Under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA), 26 U.S.C. 3301 et seq., the United States Department of Labor (DOL) establishes an unemployment trust fund out of which states may operate unemployment insurance programs and provides certain mandates as conditions of operating a state unemployment insurance program. Section 3304(a)(6) of FUTA generally mandates that states refrain from paying unemployment compensation to educational employees during the periods between successive semesters or terms (i.e., during summer vacation or holiday breaks). FUTA contains an exception for employees who do not have "a contract or reasonable assurance" that they will continue to work for an educational institution during the subsequent semester or term. On 12/22/2016, DOL issued Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) No. 5-17. This UIPL clarifies DOL's interpretation of Section 3304(a)(6) of FUTA as it relates to educational employees who are, or have been, employed by more than one educational employer. DOL's guidance states that a reasonable assurance of future employment does not exist for purposes of FUTA if the future employment "will not earn at least 90% of the amount that the claimant earned in the first academic year or term, or in a corresponding term." The UIPL also addresses situations in which an employee works for multiple educational employers and may have a reasonable assurance of return to one employer but not another. In these situations, states are required to determine eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits based either on: 1) only the services performed for the employer(s) that will not bring the employee back for another semester or term, or 2) the totality of the work and earnings to which the employee can return in the new semester or term. The Department has brought its policies and procedures into compliance with this UIPL. These proposed rule changes make technical changes to the unemployment rule relating to educational employees so as to reflect the Department's continued compliance with the UIPL. As these proposed rule changes reflect, "reasonable assurance" for educational employment purposes is determined by reference to the totality of the work and earnings to which the employee can return in the new semester or term. The Department has specific authority to enact these proposed rule changes pursuant to Sections 35A-1-104, 35A-4-207, 35A-4-406, and 35A-4-502.