Conditions that affect eligibility for benefits
Claimants are ineligible for benefits if:
They left their job without good cause or due to marriage; were dismissed for job-related misconduct; or, after filing for benefits, refused suitable employment without good reason. Benefits are denied until they work again and earn an amount equal to at least 10 times their weekly benefit rate and then lose that later job through no fault of their own. A claimant may or may not be eligible if the reason for leaving the employer is to follow a spouse.
They are not ready, willing, and able to work or not actively seeking employment for which they are fitted by training and experience. Benefits are denied for as long as any of these conditions exist.
They are unemployed because of a strike, lockout, or other industrial controversy in the establishment where they work. The suspension of benefits lasts for 14 days, unless the dispute ends earlier, and applies to all employees, whether or not they are involved in the dispute.
They lose their employment because of a criminal act that involves the commission of a felony in connection with their job. No benefits are payable for a year after discharge.
They are not totally unemployed. No benefits are payable for any day on which they performed some work whether full‑time or part‑time, or on a self‑employed or freelance basis.
They are corporate officers who are devoting any time or effort to the corporation’s business, even though wages or salaries may not be paid at that time.
They are receiving vacation or holiday pay for a previously designated period.
They are employees of educational institutions and file claims for benefits based on such employment between academic years or terms and during customary vacation or holiday recesses, provided they have a contract or reasonable assurance of employment in the ensuing academic period.
They are receiving weekly dismissal pay or severance payments that are more than the maximum benefit. This, however, does not apply if the initial severance payments are made more than 30 days after the last day of employment.
Note: After receiving 10 weeks of benefits, claimants who do not have a definite date to return to work and do not obtain employment through a union hiring arrangement are required to accept employment they are capable of performing, even if they are not suited for the job by training or experience, as long as the position pays not less than the prevailing local wage for the job and 80% of the claimant’s highest calendar‑quarter earnings in the base period.