the date of the scheduled layoff if such claimant is otherwise eligible. The claimant will be disqualified for the period between the last day worked and the date of the scheduled layoff because of voluntary unemployment.

24.16(31) Where the claimant is not able to work due to personal injury.

24.16(32) Where the claimant is not able to work, is under the care of a medical practitioner, and has not been released as being able to work.

24.16(33) An individual who follows a course of action designed to discourage prospective employers from hiring the individual will be deemed to have failed to make an effort to secure work.

24.16(34) Where the work search has been deliberately falsified for the purpose of obtaining benefits, the recommended penalty is:

a.First offense—denial of benefits for six weeks.

b.Second offense—denial of benefits for nine weeks.

c.Third offense—total disqualification for the remainder of the benefit year and the department may consider filing fraud charges.

The penalties are a mere guide and not a substitute for the subjective judgment of the department.

24.16(35) Where claimant became temporarily unemployed but was unavailable for work with the employer that temporarily laid the claimant off. The evidence must establish that the claimant had a choice to work and that the willingness to work would have led to actual employment in suitable work during the weeks the employer temporarily suspended operations.

This rule is intended to implement Public Law 96-499 and Iowa Code sections 96.4(3), 96.5(1), 96.6(1), 96.1A and 96.29.

871—24.17(96) Failure to accept work and failure to apply for suitable work. A claimant’s failure to accept work and failure to apply for suitable work will be removed when the individual has worked in (except in back pay awards) and been paid wages for insured work equal to ten times the individual’s weekly benefit amount, provided the individual is otherwise eligible.

24.17(1) Bona fide offer of work.

a.In deciding whether or not a claimant failed to accept or apply for suitable work, it must first be established that a bona fide offer of work was made to the individual by personal contact or that a referral was offered to the claimant by personal contact to an actual job opening and a definite refusal was made by the individual. For purposes of a recall to work, a registered letter is deemed to be sufficient as a personal contact.

b.Upon notification of a job opening for a claimant, a representative of the department will notify the claimant of the job referral. If the claimant fails to respond without good cause, the claimant will be disqualified until such time as the claimant contacts the department.

24.17(2) Job within claimant’s capabilities.

a.To be suitable, the job offered must be within the claimant’s physical capabilities and not require any undue physical skill or particular training the claimant does not already possess. As the period of unemployment lengthens, work that might originally have been unsuitable may become suitable.

b.A refusal of suitable work occurs when a claimant, separated for lack of work, fails to accept work offered by the employer on recall or fails to apply for work when directed by a representative of the department. The claimant will be disqualified for failure to apply for or accept an offer to work until such time as the individual has worked in (except in back pay awards) and been paid wages for insured work equal to ten times the individual’s weekly benefit amount, provided the individual is otherwise eligible.

24.17(3) Each case decided on its own merits. The department will investigate and determine whether the work was suitable and whether the claimant had good cause for refusal. Each case will be determined on its own merits as established by the facts. Good cause for refusing suitable work may nevertheless disqualify a claimant as being unavailable for work.

24.17(4) Work refused when the claimant fails to meet the benefit eligibility conditions of Iowa Code section 96.4(3). Before a disqualification for failure to accept work may be imposed, an individual must first satisfy the benefit eligibility conditions of being able to work and available for work and not unemployed for failing to bump a fellow employee with less seniority. If the facts indicate that the claimant was or is not available for work, and this resulted in the failure to accept work or apply for work, such claimant will not be disqualified for refusal since the claimant is not available for work. In such a case it is the availability of the claimant that is to be tested. Lack of transportation, illness or health conditions, illness in family, and child care problems are generally considered to be good cause for refusing work or refusing to apply for work. However, the claimant’s availability would be the issue to be determined in these types of cases.

24.17(5) Bumping rights to a job. A claimant who fails to exercise seniority rights to bump a less senior employee is eligible for benefits and the provision pertaining to the search for work is waived during a period of regular unemployment insurance benefits. This waiver of the search for work does not apply to a claimant who is receiving extended benefits.

24.17(6) Claimant physically unable to perform job. A medical practitioner must submit certification to support the claimant’s statement that work offered is unsuitable because of the claimant’s physical condition.

24.17(7) Gainfully employed outside of area where job is offered. Two reasons that generally constitute good cause for not accepting an offer of work are if the claimant is gainfully employed elsewhere or the claimant does not reside in the area where the job is offered.

24.17(8) Refusal disqualification jurisdiction. Both the offer of work or the order to apply for work and the claimant’s accompanying refusal must occur within the individual’s benefit year, as defined in subrule 24.1(21), before the Iowa Code section 96.5(3) disqualification can be imposed. It is not necessary that the offer, the order, or the refusal occur in a week in which the claimant filed a weekly claim for benefits before the disqualification can be imposed.

24.17(9) Distance to new job. Without a prior specific agreement between the employer and employee, the employee’s refusal to follow the employer to a distant new job site may not be reason for a refusal disqualification.

24.17(10) Bulletin board notice of work. A bulletin board notice for employees to work during a plant shutdown does not constitute an offer of work by the company.

24.17(11) Claimant discourages prospective employers. When a claimant willfully follows a course of action designed to discourage a prospective employer from hiring such claimant, the claimant will be deemed to have refused suitable work.

24.17(12) Claimant moved to another state. A claimant who moves to another state will not be subject to disqualification for refusal to return to a previously held job.

24.17(13) Employment offer from former employer.

a.A claimant will be disqualified for refusing work with a former employer if the work offered is reasonably suitable, comparable, and within the purview of the claimant’s usual occupation. The provisions of Iowa Code section 96.5(3)“b” control the determination of suitability of work.

b.An employment offer will not be considered suitable if the claimant had previously quit the former employer and the conditions that caused the claimant to quit are still in existence.

24.17(14) Suitable work. In determining what constitutes suitable work, the department will consider, among other relevant factors, the following:

a.Any risk to the health, safety and morals of the individual.

b.The individual’s physical fitness.

c.Prior training.

d.Length of unemployment.

e.Prospects for securing local work by the individual.

f.The individual’s customary occupation.

g.Distance from the available work.

h.Whether the work offered is for wages equal to or above the federal or state minimum wage, whichever is higher.

i.Whether the work offered meets the percentage criteria established for suitable work that is determined by the number of weeks that have elapsed following the effective date of the most recent new or additional claim for benefits filed by the individual.

j.Whether the position offered is due directly to a strike, lockout, or other labor dispute.

k.Whether the wages, hours or other conditions of employment are less favorable for similar work in the locality.

l.Whether employment is contingent on joining or resigning from a labor organization.

24.17(15) Disabled accessibility to job. A job offer is not suitable if a disabled individual has no access to a building or its facilities.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 96.3(3), 96.4(2), 96.4(3), 96.5(1), 96.5(3), 96.6(1), 96.11(1), 96.16, 96.1A, and 96.29.

871—24.18(96) Voluntary quit without good cause. In general, a voluntary quit means discontinuing the employment because the employee no longer desires to remain in the relationship with the employer from whom the employee has separated. The employer has the burden of proving that the claimant is disqualified for benefits, but the claimant has the initial burden to produce evidence that the claimant is not disqualified for benefits in cases involving Iowa Code sections 96.5(1)“a” through “i” and 96.5(10). The following reasons for a voluntary quit are be presumed to be without good cause attributable to the employer:

24.18(1) Claimant’s lack of transportation to the work site unless the employer had agreed to furnish transportation.

24.18(2) Claimant moved to a different locality.

24.18(3) Claimant left to seek other employment but did not secure employment.

24.18(4) Claimant was absent for three days without giving notice to employer in violation of company rule.

24.18(5) Claimant left due to an inability to work with other employees.

24.18(6) Claimant failed to return to work upon the termination of a labor dispute.

24.18(7) Claimant left to enter military service, either voluntarily or by conscription. While in military service such claimant is considered to be on leave from employment. Voluntary quit in this context will occur when upon release from military service the claimant does not return to the claimant’s employer to apply for employment within 90 days, provided the claimant provides evidence to the employer of satisfactory completion of the military service and further provided that the claimant is still qualified to perform the duties of the position.

24.18(8) Claimant left employment to accompany a spouse to a new locality. No disqualification will be imposed when Iowa Code section 96.5(1)“b” is applicable.

24.18(9) Claimant left to get married.

24.18(10) Claimant left without notice during a mutually agreed upon trial period of employment.

24.18(11) Claimant left because of dissatisfaction with the wages but knew the rate of pay when hired.

24.18(12) Claimant becomes incarcerated.

24.18(13) Claimant left because of lack of child care.

24.18(14) Claimant left because of a dislike of the shift worked.

24.18(15) Claimant left to enter self-employment.

24.18(16) Claimant left for compelling personal reasons and the period of absence exceeded ten working days.

24.18(17) Claimant left because of dissatisfaction with the work environment.

24.18(18) Claimant left because of a personality conflict with the supervisor.

24.18(19) Claimant left voluntarily due to family responsibilities or serious family needs.

24.18(20) Claimant left employment to accept retirement when such claimant could have continued working.

24.18(21) Claimant left to take a vacation.

24.18(22) Claimant left to go to school.

24.18(23) Claimant left rather than perform the assigned work as instructed.

24.18(24) Claimant left after being reprimanded.

24.18(25) Claimant left in anticipation of a layoff in the near future, but work was still available at the time claimant left.

24.18(26) Claimant left due to the commuting distance to the job and was aware of the distance when hired.

24.18(27) Claimant left work to keep from earning enough wages during the year to adversely affect receipt of social security.

24.18(28) Claimant left by refusing a transfer to another location when it was known at the time of hire that it was customary for employees to transfer as required.

24.18(29) Claimant left because claimant felt that the job performance was not to the satisfaction of the employer provided the employer had not requested claimant leave and continued work was available.

24.18(30) Claimant left because work was irregular due to weather conditions that were not unusual in claimant’s type of employment.

24.18(31) Claimant left because of illness or injury that was not caused or aggravated by the employment or pregnancy and failed to:

a.Obtain the advice of a licensed and practicing physician or physician assistant;

b.Obtain certification of release for work from a licensed and practicing physician or physician assistant;

c.Return to the employer and offer services upon recovery and certification for work by a licensed and practicing physician or physician assistant; or

d.Fully recover so that the claimant could perform all of the duties of the job.

24.18(32) Where claimant maintained that the claimant left due to an illness or injury that was caused or aggravated by the employment but the employer met its burden of proof in establishing that the illness or injury did not exist or was not caused or aggravated by the employment.

24.18(33) Where claimant gives the employer notice of an intention to resign and the employer accepted such resignation. This rule also applies to a claimant who was employed by an educational institution who has declined or refused to accept a new contract or reasonable assurance of work for a successive academic term or year and the offer of work was within the purview of the individual’s training and experience.

24.18(34) Where claimant gave the employer an advance notice of resignation, causing the employer to discharge the claimant prior to the proposed date of resignation, no disqualification shall be imposed from the last day of work until the proposed date of resignation. Benefits will be denied effective the proposed date of resignation.

24.18(35) Where claimant voluntarily quit in advance of the announced scheduled layoff, the disqualification period will be from the last day worked to the date of the scheduled layoff.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 96.3(3), 96.4(3), 96.4(5), 96.5(1), 96.5(3), 96.6(1), 96.6(2), 96.16, and 96.1A.

871—24.19(96) Voluntary quit with good cause attributable to the employer and separations not considered to be voluntary quits. In addition to the reasons established in Iowa Code section 96.5(1), the following are reasons for a claimant leaving employment with good cause attributable to the employer:

24.19(1) An employer’s willful breach of contract of hire is not a disqualifiable issue. This would include any change that would jeopardize the worker’s safety, health or morals. The change of contract of hire must be substantial in nature and may involve changes in working hours, shifts, remuneration, location of employment, or drastic modification in type of work. Minor changes in a worker’s routine on the job would not constitute a change of contract of hire.

24.19(2) Claimant left due to unsafe working conditions.

24.19(3) Claimant left due to unlawful working conditions.

24.19(4) Claimant left due to intolerable or detrimental working conditions.

24.19(5) Claimant was laid off by the employer for being pregnant; however, availability must still be determined.

24.19(6) Separation because of illness, injury, or pregnancy.

a.Nonemployment related separation. For purposes of Iowa Code section 96.5(1)“d,” recovery is defined as the ability of the claimant to perform all the duties of the previous employment.

b.Employment related separation. The claimant was compelled to leave employment because of an illness, injury, or allergy condition that was attributable to the employment. Factors and circumstances directly connected with the employment that caused or aggravated the illness, injury, allergy, or disease to the employee that made it impossible for the employee to continue in employment because of serious danger to the employee’s health may be held to be an involuntary termination of employment and constitute good cause attributable to the employer. The claimant will be eligible for benefits if compelled to leave employment as a result of an injury suffered on the job.

In order to be eligible under this paragraph, an individual must present competent evidence showing adequate health reasons to justify termination, before quitting have informed the employer of the work-related health problem and informed the employer that the individual intends to quit unless the problem is corrected or the individual is reasonably accommodated. Reasonable accommodation includes other comparable work that is not injurious to the claimant’s health and for which the claimant must remain available.

24.19(7) For purposes of Iowa Code section 96.5(1)“c,” immediate family is defined as a collective body of persons who live under one roof and under one head or management, or a son or daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law. Members of the immediate family are related by blood or by marriage.

24.19(8) For purposes of Iowa Code section 96.5(1)“e,” family is defined as wife, husband, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, foster children, brothers, brothers-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles or corresponding relatives of the classified employee’s spouse or other relatives of the classified employee or spouse residing in the classified employee’s immediate household.

24.19(9) A claimant who underwent a mandatory retirement as of a certain age because of company policy or in accordance with an agreement between the employer and union.

24.19(10) The granting of a written release from employment by the employer at the employee’s request is a mutual termination of employment and not a voluntary quit. However, this would constitute a period of voluntary unemployment by the employee and the employee would not meet the availability requirement of Iowa Code section 96.4(3).

24.19(11) When an employee gives notice of intent to resign at a future date, it is a quit issue on that future date. Should the employer terminate the employee immediately, such employee is eligible for benefits for the period between the actual separation and the future quit date given by the claimant.

24.19(12) A claimant who, when told of a scheduled future layoff, leaves employment before the layoff date is deemed to be unavailable for work until the future separation date designated by the employer. After the employer-designated date, the separation will be considered a layoff.

24.19(13) For purposes of Iowa Code section 96.5(1)“g,” good cause is a substantial and justifiable reason, excuse or cause such that a reasonable and prudent person, who desired to remain in the ranks of the employed, would find to be adequate justification for not notifying the employer. Good cause would include the employer’s going out of business, blinding snowstorm, telephone lines down, employer closed for vacation, hospitalization of the claimant, and other substantial reasons.

Notification may be accomplished by going to the employer’s place of business, telephoning the employer, faxing the employer, or any other currently accepted means of communications.

24.19(14) For purposes of Iowa Code section 96.5(1)“f,” working days means the normal days in which the employer is open for business.

24.19(15) Separation due to incarceration.

a.The claimant is eligible for benefits if the department finds that all of the following conditions have been met:

(1)The employer was notified by the claimant prior to the absence;

(2)Criminal charges relating to the incarceration were not filed against the individual, all criminal charges against the individual relating to the incarceration were dismissed, or the claimant was found not guilty of all criminal charges relating to the incarceration;

(3)The claimant reported back to the employer within two working days of the release from incarceration and offered services to the employer; and

(4)The employer rejected the offer of services.

b.If the claimant fails to satisfy the requirements of subparagraph 24.19(17)“a”(1), the claimant is considered to have voluntarily quit the employment if the claimant was absent for three working days or more under subrule 24.18(4). If the absence was two days or less, the separation is considered a discharge under rule 871—24.24(96). If all of the conditions of subparagraphs 24.19(17)“a”(2), 24.19(17)“a”(3) and 24.19(17)“a”(4) are not satisfied, the separation is considered a discharge under rule 871—24.24(96).

This subrule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.5 and Supreme Court of Iowa decision, Irving v. Employment Appeal Board, 883 N.W.2d 179.

24.19(16) The claimant was employed on a temporary basis for assignment to spot jobs or casual labor work and fulfilled the contract of hire when each of the jobs was completed. An election not to report for a new assignment to work is not construed as a voluntary leaving of employment. The issue of a refusal of an offer of suitable will shall be adjudicated when an offer of work is made by the former employer. The provisions of Iowa Code section 96.5(3) and rule 871—24.17(96) are controlling in the determination of suitability of work. However, this subrule does not apply to substitute school employees who are subject to the provisions of Iowa Code section 96.4(5) that denies benefits that are based on service in an educational institution when the individual declines or refuses to accept a new contract or reasonable assurance of continued employment status. Under this circumstance, the substitute school employee is considered to have voluntarily quit employment.

24.19(17) The claimant left work voluntarily rather than accept a transfer to another locality that would have caused a considerable personal hardship.

24.19(18) When a claimant was compelled to resign when given the choice of resigning or being discharged, it is not considered a voluntary leaving.

24.19(19) The claimant was hired for a specific period of time and completed the contract of hire by working until this specific period of time had lapsed. This subrule does not apply to substitute school employees who are subject to the provisions of Iowa Code section 96.4(5) that denies benefits that are based on service in an educational institution when the individual declines or refuses to accept a new contract or reasonable assurance of continued employment status. Under this circumstance, the substitute school employees are considered to have voluntarily quit employment.

24.19(20) The claimant left work because the type of work was misrepresented at the time of acceptance of the work assignment.

24.19(21) A member of the national guard or organized military reserves of the armed forces of the United States ordered to temporary active duty for the purpose of military training or ordered on active state service is entitled to a leave of absence during the period of such duty. The employer will restore the person to the position held prior to such leave of absence, or employ the person in a similar position provided that the person provides evidence to the employer of satisfactory completion of the training or duty and further provided that the person remains qualified to perform the duties of the position.

24.19(22) The claimant left the transferring employer and accepted work with the acquiring employer at the time the employer acquired a clearly segregable and identifiable part of the transferring employer’s business or enterprise. Under this condition, the balancing account will immediately become chargeable for the benefits paid that are based on the wages paid by the transferring employer, provided the acquiring employer does not receive a partial successorship, and no disqualification will be imposed if the claimant is otherwise eligible.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 96.3(3), 96.4(3), 96.4(5), 96.5(1), 96.5(3), 96.6(1), 96.16, and 96.1A.

871—24.20(96) Voluntary quit of part-time employment and requalification. An individual who voluntarily quits without good cause part-time employment and who has not requalified for benefits following the voluntary quit of part-time employment, but is otherwise monetarily eligible for benefits based on wages paid by the regular or other base period employers, will not be disqualified for voluntarily quitting the part-time employment. The individual and the part-time employer that was voluntarily quit will be notified that benefit payments will not be made that are based on the wages paid by the part-time employer, and benefit charges will not be assessed against the part-time employer’s account. However, once the individual has met the requalification requirements following the voluntary quit without good cause of the part-time employer, the wages paid in the part-time employment will be available for benefit payment purposes. For benefit charging purposes and as determined by the applicable requalification requirements, the wages paid by the part-time employer will be transferred to the balancing account.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.5(1)“g.”

871—24.21(96) Voluntary quit requalifications and previously adjudicated voluntary quit issues.

24.21(1) A claimant is eligible for benefits even though having voluntarily left employment, if after leaving the employment, the claimant worked in (except in back pay awards) and was paid wages for insured work equal to ten times the claimant’s weekly benefit amount.

24.21(2) The claimant is eligible for benefits even though having been previously disqualified from benefits due to voluntary quit, if, after the disqualification, the claimant worked in (except in back pay awards) and was paid wages for insured work equal to ten times the claimant’s weekly benefit amount.

24.21(3) The claimant will be eligible for benefits even though the claimant voluntarily quit if the claimant left for the sole purpose of accepting an offer of other or better employment, which the claimant did accept, and from which the claimant is separated, before or after having started the new employment. The employment does not have to be insured work and does not include self-employment.

24.21(4) The claimant voluntarily left employment. However, there shall be no disqualification under Iowa Code section 96.5(1) if a decision on this same separation has been made on a prior claim by a representative of the department and such decision has become final.

24.21(5) The claimant voluntarily left employment. However, there shall be no disqualification under Iowa Code section 96.5(1) if a decision on this same separation has been made on a prior claim by the administrative law judge and such decision has become final.

24.21(6) The claimant voluntarily left employment. However, there shall be no disqualification under Iowa Code section 96.5(1) if a decision on this same separation has been made on a prior claim by the employment appeal board and such decision has become final.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.5(1)“a.”

871—24.22(96) Business closing.

24.22(1) Whenever an employer at which the individual was last employed and is laid off goes out of business, the individual’s account is credited with one-half, instead of one-third, of the wages for insured work paid to the individual during the individual’s base period, which may increase the maximum benefit amount up to 26 times the weekly benefit amount or one-half of the total base period wages, whichever is less. This rule also applies retroactively for monetary redetermination purposes during the current benefit year of the individual who is temporarily laid off with the expectation of returning to work once the temporary or seasonal factors have been eliminated and is prevented from returning to work because the employer goes out of business within the same benefit year. This rule also applies to an individual who works in temporary employment between the layoff from the business closing employer and the claim for benefits. For the purposes of this rule, temporary employment means employment of a duration not to exceed four weeks.

24.22(2) Going out of business is when an employer closes its door and ceases to function as a business. An employer is not considered to have gone out of business if it sells or otherwise transfers the business to another employer that continues to operate the business.

24.22(3) When the unemployment insurance representative is informed by the individual or has knowledge of an employer going out of business, the representative completes a verification of business closing form and refers it to the field audit section for verification. Upon return of the form from the field audit section, a representative will issue the appropriate decisions to all claimants who requested that their unemployment insurance claim be redetermined as a business closing.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.3(5).

871—24.23(96) Subsequent benefit year condition.

24.23(1) The claimant must have been paid benefits on a previous claim.

24.23(2) Qualifications for a second benefit year are established in Iowa Code section 96.4(4)“c.” Vacation pay, severance pay and bonuses are not considered as wages for second benefit year requalification purposes.

24.23(3) Employment for a railroad under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is insured work.

24.23(4) Disqualification for lack of eight times the claimant’s weekly benefit amount from the claimant’s previous benefit year in insured work will be removed upon verification that the claimant worked in and received wages for insured work totaling eight times the claimant’s weekly benefit amount from the previous benefit year during or after the previous benefit year.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.4(4).

871—24.24(96) Discharge for misconduct.

24.24(1) Definition.

a.“Misconduct” is defined in Iowa Code section 96.5(2)“d.”

b.Back pay awards are not considered when calculating wages for qualification under Iowa Code section 96.5(2)“a.”

24.24(2) Gross misconduct.

a.“Gross misconduct” is defined in Iowa Code section 96.5(2)“c.”

b.An indictable offense means a common law or statutory offense presented on indictment or on county attorney’s information, and includes all felonies and all indictable misdemeanors punishable by a fine of more than $500 or by imprisonment in the county jail for more than 30 days.

c.If gross misconduct is established, the department will cancel the individual’s wage credits earned, prior to the date of discharge, from all employers regardless of when the act occurred during the benefit year.

24.24(3) Report required. The claimant’s statement and employer’s statement must give detailed facts as to the specific reason for the claimant’s discharge. Allegations of misconduct or dishonesty without additional evidence are not sufficient to result in disqualification. If the employer is unwilling to furnish available evidence to corroborate the allegation, misconduct cannot be established. In cases where a suspension or disciplinary layoff exists, the claimant is considered as discharged, and the issue of misconduct is resolved.

24.24(4) Trial period. A dismissal, because of being physically unable to do the work, being not capable of doing the work assigned, not meeting the employer’s standards, or having been hired on a trial period of employment and not being able to do the work are not issues of misconduct.

24.24(5) False work application. It is an act of misconduct when a willfully and deliberately false statement, made on a work application, may or does result in endangering the health, safety or morals of the applicant or others, result in exposing the employer to legal liabilities or penalties, or result in placing the employer in jeopardy.

24.24(6) Excessive unexcused absenteeism. Excessive unexcused absenteeism is an intentional disregard of the claimant’s duty to the employer and is considered misconduct except for illness or other reasonable grounds so long as properly reported to the employer.

24.24(7) Past acts of misconduct. While past acts and warnings can be used to determine the magnitude of a current act of misconduct, a discharge for misconduct cannot be based on such past act or acts. The termination of employment must be based on a current act.

24.24(8) Suspension or disciplinary layoff. Whenever a claim is filed and the reason for the claimant’s unemployment is the result of a disciplinary layoff or suspension imposed by the employer, the claimant is considered as discharged, and the issue of misconduct must be resolved. Alleged misconduct or dishonesty without corroboration is not sufficient to result in disqualification.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.5 and Supreme Court of Iowa decision, Sheryl A. Cosper vs. Iowa Department of Job Service and Blue Cross of Iowa.

871—24.25(96) Labor disputes.

24.25(1) Definition. As used in sections 96.5(3)“b”(1) and 96.5(4), the term “labor dispute” shall mean any controversy concerning terms, tenure, or conditions of employment, or concerning the association or representation of persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing, or seeking to arrange terms or conditions of employment regardless of whether the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and employee. An individual is disqualified for benefits if unemployment is due to a labor dispute.

24.25(2) Initial requirements—workforce development center.

a.As soon as a workforce development center has knowledge of a labor dispute or work stoppage in its administrative area, a Labor Dispute Report will be sent to the administrative office of the department advising of the labor dispute or work stoppage.

b.If the labor dispute or work stoppage is terminated before the report is transmitted, the information concerning the termination of the dispute and the date of the worker’s return to work must also be entered on the Labor Dispute Report.

c.When the labor dispute or work stoppage is terminated after the filing of the initial Form 68-0535, the department must be notified of the termination and return to work dates.

d.In those instances where an association represents a group of employers, the report will contain the names and addresses of the employers who are involved in the labor dispute, as well as the name and address of the association and the name of the association official who can furnish information about the work stoppage.

e.In taking initial claims in which there is a labor dispute, the workforce development center will process an initial application for unemployment, Application for Job Placement Assistance and/or Job Insurance, in the normal manner, which will include the union name and local union number.

f.If there is a work stoppage at the premises of an employer and it is a known fact that there has not been a union and that at present there is no union representation nor any attempt by a union to organize the workers of the plant, a statement will be taken from each individual claiming benefits. Each individual’s statement would become a part of the evidence submitted to the administrative office of the department of workforce development.

g.Statements from each individual claiming benefits are not required on the labor dispute issue whenever there is union representation even though some of the individuals may not be union members.

h.When there is a termination of the work stoppage, or if the issues have not been resolved and all workers returned to work, a report must be made to the legal counsel, unemployment insurance services division. The report will include the:

(1)Date on which an agreement was reached on the issues that caused the work stoppage.

(2)Date on which the workers returned to work, or a schedule as to how the workers will return to work.

i.The requirements in subrules 24.25(1) and 24.25(2) will cover the establishment and termination reports of the work stoppage and give the information necessary for the benefits bureau to investigate the work stoppage when claims are filed on which a protest is made that the claimant is involved in a work stoppage.

j.During the period of a labor dispute, the claims involved in the labor dispute are processed as though no separation from the employer had occurred. Therefore, if an individual is still unemployed after the termination of the labor dispute, such individual has either been laid off, voluntarily left, or has been discharged from employment, and an additional claim will be taken if the individual continues in claim status.

k.When the employer or the union requests advice and information pertaining to what action should be taken in regard to the labor dispute, the workforce development center, at that time, should obtain all the information possible from the requester for inclusion in the labor dispute report to the unemployment insurance services division.

l.The employer will receive separate notices of claim filing for each claimant and shall make any protest in the appropriate section on the Notice of Claim. The employer will receive a copy of the decision that may be appealed.

m.The employer will use the Notice of Separation or Refusal of Work to report separations from work by employees for reasons of voluntary leaving, misconduct and job refusal, but not labor disputes.

24.25(3) Initial determination. In any case in which the payment or denial of benefits will be determined by the provisions of Iowa Code section 96.5(4), the representative of the unemployment insurance services division will promptly review the evidence submitted and issue a decision to interested parties, who have ten days from the date of mailing the decision to the last known address of record to appeal the decision.

871—24.26(96) Labor dispute—policy.

24.26(1) Union membership in and of itself is not the determinative factor in whether an individual is participating in, financing or directly interested in the labor dispute.

24.26(2) The relationship between employer and employee continues during the period of the labor dispute unless severed by the employer or employee.

a.If the relationship is severed by the employer, Iowa Code section 96.5(2) governs.

b.If the relationship is severed by the employee, Iowa Code section 96.5(1) governs.

24.26(3) An individual who is unemployed because of a labor dispute and accepts employment elsewhere during the period of the labor dispute must return to the previous employer when said labor dispute is settled or be subject to a determination on the issue of voluntary leaving.

24.26(4) Any individual unemployed because of failure or refusal to cross a picket line during a labor dispute is considered as involved in such labor dispute.

24.26(5) Appeals of the department’s initial determination of a labor dispute issue are heard by an administrative law judge, whose decision may be appealed to the employment appeal board.

24.26(6) An individual not involved in or participating in a labor dispute who failed to report to work because of a picket line shall be deemed to have voluntarily left employment. However, if the individual was subjected to hostility or violence in an attempt to cross a picket line, then the individual will be held to have involuntarily left employment.

a.The division presumes that any strike or lockout is being conducted in a lawful manner unless there is evidence to the contrary. The division presumes that any picketing is being conducted in a peaceful manner and that ingress or egress to the employer’s facility is not being unlawfully impeded.

b.If an injunction request for actual or threatened violence, unlawful impedance of ingress or egress, or other unlawful conduct is denied due to such conduct not being established, the division presumes that the picket line is peaceful absent evidence to the contrary.

c.If an injunction is obtained, the division presumes the picket line is peaceful as of the date the injunction is issued unless evidence is introduced that proves the contrary proposition.

24.26(7) A lockout is not a labor dispute if the claimant is willing to continue working under the preexisting terms and conditions of the expired collective bargaining agreement for a reasonable period of time while a new collective bargaining agreement is negotiated. A lockout is a cessation of the furnishing of work to employees or a withholding of work from them in an effort to get more desirable terms for the employer.

a.The test for determining whether a stoppage of work is a lockout or labor dispute is to determine the final cause and the party ultimately responsible for the work stoppage. If the employees have offered to continue working for a reasonable period of time under the preexisting terms and conditions of employment so as to avert a work stoppage pending the final settlement of the contract negotiations and the employer refuses to maintain the status quo by extending the expired contract, the resulting work stoppage constitutes a lockout, and the claimants are not disqualified because of a labor dispute.

b.A cessation of employment by the employer is not a lockout if:

(1)The stoppage of work is in the same facility or another facility of the employer and the claimant is directly involved in the labor dispute and the collective bargaining negotiations will directly affect the claimant’s condition of employment, or

(2)The claimant or the recognized collective bargaining agent declines an offer from the employer to extend the expired collective bargaining agreement while negotiations continue for a reasonable period of time taking into consideration the nature of the employer’s business, or

(3)The employer can demonstrate that its refusal to allow employees to continue working under the terms and conditions of the expired collective bargaining agreement is due to a compelling reason of such degree that the extension of the contract would be unreasonable under the circumstances.

24.26(8) A labor dispute involves a stoppage of work at the plant or establishment. If there is no stoppage of work, the individual who leaves employment is deemed to have voluntarily quit.

24.26(9) When individuals, not as a group, union, or under union direction or suggestion but individually, left their work voluntarily in protest against the discharge of a fellow employee by their employer, in an unauthorized strike, it is held to be a voluntary quit.

24.26(10) Employment offered by an employer involved in a labor dispute or an employer who becomes involved in a labor dispute prior to acceptance by the claimant is considered:

a.Not suitable if the offer is made to a person who would be a new employee or a former employee who was laid off before the labor dispute and the vacancy was created by the strike, lockout, or other labor dispute.

b.Suitable if the offer was made to a former employee who was previously laid off, provided the position offered is not vacant because of the strike, lockout, or other labor dispute and the provisions of section 96.5(4) will apply.

c.Suitable if the offer is made to a new employee who was not previously laid off by the same employer, and the vacancy was not created by a labor dispute.

24.26(11) Other employment accepted during periods of labor disputes does not free the claimant from the labor dispute section of the Iowa employment security law unless the claimant severs the relationship with the employer and obtains bona fide employment elsewhere.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 96.5(3) and 96.5(4).

871—24.27(96) Date of submission and extension of time for payments and notices.

24.27(1) Except as otherwise provided by statute or by division rule, any payment, appeal, application, request, notice, objection, petition, report or other information or document submitted to the division will be considered received by and filed with the division:

a.If transmitted via the United States Postal Service on the date it is mailed as shown by the postmark, or in the absence of a postmark the postage meter mark of the envelope in which it is received; or if not postmarked or postage meter marked or if the mark is illegible, on the date entered on the document as the date of completion.

b.If transmitted via the State Identification Data Exchange System (SIDES), maintained by the United States Department of Labor, on the date it was submitted to SIDES.

c.If transmitted by any means other than those outlined in paragraphs 24.27(1)“a” and “b,” on the date it is received by the division.

24.27(2) The submission of any payment, appeal, application, request, notice, objection, petition, report or other information or document not within the specified statutory or regulatory period will be considered timely if it is established to the satisfaction of the division that the delay in submission was due to division error or misinformation or to delay or other action of the United States postal service.

a.For submission that is not within the statutory or regulatory period to be considered timely, the interested party must submit a written explanation setting forth the circumstances of the delay.

b.The division will designate personnel who are to decide whether an extension of time will be granted.

c.No submission will be considered timely if the delay in filing was unreasonable, as determined by the division after considering the circumstances in the case.

d.If submission is not considered timely, although the interested party contends that the delay was due to division error or misinformation or delay or other action of the United States postal service, the division will issue an appealable decision to the interested party.

24.27(3) Delivery by mail. Any notice, report form, determination, decision, or other document mailed by the division will be considered as having been given to the addressee to whom it is directed on the date it is mailed to the addressee’s last-known address. The date mailed is presumed to be the date of the document, unless otherwise indicated by the facts.

24.27(4) Electronic delivery. Any notice, report form, determination, decision, or other document sent by the division via the U.S. Department of Labor state information data exchange system is considered as having been given to the party to whom it is directed on the date it is submitted on the system. The date submitted is presumed to be the date of the document, unless otherwise indicated by the facts.

871—24.28(96) Interstate benefits.

24.28(1) An interstate claimant is an individual who claims benefits under the unemployment insurance law of one or more liable states. Interstate benefits are payable under the plan approved by the national association of state workforce agencies to unemployed individuals who do not reside in the state(s) in which wage credits were earned.

24.28(2) The division shall determine unemployment benefit claims for interstate claimants in accordance with applicable state and federal law.

871—24.29(96) Payment of benefits to interstate claimants.

24.29(1) Section 96.20 of the employment security law of Iowa authorizes the department to enter into reciprocal arrangements with appropriate and duly authorized agencies of other states or of the federal government, or both. In conformity with this section, the department of workforce development prescribes:

a.Applicability. This regulation shall govern the department in its administrative cooperation with other states.

b.Definitions. In addition to terms defined in 17.1, the following definitions apply to this rule unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(1)“Interstate benefit payment plan.” The plan approved by the national association of state workforce agencies under which benefits shall be payable to unemployed individuals who do not reside in the state (or states) in which benefit credits have been accumulated.

(2)“Interstate claimant.” This is an individual who claims benefits under the unemployment insurance law of one or more liable states. The term interstate claimant shall not include any individual who customarily commutes from a residence in an agent state to work in a liable state unless the department finds that this exclusion would create undue hardship on such a claimant in a specified area.

(3)“State.” This includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Canada.

c.Registration for work.

(1)Each interstate claimant will be registered for work as legally required by the agent state. This registration will be deemed to meet the registration requirements of the liable state.

(2)Each agent state will report to the respective liable state whether each interstate claimant meets the registration requirements of the agent state.

d.Benefit rights of interstate claimants.

(1)If a claimant files a claim against any state, and it is determined that the claimant has available benefit credits in that state, then claims will be filed only against that state as long as benefit credits are available there. Thereafter, the claimant may file claims against any other state having available benefit credits.

(2)For the purposes of this regulation, benefit credits shall be deemed to be unavailable whenever benefits have been exhausted, terminated, or postponed for an indefinite period or for the entire period in which benefits would otherwise be payable, or whenever benefits are affected by the application of a seasonal restriction. The department will respect the prior adjudication of a liable state if the department is made aware of the decision and will apply the Iowa requalification criteria, unless the claimant has requalified pursuant to the liable state’s requalification criteria.

(3)The effective date of an interstate claim is the Sunday of the week the claim was filed, unless proof is obtained from another state that the claimant should have filed in Iowa.

e.Claim for benefits. Claims for benefits shall be filed by interstate claimants on uniform interstate claim forms or by using the procedures provided by the liable state and in accordance with uniform procedures developed pursuant to the interstate benefit payment plan. Claims shall be filed in accordance with the type of week in use in the agent state. Any adjustments required to fit the type of week used by the liable state shall be made by the liable state on the basis of consecutive claims filed.

f.Determination of claims.

(1)In connection with each claim filed by an interstate claimant, the agent state shall ascertain and report to the liable state in question such facts relating to the claimant’s availability for work and eligibility for benefits as are readily determinable in and by the agent state.

(2)The agent state’s responsibility and authority in connection with the determination of interstate claims shall be limited to investigation and reporting of relevant facts. The agent state shall not refuse to take an interstate claim unless the liable state has a procedure for taking out-of-state claims.

g.Appellate procedure.

(1)The agent state shall afford all reasonable cooperation in the taking of evidence and the holding of hearings in connection with appealed interstate benefit claims.

(2)With respect to the time limits imposed by the law of a liable state upon the filing of an appeal in connection with a disputed benefit claim, an appeal made by an interstate claimant shall be deemed to have been made and communicated to the liable state on the date when it is received by any qualified representative of the agent state.

24.29(2) Extended benefits interstate claims. When extended benefits are in effect and a claimant is filing for extended benefits, an eligible individual shall be limited to a maximum of two weeks of the extended benefit entitlement if the individual moves from this state, before or during an extended benefit period triggered by this state’s “on” indicator, to another state in which an extended benefit period is not in effect.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 96.6(1) and 96.29(3).

871—24.30(96) Combined wage claim.

24.30(1) Purpose of plan. The combined wage program enables an unemployed worker with covered employment or wages in more than one state to combine all employment and wages in one state to qualify for benefits or to receive increased benefits.

a.Each state will cooperate with every other state by implementing these uniform combined wage procedures, rules and regulations.

b.The benefit year, base period, qualifying wages, benefit rate, and duration of benefits under the unemployment compensation law of the agent state is applicable to a combined wage claimant.

c.The rights of the individual under the combined wage claim plan are determined by the paying state after the combining of all wages available from the liable states; however, in the case in which another state transfers wages to Iowa and Iowa is the paying state, Iowa cannot again adjudicate a separation that has been previously adjudicated by the transferring state. The department will respect the prior adjudication of the transferring state if the department is aware of the decision and will apply the Iowa requalification criteria, unless the individual has requalified pursuant to the liable state’s requalification criteria.

d.All other provisions of the unemployment compensation laws and rules of the state agency of the paying state will be applied to the combined wage claim.

e.The paying state is the state in which the claim is filed unless the individual does not qualify after the transfer has been completed or the claimant is a commuter, meaning that the person travels on a daily or regular basis from the state of residence to a separate state where the person works.

24.30(2) Exception to combining wage credits. Wages and employment are not transferable to the paying state if:

a.Any employment and wages have been transferred to any other paying state and not returned unused,

b.Wages have been used by the transferring state as the basis of a monetary determination that established a benefit year, and

c.Any employment and wages have been canceled or are unavailable due to a transferring state determination made prior to the request for transfer.

24.30(3) The claimant will be told that if there was a previous election to file a combined wage claim, the claimant may withdraw the combined wage claim any time, up to the date the paying state’s monetary determination becomes final. However, if the claimant withdraws a combined wage claim and benefits have been paid, the claimant will be required to repay any such benefits. This repayment may be done electronically, by cash, by check, by money order, or by an authorization to the state(s) from which such claimant next claims benefits to reimburse the combined wage paying state for any benefits that said claimant will be paid.

871—24.31(96) Department-approved training. Department-approved training allows claimants to return to the labor market after attending vocational training while being paid unemployment insurance benefits. Vocational training is nonacademic, skill-oriented training that provides the student with job tools and skills that can be used in the workplace. It includes technical, skill-based, or job readiness training intended for pursuing a career. Upon departmental approval, the claimant is exempt from the work search requirement for continued benefit eligibility benefits. To be eligible for department-approved training programs and to maintain continuing participation therein, the individual must meet the following requirements:

24.31(1) The claimant applies to the department demonstrating:

a.The educational establishment at which the claimant would receive training;

b.The estimated time required for such training;

c.The date the training will be complete or the degree obtained;

d.The occupation the training is allowing the claimant to maintain or pursue; and

e.The training plan, indicating the requirements needed to complete the certification or degree.

24.31(2) A claimant may receive unemployment insurance while attending a training course approved by the department if:

a.The educational establishment is a college, university or technical training institution;

b.The training is completed 104 weeks or less from the start date; and

c.The individual is enrolled and attending as a full-time student, as defined by the institution.

While attending the approved training course, the claimant need not be available for work or actively seeking work, except if the hours of the training are outside the regular hours worked in the base period employment. After completion of department-approved training, to continue eligibility for unemployment insurance, the claimant may place no restriction on employability. The claimant must be able to work, available for work, and actively searching for work. The claimant may be subject to disqualification for any refusal of work without good cause after completing training.

24.31(3) The claimant must show satisfactory attendance and progress in the training course to be considered for a subsequent approval.

871—24.32(96) Training extension benefits.

24.32(1) Training extension benefits provide continued benefit eligibility, allowing an individual to pursue a training program for entry into a high-demand or high-technology occupation. Training extension benefits are available to an individual who voluntarily quit with good cause attributable to the employer or who was laid off or from full-time employment in a declining occupation or who was involuntarily separated from full-time employment due to a permanent reduction of operations.

24.32(2) The weekly benefit amount is pursuant to the same terms and conditions as regular unemployment benefits and the benefits are for a maximum of 26 times the weekly benefit amount of the claim that resulted in eligibility. Contributory and reimbursable employers will be relieved of charges for training extension benefits.

24.32(3) Enrollment must be full-time, as defined by the training institution, and courses must be designed to prepare the individual for a high-demand or high-technology occupation. The department will make available on its website and at workforce centers a list of high-demand, high-technology, and declining occupations.

a.High-technology occupations include life sciences, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, alternative fuels, insurance, environmental technology, and technologically advanced green jobs. A high-technology occupation is one that requires a high degree of training in the sciences, engineering, or other advanced learning area and that has work opportunities available in the labor market area or the state of Iowa.

b.A high-demand occupation means an occupation in a labor market area or the state of Iowa as a whole in which the department determines that work opportunities are available.

c.A declining occupation has a lack of sufficient current demand in the individual’s labor market area or the state of Iowa for the occupational skills possessed by the individual, and the lack of employment opportunities is expected to continue for an extended period of time.

d.A declining occupation includes an occupation for which there is a seasonal variation in demand in the labor market or the state of Iowa, and the individual has no other skill for which there is a current demand.

e.A declining or high-demand occupation will be determined by using Iowa labor market information for each region in the state.

24.32(4) The application for training benefits must be received within 30 days after state or federal benefits are exhausted. The individual must be enrolled and making satisfactory progress to complete the training program for training extension benefit eligibility to continue.

24.32(5) Training benefits will cease to be available if the training is completed, the individual quits the training course, the individual exhausts the training extension maximum benefit amount, or the individual fails to make satisfactory progress. Benefits will cease no later than the end of the benefit year in which the individual became eligible for the benefits. Individuals must file and receive benefits under any federal or state unemployment insurance benefit program until the benefits have been exhausted in order to maintain eligibility for training extension benefits.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.3(5).

871—24.33(96) Retention of DHS referral form.

871—24.34(96) Trade Act of 1974. Unemployment benefits payable to claimants under the Trade Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-618) are determined in accordance with the rules of the United States department of labor as published in the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 29, Parts 70 and 91. The Trade Act of 1974 is designed to pay unemployment benefits to workers who become unemployed due to foreign production of goods replacing domestic production.

871—24.35(96) Extended benefits.

24.35(1) Purpose. Extended benefits are defined by Iowa Code section 96.1A(20).

24.35(2) Determination of when extended benefits are paid.

a.When paid. The state “on” indicator, as defined by Iowa Code section 96.1A(29), determines when extended benefits are paid in this state.

b.When not paid. The state “off” indicator, as defined by Iowa Code section 96.1A(28), determines when extended benefits are not paid in this state.

c.Period of payment. The extended benefit period is defined in Iowa Code section 96.1A(19).

d.Rate of insured unemployment. See Iowa Code section 96.1A(31).

24.35(3) Notice of the beginning and ending of an extended benefit period.

a.Notice to individuals. The department will notify individuals of:

(1)The beginning of an extended benefit period. The notice of potential entitlement to extended benefits is sent to each individual who has exhausted all rights to regular benefits either prior to the beginning of, or during, the extended benefit period and who has a benefit year that will not end prior to the beginning of the extended benefit.

(2)The ending of an extended benefit period. The notice of termination of entitlement to extended benefits is sent to each individual who is currently filing a claim for extended benefits.

b.Reserved.

24.35(4) Amount and duration of extended benefits.

a.Eligibility period. The eligibility period is defined in Iowa Code section 96.29(6).

b.Applicable benefit year. The applicable benefit year includes the period of one year from the date that an individual files a valid claim for benefits and any weeks following this one-year period in which the individual’s eligibility period for extended benefits has not expired and the individual is not able to establish a second benefit year for regular benefits.

24.35(5) Eligibility requirements for extended benefits. The individual is required to actively seek, apply for or accept suitable work as per the current extended benefits proclamation.

24.35(6) Overpayment of extended benefits.

871—24.36(96) Disaster benefits. Unemployment benefits payable under the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, will be determined in accordance with the rules of the United States Department of Labor and published in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 20, Chapter V, Parts 625 and 650.

871—24.37(96) UCFE claims. Benefits under the Federal Employer’s Compensation Act. Unemployment benefits for civilian federal employees are determined in accordance with the applicable state law and rules as well as the rules of the United States Department of Labor published in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 20, Chapter V, Parts 609, 615, 616, and 650. These benefits are payable under the Federal Employees Compensation Account, 5 U.S.C. 8509, and are based on wages earned by civilians in covered federal employment.

871—24.38(96) UCX claims.

24.38(1) Unemployment benefits for ex-military personnel, in addition to being determined in accordance with applicable Iowa law and rules, will be determined in substantial compliance with the rules and guidelines of the United States Department of Labor published in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 20, Chapter V, Parts 614 and 650.

24.38(2) These benefits are payable under the Ex-Service Member’s Unemployment Compensation Act of 1958, 5 U.S.C. 8521-8525.

871—24.39(96) Temporary extended unemployment compensation.

24.39(1) Overpayments will be offset up to and including 100 percent of the federal extended unemployment compensation benefit payment.

24.39(2) Waiver of overpayments.

a.Individuals who have received amounts of extended unemployment compensation to which they were not entitled are required to repay the amounts of such extended unemployment compensation except that the state repayment may be waived if the department determines that:

(1)The payment of such extended unemployment compensation was without fault on the part of the individual; and

(2)Such repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience.

b.In determining whether fault exists, the following factors are considered:

(1)Whether a material statement or representation was made by the individual in connection with the application for extended unemployment compensation that resulted in the overpayment and whether the individual knew or should have known that the statement or representation was inaccurate.

(2)Whether the individual failed or caused another to fail to disclose a material fact in connection with an application for extended unemployment compensation that resulted in the overpayment and whether the individual knew or should have known that the fact was material.

(3)Whether the individual knew or could have been expected to know that the individual was not entitled to the extended unemployment compensation payment.

(4)Whether, for any other reason, the overpayment resulted directly or indirectly, and partially or totally, from any act or omission of the individual or of which the individual had knowledge and that was erroneous or inaccurate or otherwise wrong.

c.In determining whether equity and good conscience exist, the following factors are considered:

(1)Whether the overpayment was the result of a decision on appeal;

(2)Whether the state agency had given notice to the individual that the individual may be required to repay the overpayment in the event of a reversal of the eligibility determination on appeal; and

(3)Whether recovery of the overpayment will cause financial hardship to the individual.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 96.11 and 96.29.

871—24.40(96) School definitions.

24.40(1) Educational institution is defined in Iowa Code section 96.1A(12).

24.40(2) Educational service is defined in Iowa Code section 96.4(5)“d.”

24.40(3) Employment definitions.

a.Professional employees including educational service agency employees means persons who are employed in an instructional, research or principal administrative capacity as explained below:

(1)Instructional: Services performed for an educational institution that consist of teaching in formal classroom and seminar situations, tutoring, or lecturing in the activity of imparting knowledge; or of services that consist of directing or supervising the instructional activities of others; or services that consist of counseling, advising, or otherwise determining curriculum, courses, and academic pursuits for students.

(2)Research: Services performed for an educational institution that consist of careful and systematic study and investigation in a field of science and knowledge, undertaken to establish facts or principles. The work performed is in a predominantly intellectual field or artistic endeavor that is varied in character and requiring the constant exercise of discretion and judgment in performance. The work further requires advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study.

(3)Principal administrative: Services performed for an educational institution that consist of managing the educational institution or one of its major divisions or departments. Such services include the responsibility for establishing and administering policies, rules, and regulations that have major impact on the overall operations and functions of the educational institutions or one of its major divisions or departments. Work and activities are performed under general direction and broad objectives and missions, with the authority to determine goals and the techniques and methods of operations of the educational institution or one of its major divisions or departments. The duties performed by the individual rather than the title held should determine whether the prohibition applies.

b.Nonprofessional employees including educational service agency employees means persons who perform services in any capacity for an educational institution other than in an instructional, research, or principal administrative capacity.

24.40(4) Institution of higher education is defined in Iowa Code section 96.1A(25).

24.40(5) Reasonable assurance, as applicable to an employee of an educational institution, means a written, verbal, or implied agreement that the employee will perform services in the same or similar capacity, which is not substantially less in economic terms and conditions, during the ensuing academic year or term. It need not be a formal written contract. To constitute a reasonable assurance of reemployment for the ensuing academic year or term, an individual must be notified of such reemployment.

24.40(6) School duration period.

a.“Academic year” is defined as that period of time that school personnel are obligated by contract to render services to the educational institution during the school year.

b.“Term” is defined as either of the two periods into which the yearly period of instruction is normally divided, commonly referred to as a semester. If the educational institution operates on a quarterly basis, then term means the same as a quarter period. If the educational institution operates on a trimester basis, then term means the same as a trimester period or any other division in a school year during which instruction is regularly given to students.

c.Twelve-month employment. School employees who perform services for educational institutions 12 months of a calendar year or years.

24.40(7) The term “established and customary” vacation period or holiday recess involved in this provision includes those scheduled at Christmas and in the spring, when those vacation periods or recesses occur within a term.

24.40(8) Between terms or academic years denial means any week of unemployment that begins during the period between two successive academic years or during a similar period between two regular terms, whether or not successive, or during a period of paid sabbatical leave provided for in the individual’s contract, if the individual has a contract or reasonable assurance that the individual will perform services in any such capacity for any educational institution for both such terms or academic years.

871—24.41(96) Determining eligibility of school claims after employer protest.

24.41(1) Claim filed. When a claim has been filed by an employee of an educational institution, the department sends a Notice of Claim to the educational institution. To protest the claim, the educational institution returns the notice to the department, including a statement as to whether or not the individual who filed a claim had been given reasonable assurance for the ensuing academic year or term. The statement should include the date and method of such notification. A copy of the notification may be attached to the Notice of Claim.

24.41(2) If the statement from the school indicates that there is no reasonable assurance of the employee returning to work for the ensuing academic year or term, the claim will be allowed, subject to meeting all other eligibility requirements. However, if an educational institution submits a statement or the claimant furnishes information concerning a reasonable assurance of school employment, the employee is subject to a denial of benefits. If the fact-finding results in a disqualification, the effective starting date of the disqualification is determined as follows:

a.No earlier than the effective starting date of the claim. If the job offer was prior to the beginning date of the claim and the claimant refuses the offer, the issue is adjudicated as a voluntary quit.

b.The Sunday of the week in which the job was offered under any of the following conditions:

(1)The employer protest was made within ten-day protest period.

(2)The department was notified within ten days of the date of the offer.

(3)The claimant was in a reporting status on a claim for unemployment insurance at the time the offer was made and the claimant failed to notify the department of the offer.

c.The Sunday of the week in which the claimant or employer notified this department of the offer unless the offer was prior to the week that the department was notified of the offer and the claimant was in reporting status on a claim for unemployment insurance at that time. In this situation, the effective starting date of disqualification will be the Sunday of the week in which the job offer was made.

d.The Sunday of the week in which the employer notified the department of the offer to the claimant. A refusal to accept the offer of employment is adjudicated as a voluntary quit section.

24.41(3) Professional employee. Unemployment insurance payments that are based on school employment shall not be paid to a professional employee for any week of unemployment that begins between two successive academic years, between regular terms, or during a period of paid sabbatical leave if the individual has a contract or reasonable assurance to perform services in any such capacity for any educational institution for both such academic years or terms. However, unemployment insurance payments may be made that are based on non-school-related wage credits pursuant to subrule 24.41(6).

24.41(4) Nonprofessional employee.

a.Unemployment insurance payments that are based on school employment may not be paid to a nonprofessional employee for any week of unemployment that begins between two successive academic years or terms if the individual has performed service in the first of such academic years or terms and there is a reasonable assurance that such individual will perform services for the second academic year or term. However, unemployment insurance payments can be made based on non-school-related wage credits pursuant to subrule 24.41(6).

b.The nonprofessional employee may qualify for retroactive unemployment insurance payments if the school employment fails to materialize in the following term or year and the individual has filed weekly or biweekly claims on a current basis during the between terms denial period pursuant to paragraph 24.2(1)“e.”

24.41(5) An educational institution employee who performs services on a 12-month, year-round basis whose employment is terminated through layoff or reduction in force prior to the completion of the 12-month period, is eligible for benefits and may not be disqualified under the provisions of Iowa Code section 96.4(5). An offer of reemployment to the 12-month, year-round employee for the succeeding academic year or term will be adjudicated under Iowa Code section 96.5(3) regarding offers of suitable work and no disqualification may be imposed prior to the week in which the employment is scheduled to commence.

24.41(6) Benefits based on services performed in an educational institution for periods between academic years or terms that are denied to an individual will result in the denial of the use of such wage credits. However, if sufficient non-school wage credits remain on the claim to qualify under Iowa Code section 96.4(4), the remaining wage credits may be used for benefit payments, if the individual is otherwise eligible.

24.41(7) Head start programs are considered educational in nature; however, the employing unit as a whole must have as its primary function the education of students. When the employing unit is operated primarily for educational purposes, then the between terms denial established by Iowa Code section 96.4(5) will apply between two successive academic years or terms and will apply for holiday and vacation periods to deny benefits to school personnel.

a.A nonprofit organization that has as its primary function civic, philanthropic or public assistance purposes does not meet the definition of an educational institution. Community action programs that have a head start school as one component are not an educational institution employer and the between terms denial does not apply.

b.A head start program that is an integral part of a public school system conducted by a board of education establishes an employing unit whose primary function is educational; therefore, the between terms denial would apply.

24.41(8) Wages earned and payment deferred. Many school employees receive remuneration from their school employers on a 12-month basis for the 9-month period worked. Deductions from unemployment insurance payments are on a “when earned” basis rather than on a “when paid” basis. Deferred wages currently paid that are based on earnings from a prior period are not deductible on a current week claimed pursuant to Iowa Code section 96.19(9)“b” and paragraph 24.13(2)“o.”

24.41(9) Vacation period and holiday recess. With respect to any services performed in any capacity while employed by an educational institution, unemployment insurance payments may not be paid to any individual for any week that commences during an established and customary vacation period or holiday recess if such individual performs service in the period immediately before such vacation period or holiday recess and there is a reasonable assurance that such individual will perform service in the period immediately following such vacation period or holiday recess. The provision of subrule 24.52(6) could also apply in this situation.

24.41(10) Substitute teachers.

a.Substitute teachers are professional employees and subject to the same limitations as other professional employees in regard to contracts, reasonable assurance provisions and the benefit denials between terms and during vacation periods.

b.Substitute teachers who are employed as on-call workers who hold themselves available for one employer and who will not search for or accept other work, are not available for work within the meaning of the law and are not eligible for unemployment insurance payments pursuant to subparagraph 24.15(2)“i”(1).

c.Substitute teachers whose wage credits in the base period consist exclusively of wages earned by performing on-call work are not deemed unemployed persons pursuant to subparagraph 24.15(2)“i”(3).

d.Substitute teachers engaged in on-call employment are not automatically disqualified but may be eligible pursuant to subparagraph 24.15(2)“i”(3) if they are:

(1)Able and available for work,

(2)Making an earnest and active search for work each week,

(3)Placing no restrictions on their employability, and

(4)Have wages other than on-call wages with an educational institution in the base period.

e.A substitute teacher who elects not to report for further possible assignment to work shall be considered to have voluntarily quit pursuant to subrule 24.19(19).

24.41(11) Declination of new contract or reasonable assurance.

a.The school employee who is not employed on a 12-month, year-round basis and who fails or refuses to accept a contract or reasonable assurance of employment in the succeeding academic term or year will have the separation adjudicated as a voluntary quit.

b.This subrule also applies to substitute teachers who fail or refuse to accept a contract or reasonable assurance of employment in the succeeding academic term or year pursuant to subrules 24.19(19) and 24.19(22).

24.41(12) School employees who are not offered a contract or reasonable assurance of employment in the succeeding academic term or year are eligible for benefits if all other eligibility conditions are met. However, school employees who subsequently receive a contract or reasonable assurance of employment for the following term or year will be disqualified under the “between terms denial” provision.

24.41(13) Continuing supplemental (part-time) school employment after loss of non-school employment. All employers, including employers of part-time workers, are notified of the filing of a claim. The school employer who continues to furnish part-time employment to the claimant may make a protest on the basis that the individual is still employed at the part-time employment and request removal of any charges to the part-time employer account pursuant to Iowa Code section 96.7(3)“a”(2).

871—24.42(96) Noncovered school-related employment.

24.42(1) See rule 871—23.20(96). However, wages earned by an individual who is a full-time employee for a school whose academic pursuit is incidental to the full-time employment may be used for claim and benefit purposes.

24.42(2) See rule 871—23.21(96).

871—24.43(96) Church school coverage. Schools affiliated with a church, as per 871—subrule 16.27(7), are exempt from coverage but may volunteer coverage by request to the department. Schools not affiliated with a church are covered employers with insured work.

871—24.44(96) Athletes—disqualifications. “Athletes,” as used in Iowa Code section 96.5(9), applies to professional athletes. A professional athlete is an individual whose occupation is participating in athletic or sporting events for wages. A semiprofessional athlete is within the scope of Iowa Code section 96.5(9), if such sports services are performed for compensation in covered wages. Auxiliary personnel, such as coaches, trainers, etc., are not considered professional athletes.

24.44(1) As used in Iowa Code section 96.5(9), “services performed by an individual, substantially all of which consist of participating in sports or athletic events” means all services performed by an individual in any subject employment during the individual’s base year if such individual was engaged in remunerative sports or athletic events for 90 percent or more of the total time spent in subject employment during such base year.

24.44(2) As used in Iowa Code section 96.5(9), “participating in sports or athletic events” means any services performed in an athletic activity by an individual as:

a.A regular player or team member.

b.An alternate player or team member.

c.An individual in training to become a regular player or team member.

d.An individual who, although performing no active services, is retained as a player or team member while recuperating from illness or injury.

24.44(3) The beginning and ending dates of any sport season and the beginning and ending dates of the time period between two successive sport seasons are determined by the department after considering custom and practice within a particular sport, published dates for beginning and ending of a season and any other information bearing upon such determination.

24.44(4) For the purposes of Iowa Code section 96.5(9), a reasonable assurance that an individual will perform services in sports or athletic events in a subsequent season is presumed to exist if:

a.The individual has an express or implied multiyear contract that extends into the subsequent sport season, or,

b.The individual is free to negotiate with other teams or employers for employment as a participant in the subsequent sport season, and

c.There is reason to believe that one or more employers of participants in athletic events is considering or would be desirous of employing the individual in an athletic capacity in the subsequent sport season, and

d.The individual has not clearly and affirmatively withdrawn from participating in remunerative and competitive sports or athletic events.

24.44(5) Benefits that will be paid with respect to weeks of unemployment during a sports season shall be based on all wage credits of the individual. Wage credits would include those earned in sports as well as in other employment covered by an employment security law. With respect to weeks of unemployment that begin during a period between sports seasons (or similar periods) no benefits are payable on the basis of any athletic or nonathletic wages if substantially all (see subrule 24.57(1)) of the services performed by the individual during the base period were in sports or athletic events.

24.44(6) When a professional athlete is denied benefits because there is a reasonable assurance that the individual will again perform services as a professional athlete in the next ensuing season but the assurance fails to materialize, the denial of benefits is effective until the date established that the assurance is ineffective. Following the ineffective date, benefits can be paid if the individual is otherwise eligible. If an assurance given to an individual is found to be not a bona fide assurance, benefits are payable if the individual is otherwise eligible.

24.44(7) Benefits will be paid with respect to weeks of unemployment between sports seasons (or similar periods) based on wage credits of the individual, paid in other employment covered by employment security law except those in sports or athletic events or training, or preparing to so participate.

24.44(8) Athletes—denial of benefits. An individual (athlete) will be denied benefits between seasons based on services performed by such individual (athlete).

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.5(9).

871—24.45(96) Voluntary shared work. The voluntary shared work program provides that employers facing a temporary shortfall may reduce the work hours of all employees in an affected unit and those employees will receive a portion of their regular unemployment insurance benefits. The program is designed to reduce unemployment and stabilize the workforce. Additional information may be obtained by contacting the voluntary shared work coordinator. The employer will administer the program in cooperation with the department. Participating employees will complete the employee information form and claim for benefits and return it to the employer, who will submit it to the department. Administrative penalties in force during the duration of the plan will make an employee ineligible for the program. Child support obligations will be deducted and unemployment insurance overpayments will be offset as they are for regular unemployment insurance benefits.

24.45(1) The duration of a shared work plan is between 4 and 52 weeks. Any requests for subsequent plans will be reviewed by the department.

24.45(2) Employment is considered seasonal if the production or service provided by the employment is curtailed by at least 45 percent or ceases for a four-month or longer period on an annual basis due to climatic conditions.

24.45(3) A plan that has been approved may be modified at the discretion of the department. An employer seeking modification of an approved plan must demonstrate good cause as to why the modification is necessary and that the factors necessitating the modification were not foreseeable at the time the plan was submitted.

24.45(4) The department retains discretion to approve, deny, or revoke an approved plan.

24.45(5) Employer requirements.

a.For each week that a voluntary shared work employer has an active plan, the employer will submit a certification of hours worked by each employee covered under the plan in the form or manner directed by the department. This includes a part-time employee provided that the employee meets all other requirements.

b.The first employer weekly certification is due no later than the Monday following the effective date of the employer’s approved work share plan. All subsequent weekly employer certifications are due no later than Monday (close of business) immediately following the benefit week. If the employer fails to submit the weekly certification by Monday immediately following the benefit week, the department will have good cause to terminate the employer’s work share plan.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.40.

871—24.46(96) Child support intercept. The term “benefits” for child support intercept purposes means any compensation payable under Iowa Code chapter 96, including any amounts payable pursuant to any workforce development agreement under any federal law administered by the department.

24.46(1) Information furnished to child support recovery unit. The department will furnish information to the child support recovery unit concerning all new claims filed that are monetarily eligible for benefits under any state or federal program administered by the department.

24.46(2) Action taken by child support recovery unit. The child support recovery unit will contact the claimant to afford claimant opportunity to enter into an agreement regarding amounts to be deducted and withheld.

24.46(3) Processing of payments. The child support recovery unit will furnish to the department the name and address of the designated public official to whom the amount deducted will be remitted. After the deduction, the remaining balance is credited to the claimant.

24.46(4) Notice to claimant. The department will send a notice to the claimant explaining the beginning date and the amount of the weekly benefit deduction that satisfies the individual’s child support obligation to the child support recovery unit. This notice, which explains the authority for the deduction and the claimant’s right of appeal, will be issued when the first deduction is made from the benefit payment.

24.46(5) Appeal rights on the child support deduction.

a.Any appeal on a child support deduction is limited to either the validity of the development’s authority to make the deduction or the accuracy of the amount deducted.

b.The claimant will be advised to seek remedy either through the child support recovery unit or through the court system whenever the question of reasonableness or fairness of the deducted amount is raised in terms of ability to pay.

c.The department does not have the authority to change the amount of the deduction as specified by garnishment or voluntary agreement or to adjudicate any appeal from garnishment or voluntary agreement.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 96.3 and 96.20.

871—24.47(96) Alien. An alien is defined as a person who is not a citizen or a national of the United States. An alien is a person owing allegiance to another country or government. A national is defined as a person who lives in mandates or trust territories administered by the United States and owes permanent allegiance to the United States.

24.47(1) To identify illegal nonresident aliens, each claimant, at the establishment of a benefit year will be asked whether or not the individual is a citizen.

a.If the response is “yes,” no further proof is necessary, and the claimant’s records are marked accordingly.

b.If the answer is “no,” the claimant will be requested to present documentary proof of legal residency. Any individual who does not show proof of legal residency at the time it is requested shall be disqualified from receiving benefits until such time as the required proof of the individual’s status is provided to the department. The principal documents showing legal entry for permanent residency are the Form I-94, Arrival and Departure Record, and the Forms I-151 and I-551, Alien Registration Receipt Card. These forms are issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and should be accepted unless the proof is clearly faulty or there are reasons to doubt their authenticity. An individual will be required to provide the individual’s alien registration number at the time of claim filing.

c.Any or all documents presented to the department by an alien shall be subject to verification with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The citizenship question shall be included on the initial claim form so that the response will be subject to the provisions of rule 871—18.10(96), prosecution on overpayments.

24.47(2) Disqualification of aliens. Color of law permanent residence is defined as:

a.An alien admitted as a refugee under Section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1157, in effect after March 31, 1980;

b.An alien granted asylum by the attorney general of the United States under Section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1158;

c.An alien granted a parole into the United States for an indefinite period under Section 212(d)(5) (B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)(B);

d.An alien who entered the United States prior to June 30, 1948, and who is eligible for lawful permanent residence pursuant to Section 249 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1259; or

e.An alien who has been formally granted deferred action or nonpriority status by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

24.47(3) Certain nonimmigrants may perform service in this country. All nonimmigrant aliens 18 years and older are required by law to carry alien registration card Form I-94. The immigration and naturalization service places a symbol on the Form I-94 that indicates eligibility to perform service in this country.

a.Nonimmigrant aliens who are allowed to perform certain types of service are:

b.Immigrant aliens who are not allowed to perform services are:

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section 96.5(10).

871—24.48(96) References.

24.48(1) All references to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and United States Code (U.S.C.) in this chapter are to the laws as amended as of November 1, 2024.

24.48(2) All references to the Social Security Act refer to 42 U.S.C. Sections 301-1397mm, as amended as of November 1, 2024.

24.48(3) All references to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act refer to 23 U.S.C. Sections 3301-3311, as amended as of November 1, 2024.

24.48(4) All references to the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act refer to 29 U.S.C. Sections 3101-3361, as amended as of November 1, 2024.

24.48(5) All references to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 refer to 42 U.S.C. Sections 12101-12213, as amended as of November 1, 2024.

24.48(6) All references to Public Law 96-499 refer to the Foreign Investment in Real Property Act of 1980, as amended as of November 1, 2024.

24.48(7) All references to the Trade Act of 1974 refer to 19 U.S.C. Sections 2101-2497b, as amended as of November 1, 2024.

24.48(8) All references to the Federal Employer’s Compensation Act refer to 20 CFR Sections 10.0-25.203, as amended as of November 1, 2024.

24.48(9) All references to the Ex-Service Member’s Unemployment Compensation Act of 1958 refer to 10 U.S.C. Sections 1141-1155, as amended as of November 1, 2024.

24.48(10) All references to the Immigration and Nationality Act refer to 8 U.S.C. Sections 1101-1537, as amended as of November 1, 2024.

24.48(11) All references to the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act refer to 45 U.S.C. Sections 351-369, as amended as of November 1, 2024.

24.48(12) All references to the Interstate Handbook for Interstate Claims-Taking refer to ET Handbook No. 392, published by the United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, as amended and in effect as of November 1, 2024.