The Florida Senate

443.091  Benefit eligibility conditions.--

(1)  An unemployed individual shall be eligible to receive benefits with respect to any week only if the division finds that:

(a)  She or he has made a claim for benefits with respect to such week in accordance with such rules as the division may prescribe.

(b)  She or he has registered for work at, and thereafter continued to report at, the division, which shall be responsible for notification of the Division of Jobs and Benefits in accordance with such rules as the division may prescribe; except that the division may, by rule not inconsistent with the purposes of this law, waive or alter either or both of the requirements of this subsection as to individuals attached to regular jobs; but no such rule shall conflict with s. 443.111(1).

(c)1.  She or he is able to work and is available for work. In order to assess eligibility for a claimed week of unemployment, the division shall develop criteria to determine a claimant's ability to work and availability for work.

2.  Notwithstanding any other provisions in this section, no otherwise eligible individual shall be denied benefits for any week because she or he is in training with the approval of the division, nor shall such individual be denied benefits with respect to any week in which she or he is in training with the approval of the division by reason of the application of provisions in subparagraph 1. relating to availability for work, or the provisions of s. 443.101(2) relating to failure to apply for, or refusal to accept, suitable work. Training may be approved by the division in accordance with criteria prescribed by rule. A claimant's eligibility during approved training is contingent upon satisfying eligibility conditions prescribed by rule.

3.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, an individual who is in training approved under s. 236(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, may not be determined to be ineligible or disqualified for benefits with respect to her or his enrollment in such training or because of leaving work which is not suitable employment to enter such training. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term "suitable employment" means, with respect to a worker, work of a substantially equal or higher skill level than the worker's past adversely affected employment, as defined for purposes of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, the wages for which are not less than 80 percent of the worker's average weekly wage as determined for purposes of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended.

4.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an otherwise eligible individual shall not be denied benefits for any week by reason of the application of subparagraph 1. because she or he is before any court of the United States or any state pursuant to a lawfully issued summons to appear for jury duty.

(d)  She or he participates in reemployment services, such as job search assistance services, whenever the individual has been determined, pursuant to a profiling system established by rule of the division, to be likely to exhaust regular benefits and to be in need of reemployment services.

(e)  She or he has been unemployed for a waiting period of 1 week. No week shall be counted as a week of unemployment for the purposes of this subsection:

1.  Unless it occurs within the benefit year which includes the week with respect to which she or he claims payment of benefits.

2.  If benefits have been paid with respect thereto.

3.  Unless the individual was eligible for benefits with respect thereto as provided in this section and s. 443.101 except for the requirements of this subsection and of s. 443.101(5).

(f)  She or he has been paid wages for insured work equal to 1.5 times her or his high quarter wages during her or his base period, except that an unemployed individual is not eligible to receive benefits if the base period wages are less than $3,400. As amended by this act, this paragraph applies only to benefit years beginning on or after July 1, 1996.

(2)  No individual may receive benefits in a benefit year unless, subsequent to the beginning of the next preceding benefit year during which she or he received benefits, she or he performed service, whether or not in employment as defined in s. 443.036, and earned remuneration for such service in an amount equal to not less than 3 times her or his weekly benefit amount as determined for her or his current benefit year.

(3)  Benefits based on service in employment defined in s. 443.036(21)(b) and (c) shall be payable in the same amount, on the same terms, and subject to the same conditions as benefits payable on the basis of other service subject to this chapter, except that:

(a)  Benefits shall not be paid based on services in an instructional, research, or principal administrative capacity for an educational institution or an institution of higher education for any week of unemployment commencing during the period between 2 successive academic years; during a similar period between two regular terms, whether or not successive; or during a period of paid sabbatical leave provided for in the individual's contract, to any individual, if such individual performs such services in the first of such academic years or terms and there is a contract or a reasonable assurance that such individual will perform services in any such capacity for any educational institution or institution of higher education in the second of such academic years or terms.

(b)  Benefits shall not be based on services in any other capacity for an educational institution or an institution of higher education to any individual for any week which commences during a period between 2 successive academic years or terms if such individual performs such services in the first of the academic years or terms and there is a reasonable assurance that such individual will perform such services in the second of the academic years or terms; except that, if compensation is denied to any individual under this paragraph and such individual was not offered an opportunity to perform such services for the educational institution for the second of such academic years or terms, that individual shall be entitled to a retroactive payment of compensation for each week for which the individual filed a timely claim for compensation and for which compensation was denied solely by reason of this paragraph.

(c)  Benefits shall not be paid, based on services provided to an educational institution or institution of higher learning, to any individual for any week which commences during an established and customary vacation period or holiday recess if such individual performs any services described in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) in the period immediately before such vacation period or holiday recess and there is a reasonable assurance that such individual will perform any such service in the period immediately following such vacation period or holiday recess.

(d)  Benefits shall not be payable on the basis of services in any such capacities as specified in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) to any individual who performed such services in an educational institution while in the employ of a governmental agency or governmental entity which is established and operated exclusively for the purpose of providing such services to one or more educational institutions.

(e)  Benefits shall not be payable on the basis of services in any such capacities as specified in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d) to any individual who provided such services to or on behalf of an educational institution, or an institution of higher education.

(f)  As used in this subsection, the term "fixed contract" means a written agreement of employment for a specified period of time, and the term "continuing contract" means a written agreement that is automatically renewed until terminated by one of the parties to the contract.

(4)  In the event of national emergency, in the course of which the Federal Emergency Unemployment Payment Plan is, at the request of the Governor, invoked for all or any part of the state, such plan shall supersede the procedures prescribed by this chapter, and by rules adopted hereunder, and the division shall act as the Florida agency for the United States Department of Labor in the administration of such plan.

(5)  Benefits shall not be paid to any individual on the basis of any service, 90 percent or more of which consists of participating in sports or athletic events or training, or preparing to so participate, for any week which commences during the period between two successive sport seasons (or similar periods) if such individual performed such service in the first of such seasons (or similar periods) and there is a reasonable assurance that such individual will perform such services in the later of such seasons (or similar periods).

(6)  With respect to weeks of unemployment beginning on or after January 1, 1978, wages for insured work shall include wages paid for previously uncovered services. For the purposes of this subsection, except to the extent that assistance under Title II of the Emergency Jobs and Unemployment Assistance Act of 1974 was paid on the basis of such services, the term "previously uncovered services" means services:

(a)  Which were not employment as defined in this chapter prior to January 1, 1978, and were not services covered pursuant to s. 443.121(3) at any time during the 1-year period ending December 31, 1975; and

(b)  Which are:

1.  Agricultural labor or domestic service as defined in s. 443.036; or

2.  Services performed by an employee of this state or a political subdivision thereof, as provided in s. 443.036(21)(b), or by an employee of a nonprofit educational institution which is not an institution of higher education.

(7)  Benefits paid to any individual whose base period wages include wages for previously uncovered services, as defined in subsection (6), shall not be charged to the employer or the employer's experience rating account, to the extent that such individual would not have been eligible to receive such compensation had the state not provided for payment of compensation on the basis of such previously uncovered services, and provided benefits shall be paid for such previously uncovered service only to the extent that the division determines that the unemployment compensation fund may be reimbursed for such benefits pursuant to Pub. L. No. 94-566, s. 121.

History.--s. 5, ch. 18402, 1937; s. 3, ch. 19637, 1939; CGL 1940 Supp. 4151(492); s. 5, ch. 20685, 1941; s. 3, ch. 21983, 1943; s. 3, ch. 26879, 1951; s. 3, ch. 29771, 1955; s. 2, ch. 57-247; s. 3, ch. 59-55; s. 2, ch. 61-132; ss. 17, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 5, ch. 71-225; s. 2, ch. 75-39; s. 3, ch. 77-262; s. 3, ch. 77-399; s. 1, ch. 77-420; s. 2, ch. 78-386; ss. 3, 8, 9, ch. 80-95; s. 2, ch. 82-91; s. 2, ch. 83-10; s. 1, ch. 84-40; s. 1, ch. 84-279; s. 1, ch. 85-114; s. 1, ch. 88-100; s. 3, ch. 88-289; s. 1, ch. 90-9; s. 1, ch. 90-89; s. 3, ch. 94-347; s. 3, ch. 96-378; s. 20, ch. 96-423; s. 1059, ch. 97-103; s. 5, ch. 98-149; s. 2, ch. 98-154.

Note.--Former s. 443.05.