To qualify for benefits, the applicant must be actively seeking employment, be available and able to work, and follow the statutory procedure for claims processing. Applicants may be disqualified if they refuse to accept employment, quit without just cause, or have been fired for either serious misconduct or as a result of a labor dispute. Unemployment compensation is usually not available to fired striking workers. These qualifications are designed to make unemployment compensation available only to the most deserving. They presume benefits are not welfare and aid those who seek work in good faith.
Employees have a difficult burden of proving their employer's negligence.
Three common defenses to negligence suits imposed further difficulties for injured workers. First, the fellow servant doctrine prevented an injured employees' suit where a fellow employee negligently contributed to the accident. Second, the assumption of risk defense prevented suits where the employee has voluntarily accepted the job's risk. If an injured employee was aware of the job site risks, the employee was barred from recovering for the injuries. This contributory negligence barred an injured employee's suit if the employee in any way contributed to creating the dangerous condition.