2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 41 - Labor and Employment › Chapter 35 - Employment And Workforce - Benefits And Claims › Section 41-35-420. Eligibility for extended benefits.

(A) An individual is eligible to receive extended benefits with respect to any week of unemployment in his eligibility period only if the department finds that with respect to that week:
(1) He is an "exhaustee" as defined in Section 41-35-390.
(2) He has satisfied the requirements of Chapters 27 through 41 of this title for the receipt of regular benefits that are applicable to individuals claiming extended benefits, including not being subject to a disqualification for the receipt of benefits.
(3) Except as provided in item (4), an individual must not be eligible for extended benefits for a week if:
(a) extended benefits are payable for that week pursuant to an interstate claim filed in a state under the interstate benefit payment plan; and
(b) no extended benefit period is in effect for that week in the State.
(4) Item (3) of subsection (A) does not apply with respect to the first two weeks for which extended benefits are payable, determined without regard to this subsection, pursuant to an interstate claim filed under the interstate benefit payment plan to the individual with respect to the benefit year.
(B)(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 41-35-410 and 41-35-420, effective for weeks beginning after March 31, 1981, an individual is disqualified from receipt of extended benefits if the department finds that during any week of his eligibility period he has failed either to apply for, or to accept an offer of, suitable work, as defined under item (4) of this subsection, to which he was referred by the department.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 41-35-410 and 41-35-420, effective for weeks beginning after March 31, 1981, an individual is disqualified from receipt of extended benefits if the department finds that during any week of his eligibility period he has failed to furnish evidence that he has actively engaged in a systematic and sustained effort to find work.
(3) This disqualification begins with the week in which the failure occurred and continues until he has been employed in each of four subsequent weeks, whether or not consecutive, and has earned remuneration equal to not less than four times his weekly extended benefit amount.
(4) For the purposes of this subsection, the term "suitable work" means work within the individual's capabilities to perform if:
(a) the gross average weekly remuneration payable for the work exceeds the sum of the individual's weekly extended benefit amount plus the amount, if any, of supplemental unemployment benefits, as defined in Section 501(c)(17)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, payable to the individual for that week;
(b) the wages payable for the work equal the higher of the minimum wages provided by Section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, without regard to an exemption, or the state or local minimum wage;
(c) the position was offered to the individual in writing or was listed with the State Employment Service;
(d) the work otherwise meets the definition of "suitable work" for regular benefits contained in subsection (5)(b) of Section 41-35-120 to the extent that the criteria of suitability are not inconsistent with the provisions of this item; and
(e) the individual cannot furnish satisfactory evidence to the department that his prospects for obtaining work in his customary occupation within a reasonably short period of time are good. If the evidence is deemed satisfactory for this purpose, the determination of whether any work is suitable with respect to the individual must be made pursuant to the definition of suitable work contained in Section 41-35-120 without regard to the definition specified by this item (4).
(C) Notwithstanding a provision of item (d) of this subsection to the contrary, work may not be considered suitable for an individual if it is not consistent with Section 41-35-120(5)(b).
(D) For the purposes of item (2) of subsection (B), an individual must be treated as actively engaged in seeking work during a week if the individual:
(1) has engaged in a systematic and sustained effort to obtain work during the week;
(2) furnishes tangible evidence that he has engaged in an effort during the week.
(E) The Employment Service must refer any claimant entitled to extended benefits under this chapter to any suitable work that meets the criteria prescribed in item (4) of subsection (B).
(F) An individual must not be eligible to receive an extended benefit with respect to a week of unemployment in his eligibility period if he has been disqualified for regular or extended benefits under the chapter because he voluntarily left work, was discharged for cause, or failed to accept an offer of or apply for suitable work unless the disqualification imposed for these reasons has been terminated pursuant to specific conditions established under the South Carolina Employment Security Law requiring the individual to perform service for remuneration subsequent to the date of the disqualification.
If the disqualification imposed did not require the individual to perform service for remuneration subsequent to the date of the disqualification, the individual is ineligible for an extended benefit beginning with the effective date of the request for initiation of an extended benefit claim series and continuing until he secures employment and shows to the department's satisfaction that he has worked in each of at least four different weeks, whether or not those weeks are consecutive, and earned wages equal to at least four times the weekly benefit amount of his claim.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 68-135; 1971 (57) 950; 1981 Act No. 108 Section 10; 1983 Act No. 62 Section 13; 1993 Act No. 125, Section 1, eff June 14, 1993; 2010 Act No. 146, Section 85, eff March 30, 2010.
Effect of Amendment
The 1993 amendment, in the first paragraph of subsection (6), substituted "discharged for cause" for "discharged for misconduct"; and made grammatical changes.
The 2010 amendment substituted "department" for "commission" throughout the section; redesignated all of the subsections in the section; and made other nonsubstantive changes.