Section 421.210. Unemployment insurance benefit filing requirements; definitions.

(1) An individual shall receive benefits  for  any  week of unemployment   for which the individual filed a claim and reported in accordance with this rule and with the direction of the agency and for which the individual is otherwise eligible and qualified for benefits. In the case of an employer whose workers have filed either 1,000 or more new claims or additional claims, or both, in each of the previous 3 calendar years, the employer shall file claims on behalf of the workers, in a manner prescribed by the agency.

(2)  As used in this rule:

(a)   "Additional claim" means a claim filed by an  individual  to reestablish eligibility for benefits after an interruption in the claim series during an existing benefit year caused by a period of employment.

(b)   "Claim series" means an uninterrupted period of weeks for which an individual claims benefits.

(c)   "Continued claim" means a report filed by an individual who has filed a new, additional, or  reopened  claim   and  who  is  certifying    as   to eligibility for benefits for 1 or more weeks of unemployment.

(d)  "Day of work" means a calendar day or portion of a calendar day on which an individual performed services  for  an  employing  unit  under  a contract of hire, including a calendar day or portion of a calendar day for which an individual received, or  is   entitled  to  receive, call-in pay.  If  an individual reports for work  on  a  day   on    which   the individual   has been scheduled to work, but does not work because work is not available, then that day is considered a "day of work".

(e)   "Good cause for late filing of a new, additional, or reopened claim" and "good cause for late reporting to file a continued claim" means that there is a justifiable reason, determined in accordance with a standard  of conduct expected of an individual acting as a reasonable person in the light of all the circumstances, that prevented a timely filing or reporting to file as required by this rule. Examples of justifiable reasons that the agency may consider as constituting good cause include any of the following:

(i)   Acts of God.

(ii)   Working or reliance on a promise of work that did not materialize.

(iii)      Closing of agency offices, or the failure of the agency's telephonic or electronic equipment, during scheduled hours of operation.

(iv)    Delay or interruption in the delivery  of   mail  or  the  delay or interruption of information by telephonic or other means by a  business or governmental agency entrusted with the delivery of mail or of  messages by telephonic or other means.

(v)   Personal physical incapacity or the physical incapacity or death of a relative or ward of either the individual or the individual's  spouse  or of any person living  in  the  same  household as the individual claiming benefits.

(vi)   Attendance at a funeral.

(vii)   Incarceration.

(viii)   Jury duty.

(f)   "New claim" means a claim filed by an individual to establish eligibility for a new benefit year.

(g)   "Reopened claim" means a claim filed by   an  individual   to reestablish eligibility for benefits after an interruption in the claim series during an existing benefit year for a reason other than employment that is caused by a period of nonreporting.

(h)   "Week of unemployment" means a week during which an individual is unemployed within the meaning of section 48 of 1936 PA 1, MCL 421.48.

(3)   An individual shall file a new, additional, or reopened claim or shall report to file a continued claim as directed by the agency.

(4)   To be filed on time and effective as of the beginning of the individual's first week of unemployment, a new or additional claim shall be received by the agency, in a manner prescribed by the agency, not later than the Friday after the end of the week containing the individual's last day of work. A reopened claim is effective as of the beginning of the week in which it is received by the agency.

(5)   To be filed on time  and  effective  for  each  week  for  which  the individual is reporting to file, a continued claim shall be received by the agency, in a manner prescribed by the agency, not later than the Friday after the  end   of the last  week  of  the   period  for  which   the  claimant is instructed to report and has continued to report in a claim series. If  an individual   does  not file a  continued  claim  in  a   timely  manner  in accordance  with  this  subrule, and if the filing is untimely without good cause, then the claim filed by the individual is a reopened claim.

(6)    If an individual does not file a new, additional, or reopened claim as prescribed in subrules (4) and  (5)  of  this  rule,   but  files  the new, additional, or reopened claim not later than the fourteenth calendar day after the time limits prescribed in subrules (4) and (5) of this rule, then the new, additional, or reopened claim is considered filed on time if the claimant has good cause for the lateness of the filing. If the claimant does not have good cause for the lateness of the filing, then  the  new, additional, or reopened claim is effective beginning with the week in which it is filed.

(7)    If an individual does not report to file a continued claim within the time limits prescribed in subrules (4) and (5) of this rule, but reports to file the continued claim not later than the fourteenth calendar day after the time limits prescribed in subrules (4) and (5) of this rule, then the individual is considered to have reported on time to file the continued claim if the individual has good cause for the lateness of the reporting to file the continued claim. If the individual does not have good cause for the lateness of the reporting to file the  continued claim,  then  the reporting  to file the continued claim is a reopened claim.

(8)   If an individual files a new, additional, or reopened claim  or reports to file a continued claim by mail, then the claim  or   report  is considered received by the agency as of the date the mail is received by the agency.

(9)    If an individual files a new, additional, or reopened claim or reports to file a continued claim by deposit in a designated agency drop box, then it is presumed that the claim was received by  the  agency   on  the  previous business day if gathered in the first  retrieval  of  the  day   if this presumption is required for the new, additional, or reopened claim  to  be considered filed on time or the continued claim to  be  considered  a  timely report.

(10)   If the claimant is unable to file a claim in a timely manner because the agency's services are unavailable, then the claim is considered filed on time if it is received by the agency on the next workday.

History: 1979 AC; 1980 AACS; 1996 AACS; 1998-2000 AACS; 2001 AACS; 2002 AACS.