Able and Available AA 150 - Fact Finding Guide

Travel: Time, Distance, and Cost

Transportation and Travel

  1. What means of transportation does the claimant have available? What means of transportation did the claimant have on his or her last job?
  2. If the claimant must rely on public transportation, does he or she know the schedules and routes? Are there routes from the claimant’s home to where potential work exists?
  3. If public transportation is not available to the main employment areas, is there a substantial labor market in the areas covered by public transportation?
  4. If the claimant has no vehicle and public transportation is not available, what arrangements has the claimant made for transportation?
  5. How far in both time and distance is the claimant willing to travel? Is there a substantial labor market for the claimant within that area?
  6. If the claimant’s restriction is due to the cost of transportation, is the restriction for compelling reasons, or based on personal preference? Is there a substantial labor market remaining?

Traveling in Search of Work

  1. What was the main purpose of the trip?
  2. How long was the claimant unemployed before deciding to travel in search of employment? If the claimant left immediately after terminating his last job, why didn’t he or she look for work locally first?
  3. Did the claimant have any prior information as to the employment prospects in the community he or she visited? If not, what led the claimant to conclude that he or she could find work more quickly in the communities visited?
  4. Were the places to which the claimant traveled likely to provide more work opportunities than his or her home locality?
  5. Is work in the claimant’s occupation usually obtained by traveling?
  6. Did the claimant have names of specific employers who were likely to be hiring?
  7. Does the claimant have relatives or friends in the towns he visited?
  8. How long did the claimant stay at each point visited?
  9. Could the claimant have accepted immediate employment if offered?
  10. Before leaving, what arrangements did the claimant make so he or she could be contacted regarding a job, by the employment office? By his or her union? By his or her last employer?

Relocation

  1. Why did the claimant select this particular community for his or her new home?
  2. Does a labor market exist in the new community for the claimant’s occupation? If not, does the claimant have training and experience in other occupations?
  3. Has the claimant been informed of the wages, hours, and other working conditions in the present labor market? Is he or she willing to accept employment at the prevailing work conditions in the community?
  4. How long does the claimant plan to remain in the community? If only staying temporarily, does the claimant have any other restrictions on his or her availability?