A. Claims for total unemployment benefits
must be made in accordance with this section and upon forms or by other methods
approved by the bureau.
B. Claims
for total unemployment benefits will be accepted by the bureau only when filed:
1. Through a telephone claims center of the
bureau, either by telephone or by mail in accordance with procedures as
approved by the bureau; or
2. At
any location authorized by the bureau.
C. No claim shall be valid for any week prior
to the week in which a claimant has registered for work with a representative
of the bureau except under the circumstances provided for in this section and,
in addition, registrations may be deferred for the following classes of
claimants:
1. Claimants involved in a mass
temporary lay-off;
2. Claimants for
partial benefits;
3. Claimants
involved in a strike, lockout, or other labor dispute;
4. Claimants who have a continuing job
attachment with reasonable assurance of resumption of employment.
No claimant shall be denied complete registration upon
request.
D. To
maintain eligibility for benefits, a claimant must report at the time and place
assigned to him for reporting by a representative of the bureau. If a claimant
is filing by mail under provisions of subsection (B)(1), the envelope
containing the claim card must bear a postmark date not later than fourteen
(14) days from the week-ending date of the claim week. A claimant may have an
additional seven (7) days to file a claim if the claimant can show good cause
for the late filing of that claim.
When a claimant is filing for a week of benefits by mail,the
bureau normally provides the claimant a weekly claim card when a benefit check
or a message card for a prior week is issued. If no claim is received or
postmarked within either the fourteen (14) day period or the additional seven
(7) day period allowed for good cause, an initial, additional initial, or
reopened claim must be filed to begin a new claim series. Benefits shall not be
allowed for the period starting with the week for which the claim card was
filed later than fourteen (14) days after the week ending date of that claim,
or an additional seven (7) days if good cause was found, and ending with the
week immediately preceding the week during which the initial, additional
initial or reopened claim was filed.
If the bureau, due to an administrative error, erroneously
fails to issue a claim card for a week, a claimant may be permitted to file a
claim for that week and subsequent weeks upon issuance of the claim card(s).
Such claim cards must be postmarked for return to the bureau within 10 days of
the date issued in order to be considered timely. Failure on the claimant's
part to file claim cards timely, and thus not receive subsequent claim cards
timely, does not constitute an administrative error.
Additionally, a claim card issued to a claimant following the
acceptance by the bureau of a prior week's claim as timely shall be considered
to be timely if it is received by the bureau, or if the envelope containing the
claim card is postmarked, within ten (10) days of the date issued, regardless
of the claim week for which the claim card is issued. A claimant's history
transcript computer printout shows the most recent weekly claim processed by
the bureau. This computer printout will generally be accepted as evidence that
a weekly claim was issued to the claimant for a particular week. The bureau
shall inform the claimant to notify the bureau promptly if he or she has not
received a claim card.
Claimants who are filing a claim for a week of benefits by
telephone shall call a telephone number designated for that purpose unless
otherwise directed by the Bureau. Weekly claims by telephone or other
electronic means shall be made on the days and during the hours designated by
the Bureau for the filing of such claims. The filing of a weekly claim by
electronic means shall be considered to be timely if it is completed by the
close of the claim filing period on the second Friday following the week ending
date for which the claim is filed. The claimant may have an additional seven
days to file a weekly claim by electronic means if the claimant can show good
cause for the failure to file the claim in a timely fashion. If a weekly claim
is not made by the end of the additional seven-day period, the claimant will no
longer be considered to be "during the period a claimant is receiving
benefits," and no claims shall be valid between the week for which the most
recent timely claim was filed and when the claimant reactivates the claim. No
claim filed by electronic means will be valid unless the claimant receives a
confirmation message at the end of the claim filing process. For purposes of
this subsection, "electronic means" includes the telephone and other electronic
means approved by the Bureau.
Claimants who are filing by mail shall report in person when
directed to do so by the bureau, at a date and time specified in a message
printed on their mail claim card. If the claimant does not report within ten
(10) days of that date, benefits for that week will be denied unless the
claimant can show good cause for the failure to report at a date and time
specified in a message printed on their mail claim card.
If a claimant has been instructed by means of a message which
has been sent to him with his mail claim card or by any other written means to
provide information which is necessary to determine his eligibility for
benefits, and such information is not provided, either by telephone, or in an
envelope that is postmarked, within fourteen (14) days from the date on which
the message was mailed to him with his mail claim card or the date on which any
other request to provide such information was mailed to him, benefits shall be
denied for the week for which the requested information was not provided unless
the claimant can show good cause for the failure to provide requested
information to the bureau.
E.
1.. No
benefits will be paid for any week of unemployment unless the claimant has
affixed his signature to and answered all questions on the claim form provided
by the bureau for the purpose of claiming benefits for the week involved. A
Personal Identification Number ("PIN") related to a telephone weekly claim or a
claim filed using the Internet will be considered to be a valid electronic
signature.
2. If a claim form
provided by the bureau for purposes of claiming benefits for a week is not
signed or if all questions on the claim form are not answered, the form will
not be considered to be a claim for purposes of subsection (A) of this section.
However, if the claim form or a duplicate is later signed or if the
unanswered question or questions are later answered, the original filing date
of the claim form will determine the timeliness of the claim for the purpose of
Rule 3.1(D).
3. A claimant will be
notified, by means of a message which will be sent to him with his mail claim
card or by any other written means, that he has an opportunity to sign a
duplicate claim card or to answer questions, which were not answered on the
claim form. If the claimant does not provide his signature or the answers to
the questions within fourteen (14) days from the date on which the message was
mailed to him with his mail claim card or the date on which any other written
request to provide such signature or answers was mailed to him, benefits shall
be denied for the week for which the signature or answers were not
provided.
F. Any claimant
who obtains work of any kind while filing weekly claims for benefits shall
write the name of the employer and amount earned on his weekly claim form. A
claimant who is reporting electronically shall report the name of the employer
and the amount earned verbally at the designated point in the electronic claim
filing procedure.
G. A claimant's
week of unemployment and his registration for work shall be deemed to commence
on;
1. The Sunday of the calendar week in
which he files a claim with a representative of the bureau by telephone;
2. The Sunday of the week in which
the envelope containing his initial claim for benefits is postmarked if the
claimant last worked during that week;
3. The Sunday of the week prior to the week
in which the envelope containing his initial claim is postmarked if the
claimant last worked during that prior week. However, if a telephone claims
center of the bureau is closed on a Friday which the governor or the
commissioner of the Department of Administration and Financial Services or a
designee of the state of Maine has determined to be a non work day but is not a
regularly scheduled holiday, a claimant may file an initial claim through such
telephone claims center of the bureau for that week on the next scheduled work
day of such telephone claims center of the bureau.
H. Claimants who are employed part time, but
not in such places or establishments or capacities in which they are
customarily employed as full-time workers, must register and maintain their
eligibility for unemployment benefits in the same manner prescribed for totally
unemployed persons.
I. After a
claimant has been determined to be eligible for benefits, payments will
nevertheless not be allowed for any week of unemployment unless a claim for
such week is made by the claimant on his assigned report day. A claimant who
has been assigned to report in person by a representative of the bureau must
report in person at the time and place assigned to him for reporting except
under the following circumstances:
1. A
claimant returning to work on or before his assigned report day may file a
claim, whether in person or by mail, to complete his claims for his last week
or weeks of unemployment, provided he does so within ten (10) days of
commencing work;
2. Permit Claims.
a. A claimant who normally seeks work only in
Maine must secure permission to seek work outside of Maine, except when a
claimant is relocating. The deputy will interview the claimant with regard to
the area(s) that he is going to, the length of time that he is going to be
away, and what his activities will be. No claim will be allowed for a week that
a permission claim has been denied.
b. Permission claims will only be authorized
if the claimant is temporarily going to another state to seek work. However,
benefits may be allowed if the claimant, due to time constraints, had
inadequate opportunity to obtain a permission claim prior to leaving Maine in
order to temporarily go to another state to seek work.
c. Additional claims for any period longer
than two (2) consecutive weeks filed while the claimant is outside of the state
must be filed through the interstate benefit payment plan if the claimant has
moved outside of Maine. Benefits shall not be allowed for any period longer
than two (2) consecutive weeks for claimants who are sending claim forms from
outside of Maine to a telephone claim center unless the claims are filed under
the interstate benefit payment plan or by "commuter claimants" as described in
Rule 4(1)(A)(2).
3. A
claimant who has good cause for his failure to report on his assigned report
date and reports to file a claim within fourteen (14) days of such assigned
report date.
4. Claimants who are
in continued claims status who move to a new location within the state of Maine
shall, within seven (7) days of arrival at the new location, notify the bureau
in writing, or by telephone in accordance with procedures established by the
bureau, of their new address. Claimants who are in continued claims status who
move to another state shall contact the agent state office for the purposes of
establishing the proper reporting requirements and work registration
requirements for their new location.
J. When filing his first claim in a benefit
year to establish benefits entitlement, a claimant shall furnish his name,
social security account number, and all work history, dates and conditions of
job separations, and labor market attachment information required by the
bureau. It is not a requirement that a claimant present a card, issued by the
Social Security Administration, which includes his social security account
number.
K. Requalifying earnings
under sections 1193(1), 1193(2), 1193(7), and 1193(7-A), shall include only
those earnings earned after the actual date of the disqualifying
separation.
L. Benefits paid to an
individual shall be deemed to be paid through an office of the bureau where any
or all of the requirements relating to the determination of an individual's
eligibility for benefits are performed.