Current through August, 2024
(a) An individual shall be deemed able and
available for work within the meaning of section
383-29(a)(3),
Hawaii Revised Statutes, if the individual is able and available for suitable
work during the customary work week of the individual's customary occupation
which falls within the week for which a claim is filed.
(1) An individual shall be deemed able to
work if the individual has the physical and mental ability to perform the usual
duties of the individual's customary occupation or other work for which the
individual is reasonably fitted by training and experience.
(2) An individual shall be deemed available
for work only if the individual is ready and willing to accept employment for
which the individual is reasonably fitted by training and experience. The
individual must intend and wish to work, and there must be no undue
restrictions either self-imposed or created by force of circumstances which
prevent the individual from accepting employment.
(3) Notwithstanding any provisions of this
subsection to the contrary, an individual who meets the definition of
part-total unemployment under section
12-5-1
may be considered available for work in situations where the individual did not
accept an offer of part-time work from an employer:
(A) If the offer of part-time work was not in
the individual=s customary occupation or in the occupation that the individual
is seeking full-time employment, and the individual was otherwise available for
employment during the normal work week in the individual=s customary occupation
or in the occupation that the individual is seeking full-time
employment;
(B) Due to a work
schedule conflict with another employer; or
(C) Due to lack of sufficient advance notice
of a work schedule change.
(b) The individual must be willing to accept
the wages and hours and days of employment that are prevailing or customary in
the community in which the individual is seeking work. The individual must be
available in a labor market area where there is a reasonable demand for the
individual's services. The geographical extent of such area is limited to the
area in which the individual lives and within which the individual reasonably
can be expected to commute to work. An individual shall use any reasonable and
available means of transportation, including public transportation and means of
transportation customarily employed by persons in the individual's community.
All individuals claiming benefits shall make personal efforts to find work as
are customarily made by persons in the same occupation who are genuinely
interested in obtaining employment. An individual shall use the facilities and
methods which are normally used by persons in that person's occupation when
seeking work. As an individual's length of unemployment increases and the
individual has been unable to find work in the individual's customary
occupation, the individual may be required to:
(1) Seek work in some other occupation for
which the individual is reasonably fitted by training and experience and in
which vacancies exist; or
(2) Lower
the individual's wage demands; or
(3) Broaden the geographical area in which
the individual will accept work; or
(4) Accept counseling for possible retraining
or a change in occupation.
The above alternatives shall be considered in light of the
improving or deteriorating state of the economy of the individual's labor
market area, the existing and reasonably foreseeable level of demand in the
various occupations for which the individual is reasonably fitted, the wages
being offered at that time, and other similar factors.
(c) An individual may be
considered available for work for any week in which the individual has met the
work search requirements of this section.
(1)
The individual shall make a minimum of three work search contacts each week,
unless otherwise provided in this subsection.
(2) The individual shall maintain a record of
all work search contacts and may be required to submit such record upon request
by the department.
(3) Activities
that constitute work search contacts, include but are not limited to:
(A) Registering for work at the employment
office in accordance with section
383-29(a)(2),
Hawaii Revised Statutes;
(B)
Registering for work with a private employment agency or placement facility of
a school, college or university;
(C) Applying for work, submitting resumes or
interviewing with potential employers;
(D) Utilizing employment resources available
at employment offices that identify the individual's skills in occupations in
demand in the local labor market area;
(E) Attending job search seminars, job clubs,
or other employment workshops that offer instruction in improving an
individual's skills for seeking and obtaining employment; and
(F) Conducting other work search activities
which are made by individuals in the same or similar occupation who are
genuinely interested in obtaining work or as may be provided by the
department.
(4) An
individual shall be exempted from the work search requirements of this
subsection, or be subject to modified work search requirements as authorized by
the department if the individual:
(A) is
waived from registration for work requirements under section
12-5-31;
(B) is participating in approved training
under section
383-29(e),
Hawaii Revised Statutes;
(C) has
otherwise been instructed by the department to be conducting work search
activities in a manner consistent with and reflective of local area policies
and local labor market opportunities; or
(D) for any other reason that has been
determined by the department to meet work search requirements that are
consistent with industry practices or are customary for the
occupation.
(5) An
individual who fails to comply with the requirements of this subsection may be
considered not available for work and be held ineligible for
benefits.
(d) For the
waiver, due to illness or disability, of the availability requirement of
section
383-29(a)(3),
Hawaii Revised Statutes, to apply, an individual shall have registered for
work, as provided by law and this chapter, prior to the onset of the illness or
disability, and shall have filed an initial claim to establish that
individual's eligibility for benefits prior to the beginning of the illness or
disability. Illness or disability shall be evidenced by a physician's
certificate.
If the incapacitated individual is offered work which would
have been suitable prior to the individual's illness or disability and the
individual cannot accept such work because of the individual's illness or
disability, the waiver shall not apply.
"Offered work" as used in this subsection means a direct
offer of work by an employer or employer's authorized representative, or
referral to a job or a call-in made by the employment office for purposes of
referral to suitable work
(e) Notwithstanding any other provisions in
this section, an individual shall not be deemed able and available for work
during any week with respect to which the individual is receiving or has
received compensation for temporary partial or temporary total disability under
the workers' compensation law of any state.
