(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.

[54 FR 24551, June 8, 1989, as amended at 65 FR 19647, Apr. 12, 2000]