UI Benefit Claims - Determining Eligibility
Monetary Eligibility Factors
First, the benefit claims office determines whether the claimant is “monetarily eligible” for benefits, as follows.
- The worker's base period is determined - Only wages paid for services in employment covered by UIduring a 12-month period, called the base period, are used in establishing unemployment benefit amounts. The base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the date the claimant files for benefits. All wages reported by employers in the base period under the claimant's Social Security Number are included in determining the amount of benefits potentially payable.
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A weekly benefit amount is determined - The highest amount of wages paid in a quarter of the worker's base period determines the weekly benefit amount. The minimum weekly amount is $224, the maximum is $320. To be monetarily eligible for benefits, the claimant must have been paid covered wages in the base period of:
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For new UI claims that were made effective August 5, 2012 or later:
- At least 390 times the Arizona minimum wage in the highest-paid quarter of the base period and a combined total in the other three quarters equal to at least one half the amount of wages in the highest-paid quarter, or
- A combined total of at least $8,000 in wages in at least two quarters of the base period, with wages in one quarter equal to $7987.50 or more
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For new UI claims that were made effective prior to August 5, 2012:
- At least $1,500 in wages in one quarter of the base period and total base period wages equal to at least one and one half times the wages paid in the highest-paid quarter, or
- A combined total of at least $7,000 in wages in at least two quarters of the base period, with wages in one quarter equal to $5,987.50 or more.
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If the claimant is determined to be monetarily ineligible, benefits will be denied on that basis. If the claimant is determined to be monetarily eligible, a benefit year, weekly benefit amount and a total award of benefits are determined. The claimant may collect up to 24 weeks of benefits, or 1/3 of his/her total base period wages, whichever is less, during a benefit year (a 52-week period). If a claimant qualifies for the maximum weekly benefit amount of $320, the maximum total amount that may be collected on a given claim is $6240.
Non-Monetary Eligibility Factors
After the claimant is determined monetarily eligible, several other major factors determine whether benefit payments will be made:
- The reason for the claimant’s separation from his/her last employment;
- Whether all other eligibility requirements have been met and continue to be met during the time in which benefits are claimed.
- The Reason for Separation from Last Employment
Each application for benefits requires the claimant to explain the reason for being out of work from his most recent employer. A "Notice to Employer" (UB-110) (view sample UB-110/105 KB PDF) is mailed to the claimant's most recent employer to request verification of the reason for unemployment. This notice indicates the reason the claimant has given for the unemployment and the last day of work. It provides the employer an opportunity to respond to that information and give any additional relevant information and documentation.
If you receive a "Notice to Employer" (UB-110) indicating you are the Last Employer, you should complete and return the notice within 10 working days if any of the following apply:
1. The claimant was not your employee;
2. The claimant worked somewhere else after working for you;
3. The claimant resigned, retired, or abandoned the employment;
4. You dismissed the claimant for a reason other than lack of work or reduction in force;
5. The claimant is one of the workers involved in a strike, lockout, or labor dispute at your business location;
6. You paid the claimant severance; or monies for unused leave, such as vacation pay, sick pay, or holiday pay when the employment terminated;
7. You are making retirement or pension payments to the claimant;
8. You have information that the claimant is not willing or able to seek and accept suitable work;
9. You have work available and want to offer the claimant employment.
An investigation is initiated based on the information you and the claimant provide. You may be contacted for additional information or clarification during the investigation. If the claims office determines that the last employer justifiably discharged the claimant for misconduct, or that the claimant quit the last employer without good cause in connection with the work, benefits will be denied for as long as he/she is currently unemployed. If such determinations are made regarding employment with a base period employer (i.e., other than the last employer), this will not affect the claimant’s eligibility for benefits, but the employer’s account will be relieved of charges for any benefits paid on the claim.
The Employment Security Law of Arizona defines misconduct as "any act or omission by an employee which constitutes a material or substantial breach of the employee's duties or obligations pursuant to the employment or contract of employment or which adversely affects a material or substantial interest of the employer." (Arizona Revised Statutes § 23-619.01(A)).
If you discharge a worker for what you consider "misconduct" and believe the worker should not be eligible for benefits, you must establish that there was misconduct. Merely alleging misconduct is insufficient. If the claimant denies misconduct, you must present evidence to refute the denial. Accurate records of dates and descriptions of incidents or infractions leading to the dismissal, warnings, and disciplinary actions can be used as evidence of misconduct. A history of employer tolerance of misconduct prior to discharging a worker substantially decreases the likelihood that the claims office will determine that the discharge was justifiable. Generally, a worker who is discharged solely due to inability to meet job requirements is not considered to have been discharged for misconduct.
On the other hand, when a worker quits a job and believes he/she should be eligible for benefits, the worker must present evidence to establish that he/she had no other alternative but to end the employment relationship.
Keep accurate records of employment agreements and employee performance. Record dates of warnings and descriptions of incidents leading to the dismissal of an employee.
After the investigation is completed, the claimant receives a written determination of eligibility. You will receive a copy of the determination if you protested the claim and returned the "Notice to Employer" (UB-110) within the 10-day time limit. If you do not reply to the "Notice to Employer" timely, you are not entitled to receive a copy of the determination of the claimant's eligibility, and you lose your right to further protest the payment of benefits if the claimant is determined eligible.
The table below shows the most common types of unemployment benefit determinations that affect the worker's eligibility for benefits and the employer's chargeability for these benefits:
Common Types of Unemployment Benefit Determinations
| A Determination that the Worker: | Effect on Worker (based on reason for separation from last employer) | Effect on Base Period Employer* |
|---|---|---|
| Voluntarily quit without good cause in connection with the work -or- Was discharged for misconduct |
Disqualified from receiving benefits until the worker has had subsequent employment and is again unemployed, through no fault of his/her own. | No charges to the employer’s account |
| **The employer was called to active duty in the military - or- A former employee of the employer returned to work for the employer after being called into active military duty, thus displacing the claimant |
Eligible for benefits if other eligibility conditions are also met. | No charges to the employer’s account |
| Was laid off due to a lack of work -or- Was discharged for reasons other than misconduct -or- Voluntarily quit with good cause in connection with the work |
Eligible for benefits if other eligibility conditions are also met. | Charges to the employer’s account |
| Left work for a compelling personal reason not attributable to the employer -or- Was separated due to mandatory retirement under a nongovernmental retirement plan |
Eligible for benefits if other eligibility conditions are also met. | No charges to the employer’s account |
| While filing claims for benefits, is provided part-time employment by the employer to the same extent as provided by that employer during the worker's base period | Eligible for partial benefits if other eligibility conditions are also met. | No charges to the employer’s account |
*By law, relief of charges does not apply to reimbursement employers, i.e., those employers that have elected the Reimbursement Payment Option. (Arizona Revised Statutes § 23-750(B)(4) and Arizona Administrative Code § R6-3-1717(A))
**Applies to separations occurring on or after July 29, 2010 only.
Other Eligibility Requirements
In addition to being involuntarily unemployed, the claimant must also meet several other conditions before receiving a payment of unemployment benefits. The claimant:
- Must be able to work - A claimant must be considered physically able to perform suitable work.
- Must be available for and actively seeking work - A claimant must be seeking employment he/she is suited to by training or experience in a manner which will provide him/her a reasonable opportunity of obtaining work. A claimant who restricts his/her availability to seek and accept work because of retirement, school attendance, dependents' care or other family responsibilities, transportation problems, or unrealistic work hours or wage demands may be denied benefits.
- Must not refuse an offer of suitable work - A claimant who refuses a bona fide offer of suitable work without good cause will be denied unemployment benefits.
- Must have filed a "waiting week" claim - The first week of a claim during which the claimant meets all eligibility requirements is known as the waiting week. By law, benefits are not payable for that period.
- Must have Severance Pay, Vacation Pay, Holiday Pay, or Sick Pay deducted from benefits for any week for which he/she is paid. A claimant is not eligible to receive benefits for any week in which severance pay, vacation pay, holiday pay, or sick pay that exceeds the weekly benefit is allocated. If payments are less than the weekly benefit amount, the amount of the payment, less $30, will be deducted from the weekly benefit amount.
Any time you provide us with information or evidence that a former worker does not meet one or more of these continuing eligibility requirements, we will investigate the claimant's eligibility.