Able and Available AA 360 - Fact Finding Guide

Personal Affairs

If the claimant is restricting his/her availability to part-time work, it must first be determined whether the claimant meets the part-time work criteria under UI Code Section 1253.8 (refer to BDG AA5 for a complete discussion of the part-time work criteria).

  • If the claimant meets the criteria to restrict to part-time work under UI Code Section 1253.8, no further investigation is necessary. The claimant would be approved for part-time work regardless of the reason why the claimant is restricting his/her availability.
  • If the claimant does not meet the criteria to restrict to part-time work under UI Code Section 1253.8, then the claimant’s eligibility must be adjudicated under UI Code Section 1253 (c). Continue with the fact finding questions below.

General

  1. Does the claimant’s restriction have an effect on his or her availability? If no, there is no eligibility issue.
  2. Does the claimant have a compelling reason for the restriction?
  3. Does a sufficient labor market remain available to the claimant?
  4. At what date and time did it become necessary for the claimant to attend to personal affairs, and, at what date and time did the claimant cease to be preoccupied with personal affairs?
  5. Did the personal affairs cause the claimant to miss any work opportunities?
  6. Is the claimant still devoting attention to the personal affairs?
  7. How much time during the normal workweek must the claimant devote to his or her personal affairs?
  8. Can the personal affairs be handled at the claimant’s convenience, or must they be conducted at a fixed time?
  9. Can the claimant get someone else to attend to the personal affairs?
  10. Has the claimant actually worked or actively sought work during the period that he or she has been involved with the personal affairs?
  11. Does attention to the personal affairs preclude acceptance of any work, or does it merely impose a restriction of time (for example, to night work only)?

Death in Immediate Family (Additional questions to be asked.)

  1. How many days of the week was the claimant unavailable due to affairs directly connected with the death of the relative?
  2. Was the deceased a member of the claimant’s immediate family?
  3. Was the claimant continuously involved in activities directly connected with the death?

Incarceration

  1. Is the claimant’s unavailability a result of Work Furlough, Work Alternative, or weekend incarceration? If so, eligibility is determined under Section 1253(c), not Section 1253.1.
  2. What was the exact time and date of the claimant’s arrest/detainment? What was the exact time and date of release? If the period exceeded two working days, eligibility is determined under Section 1253(c), not Section 1253.1.
  3. If lawfully detained or arrested:
    • If less than two working days, were charges filed?
    • Were charges subsequently dropped or dismissed?
    • Has the claimant entered a plea to any charges?
    • Has the claimant been convicted of the offense for which he/she was arrested?
    • If charges were subsequently dismissed, did the claimant file an appeal to the original determination? Was the field office notified within fifteen days of the date the charge was dismissed?