R994-403-108b. Deferral of Work Registration and Work Search

(1) The Department may elect to defer the work registration and work search requirements. A claimant placed in a deferred status is not required to actively seek work but must meet all other availability requirements of the act. Deferrals are generally limited to the following circumstances:

(a) Labor Disputes.

A claimant who is unemployed due to a labor dispute may be deferred while an eligibility determination under Subsection 35A-4-405(4) is pending. If benefits are allowed, the claimant must register for work immediately.

(b) Union Attachment.

(i) A claimant who is a union member in good standing, is on the out-of-work list, or is otherwise eligible for a job referral by the union, and has earned at least half of his or her base period earnings through the union, may be eligible for a deferral. If a deferral is granted to a union member, it shall not be extended beyond the mid-point of the claim unless the claimant can demonstrate a reasonable expectation of obtaining employment through the union.

(ii) If the claimant is not in deferred status because the claimant did not earn at least 50 percent of his or her base period wage credits in employment as a union member, or the deferral has ended, the claimant must meet the requirements of an active, good faith work search by contacting employers in addition to contacts with the union. This work search is required even though unions may have regulations and rules which penalize members for making independent contacts to try to find work or for accepting nonunion employment.

(c) Employer Attachment.

A claimant who has an attachment to a prior employer and reasonable assurance of returning to full-time employment within ten weeks of filing or reopening a claim may have the work registration requirement deferred to the expected date of recall. A claimant is presumed to have reasonable assurance of employment if he or she previously worked for the employer and there has been no change in the conditions of his or her employment which would indicate severance of the employment relationship. The deferral should generally not extend longer than ten weeks. To extend beyond ten weeks, the claimant must have earned at least half of his or her base period earnings with the employer in question and the employer must submit a request to the department.

(d) Three Week Deferral.

A claimant who accepts a definite offer of full-time work to begin within three weeks, shall be deferred for that period.

(e) Seasonal.

A claimant may be deferred when, due to seasonal factors, work is not available in the claimant's primary base period occupation and other suitable work is not available in the area.

(f) Department approval.

If Department approval is granted under the elements of R994-403-202, the claimant will be placed in deferred status once the training begins and will not be required to register for work or to seek and accept work. The deferral also applies to break periods between successive terms as long as the break period is four weeks or less. A claimant must make a work search prior to the onset of training, even if the claimant has been advised that the training has been approved.

(2) Deferrals cannot be granted if prohibited by state or federal law for certain benefit programs.