Title 20—Employees' Benefits--Volume 1
PART 325—REGISTRATION FOR RAILROAD UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
§ 325.1   General.
(a) Day of unemployment. A “day of unemployment” is a calendar day on which an employee, although ready and willing to work, is unemployed, and on which no remuneration is payable and for which the employee has registered, as required by this part. The amount of compensable days of unemployment shall be computed in accordance with this section.
(b) Registration period. Except for registration periods in extended unemployment benefit periods, a “registration period” means a period of 14 consecutive days beginning with the first day for which an employee registers following:
(1) His or her last day of work, or
(2) The last day of the employee's last preceding registration period, and with respect to which the employee properly files a claim for benefits on such form and in such manner as the Board prescribes.
(c) General waiting period. Benefits are payable to any qualified employee for each day of unemployment in excess of seven during his or her first registration period in a period of continuing unemployment if such period of continuing unemployment is his or her initial period of continuing unemployment beginning in the benefit year, and then for each day of unemployment in excess of four during any subsequent registration period within the same period of continuing unemployment. A strike waiting period, described in paragraph (d) of this section, will satisfy a general waiting period with respect to a benefit year.
(d) Strike waiting period. If a qualified employee has a period of continuing unemployment that includes days of unemployment due to a stoppage of work because of a strike in the establishment, premises, or enterprise at which he or she was last employed, no benefits are payable for his or her first 14 days of unemployment due to such stoppage of work. For subsequent days of unemployment due to the same stoppage of work, benefits are payable for days of unemployment in excess of four in each subsequent registration period within the period of continuing unemployment. If such period of continuing unemployment ends because the employee has exhausted his or her benefits as provided for under part 336 of this chapter, but the stoppage of work continues, benefits are payable for days of unemployment in excess of seven in the employee's first registration period in a new period of continuing unemployment based upon the same stoppage of work and for days of unemployment in excess of four in subsequent registration periods in the same period of continuing unemployment.
(e) Period of continuing unemployment. A “period of continuing unemployment” means a single registration period that includes more than four days of unemployment or a series of consecutive periods each of which includes more than four days of unemployment, or a series of successive registration periods, each of which includes more than four days of unemployment, if each succeeding registration period begins within 15 days after the last day of the immediately preceding registration period. An employee's period of continuing unemployment ends on the last day of a benefit year in which he or she exhausts rights to unemployment benefits as provided for in part 336 of this chapter.
(f) Computation of compensable days —(1) Example 1. An employee has an initial period of continuing unemployment from June 14 through July 25 and is unemployed on all days in that period. The employee's first registration period covers June 14 to June 27, and his subsequent registration periods cover June 28 to July 11 and July 12 to July 25. Under paragraph (c) of this section, a one-week waiting period applies to his first registration period and the employee is therefore paid benefits for days of unemployment in excess of seven in that period. The employee is then paid benefits for days of unemployment in excess of four in each of the two ensuing registration periods. [Note: if this employee's period of continuing unemployment had been the result of a strike in the establishment, premises, or enterprise at which the employee was last employed, then under paragraph (d) of this section, no benefits would be payable for the period June 14 to June 27, and benefits would then be payable for days of unemployment in excess of four in each of the ensuing registration periods.]
(2) Example 2. Same facts as in example 1, but the employee is unemployed again beginning August 18. Since August 18 is more than 15 days after July 25, the end of his last registration period, the employee begins a new period of continuing unemployment. The employee's first registration period in the new period of continuing unemployment covers August 18 to August 31. The employee is paid benefits for days of unemployment in excess of seven in that registration period because that period is the employee's first registration period in a new period of continuing unemployment commencing in the benefit year beginning July 1, and he or she did not previously have a waiting period in any registration period earlier in that benefit year. The employee's next registration period covers September 1 to September 14, and the employee returned to work on September 12. In that registration period, the employee has 11 days of unemployment and is therefore paid benefits for days of unemployment in excess of four.
(3) Example 3. Same facts as in examples 1 and 2, but the employee then has a new period of continuing unemployment beginning November 1 in the same benefit year. November 1 to November 14 is the employee's first registration period in that period of continuing unemployment. The employee is paid benefits for days of unemployment in excess of four in that registration period and for days of unemployment in excess of four in any subsequent registration period in the same benefit year because earlier in the benefit year the employee had a registration period, August 18 to August 31, in which he or she satisfied the waiting period.
(g) Remuneration exceeds base year compensation. (1) No benefits are payable to any otherwise eligible employee for any day of unemployment in a registration period where the total amount of remuneration, as defined in part 322 of this chapter, payable to the employee during a registration period exceeds the amount of the base year monthly compensation base. For this purpose an employee is considered to have received the amount he would have earned except for the fact that he declined suitable work available to him or her during the registration period.
(2) Days of unemployment which are not compensable by virtue of paragraph (g)(1) of this section shall nevertheless be counted as days of unemployment for purposes of determining whether the general waiting period, as described in paragraph (c) of this section, has been satisfied, and for purposes of determining a period of continuing unemployment.
(h) Pay for time lost. An employee may claim unemployment benefits in accordance with this part even though he or she is also pursuing a claim for pay for time lost or other remuneration. If such pay is awarded to the employee with respect to any day for which the Board has paid him or her unemployment benefits, the Board will recover the amount of unemployment benefits that was paid for any day or days for which he or she was awarded pay for time lost. See part 322 of this chapter. It is the employee's responsibility to tell the Board that he or she has filed or intends to file a claim for time lost.
§ 325.2   Procedure for registering for unemployment benefits.
(a) Registering as unemployed. To claim unemployment benefits for any day, an employee must register as unemployed by doing the following:
(1) Apply for unemployment benefits and employment service in accordance with § 325.3;
(2) File a claim in accordance with § 325.4; and
(3) Provide any other information that the Board needs to properly adjudicate his or her right to unemployment benefits.
(b) No benefits payable without registration. No unemployment benefits shall be paid to any otherwise qualified employee with respect to any day claimed as a day of unemployment, and no waiting period credit shall be allowed, until such time as the employee has complied with the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section.
(c) When a registration period may begin. When registering for unemployment benefits, an employee may claim benefits for any calendar day on which he or she is unemployed and believes himself or herself to be eligible for benefits. A registration period may begin as early as the first calendar day on which an employee is unemployed following his or her last day of work even though such first calendar day would have been a rest day if the employee had not become unemployed. However, a registration period may not begin with any calendar day with respect to which an employee has received or will receive remuneration.
§ 325.3   Application for unemployment benefits and employment service.
(a) Requirement. An unemployed employee who wishes to claim unemployment benefits shall apply for such benefits by completing the form prescribed by the Board for that purpose. Such form shall also constitute an application for employment service. An application will be required at the beginning of each period of unemployment in a benefit year unless:
(1) The employee filed an application for an initial period of unemployment in a benefit year and has a subsequent period of unemployment within the same benefit year; or
(2) The employee had filed an application for benefits for a period of unemployment that began in the preceding benefit year and the period of unemployment continued into the next ensuing benefit year.
(b) Purpose of application. An application for unemployment benefits and employment service is a document that serves three purposes. First, it identifies an employee who has become unemployed and wishes to begin receiving unemployment benefits. Second, it assists the Board in determining whether the applicant is a qualified employee and if so, whether any of the information reported on the application affects his or her eligibility for payment of benefits. Third, it assists the Board in placing the employee in any suitable employment that may be available.
(c) Time for filing application. An employee may deliver or mail his or her application to any Board office, but such application must be received at a Board office within 30 calendar days of the first day that the employee intends to claim as a day of unemployment. For example, if an employee becomes unemployed on October 31 and intends to claim unemployment benefits for days starting November 1, the application must reach a Board office no later than November 30. If the application is received December 1, the employee may not be paid unemployment benefits for November 1 as such day would not be considered as a “day of unemployment”. If an employee returns to work and then becomes unemployed again within the same benefit year, he or she is not required to file a new application for benefits and employment service but need only contact the nearest Board office to obtain a claim form and file such form as described in § 325.4.
(d) Extension of time for filing. Notwithstanding paragraph (c) of this section, the Board will consider an application for unemployment benefits as timely filed if:
(1) The employee can show that he or she made a reasonable effort to file the form on time but was prevented from doing so by circumstances beyond his or her control; provided, however, that lack of diligence, forgetfulness or lack of knowledge of the time limit for applying shall not be considered to be a circumstance beyond the employee's control; and
(2) The employee files an application within one year of the day or days that he or she claims as a day or days of unemployment.
§ 325.4   Claim for unemployment benefits.
(a) Requirement. After an unemployed employee has applied for unemployment benefits in accordance with § 325.3, he or she shall claim a day as a day of unemployment by registering with respect to such day. Registration shall be made on the claim form provided by the Board to the employee.
(b) Claim. A claim for unemployment benefits shall cover a period of 14 consecutive calendar days. Each such 14-day period shall be a registration period. An employee shall provide the information called for by the claim form and shall file his or her claim in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section.
(c) Time for filing. A claim for unemployment benefits shall be filed at any Board office no later than 15 calendar days after the last day of the claim period, as defined in paragraph (b) of this section, or 15 calendar days after the date on which the claim form was mailed to the employee, whichever is later. In determining whether the time for filing the claim may be extended, the standards set forth in § 325.3(d) shall be applied. None of the days included in a claim that is not timely filed shall be considered a day of unemployment.
(d) Claim for new period of unemployment. An employee who has complied with the application requirement under § 325.3 with respect to a period of unemployment in a benefit year, and who again becomes unemployed in the same benefit year, need not file a new application but may initiate a claim for benefits for days in such subsequent period by calling or visiting the nearest district office of the Board to request a claim form. Such request shall be made no later than 30 calendar days after the first day for which the employee wishes to claim benefits. Upon receipt of a request under this paragraph, the district office shall provide the employee with a claim form which shall show the beginning and ending dates of the registration period covered by the claim form, with the first day shown on the claim form being no earlier than the 30th day before the date on which the employee requested the claim form, unless the delay may be excused by applying the standards set forth in § 325.3(d).
(e) Delayed claims. If an employee makes an initial application and claim for benefits in accordance with this part but does not continue to file ongoing claims because he or she receives an initial determination denying his or her application or claim for benefits and if, upon review, the denial is reversed by an appeals referee or other authorized reviewing official, the employee shall have 30 days from the date of the notice of the reversal in which to file a claim or claims for benefits for the days that he or she would have claimed as days of unemployment but for the initial determination denying benefits. The appeals referee or other reviewing official, as appropriate, shall notify the employee of the 30-day time limit imposed by this paragraph. An employee whose claim for benefits has been denied may continue to claim any additional day or days for which he or she believes that he or she is eligible for benefits.
(f) Claim required for waiting period. The requirement to file a claim for unemployment benefits includes a requirement to file a claim for the non-compensable waiting period described in § 325.1(d), except that the Director of Unemployment and Sickness Insurance may waive such requirement in connection with unemployment resulting from a work stoppage or other labor dispute.
(g) Withdrawal of claim. An employee may withdraw his or her claim for unemployment benefits by submitting a written statement to that effect and by repaying any benefits paid on the claim, unless the employee's claim was intentionally false or fraudulent.
§ 325.5   Death of employee.
If an employee dies before filing one or more of the required forms, the form or forms may be filed by or in behalf of the person or persons to whom benefits would be payable pursuant to section 2(g) of the Act. Such form or forms shall be filed within the time prescribed in § 325.3. Under these circumstances, the word “employee”, as used in this part, shall include the individual or individuals by or in behalf of whom the form is filed.
§ 325.6   Verification procedures.
The Board's procedures for adjudicating and processing applications and claims for unemployment benefits filed pursuant to this part will include both pre-payment and post-payment procedures for verifying the validity of such applications and claims. Such procedures shall be designed with a view to obtaining substantial evidence as to the days of unemployment of the employees who register in accordance with this part. The verification procedures shall include, but are not limited to:
(a) Pre-payment contacts with railroad employers, utilizing data processing techniques to the extent feasible so as not to delay unduly the payment of valid claims; and
(b) Computer matching programs with state agencies or other entities that may have relevant data concerning non-railroad employment and benefit payments under state unemployment compensation laws.