Section 8.85.095. Voluntary quit, discharge for misconduct, and refusal of work.

	(a)  A disqualification under AS 23.20.379(a) and (b) remains in effect for six consecutive weeks or until terminated under the conditions of AS 23.20.379(d), whichever is less. The disqualification will be terminated immediately following the end of the week in which a claimant has earned, for all employment during the disqualification period, at least eight times his weekly benefit amount, excluding any allowance for dependents. The termination of the disqualification period will not restore benefits denied for weeks ending before the termination. The termination does not restore a reduction in maximum potential benefits made under AS 23.20.379(c).  
	(b)  The maximum potential benefits to which a claimant disqualified under AS 23.20.379(a) and (b) would have been entitled will be reduced under AS 23.20.379(c), even if no continued claim has been filed for a week within the disqualification period.  
	(c)  To determine the existence of good cause under AS 23.20.379(a)(1) for voluntarily leaving work determined to be suitable under AS 23.20.385, the department will consider only the following factors:  
		(1) leaving work due to a disability or illness of the claimant that makes it impossible for the claimant to perform the duties required by the work, if the claimant has no other reasonable alternative but to leave work;  
		(2) leaving work to care for an immediate family member who has a disability or illness;  
		(3) leaving work due to safety or other working conditions or an employment agreement related directly to the work, if the claimant has no other reasonable alternative but to leave work;  
		(4) leaving work to accompany or join a spouse at a change of location, if commuting from the new location to the claimant's work is impractical; for purposes of this paragraph, the change of location must be as a result of the spouse's  
			(A) discharge from military service; or  
			(B) employment;  
		(5) leaving unskilled work to attend a vocational training or retraining course approved by the director under AS 23.20.382, only if the individual enters the course immediately upon separating from work;  
		(6) leaving work in order to protect the claimant or the claimant's immediate family members from harassment or violence;  
		(7) leaving work to accept a bona fide offer of work that offers better wages, benefits, hours, or other working conditions; if the new work does not materialize, the reason for the work not materializing must not be due to the fault of the worker;  
		(8) other factors listed in AS 23.20.385(b).  
	(d)  "Misconduct connected with the insured worker's work" as used in AS 23.20.379(a)(2) means  
		(1) a claimant's conduct on the job, if the conduct shows a wilful and wanton disregard of the employer's interest, as a claimant might show, for example, through gross or repeated negligence, wilful violation of reasonable work rules, or deliberate violation or disregard of standards of behavior that the employer has the right to expect of an employee; wilful and wanton disregard of the employer's interest does not arise solely from inefficiency, unsatisfactory performance as the result of inability or incapacity, inadvertence, ordinary negligence in isolated instances, or good faith errors in judgment or discretion; or  
		(2) a claimant's conduct off the job, if the conduct  
			(A) shows a wilful and wanton disregard of the employer's interest; and  
			(B) either  
				(i) has a direct and adverse impact on the employer's interest; or  
				(ii) makes the claimant unfit to perform an essential task of the job.  
	(e)  A discharge for an act that constitutes commission of a felony or theft will result in a disqualification for benefits under AS 23.20.379(e) if  
		(1) charges are filed against the claimant or the employer has reported the act to the appropriate law enforcement authority;  
		(2) the felony or theft is "misconduct connected with the insured worker's work" under (d) of this section; and  
		(3) a preponderance of the evidence establishes that  
			(A) the claimant committed the act; and  
			(B) the act was not justified under AS 11.81.300 - 11.81.450.  
	(f)  An acquittal, plea to a lesser charge, or dismissal of charges does not prevent a disqualification for benefits under (e) of this section, if a preponderance of evidence supports that disqualification.  
	(g)  For purposes of this section  
		(1) "felony" means an act classified as a felony in AS 11;  
		(2) "theft" means an act described in AS 11.46.100, if the value of the property or service is $50 or more;  
		(3) "disability or illness" means a disability or illness that necessitates care for the disabled or ill person for a period of time longer than the employer is willing to grant leave, paid or otherwise;  
		(4) "immediate family member" means a person who is related to the claimant by blood, marriage, or adoption as a parent, child, spouse, brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild.  
	(h)  A claimant's last work, for the purposes of determining a claimant's last suitable work under AS 23.20.379, will be determined under the following standards:  
		(1) the last work is a claimant's most recent permanent, temporary, full time, or part-time work, in which the claimant performed services and received wages under a written, oral, or implied contract of hire, preceding an initial claim for benefits;  
		(2) if a claimant separates from two or more working relationships in a calendar week while filing continued claims, the last work is the last working relationship held in that week;  
		(3) temporary on-call work is a claimant's last work only if the on-call working relationship is terminated before the initial claim for benefits;  
		(4) a claimant's last work does not include  
			(A) unpaid training periods;  
			(B) work performed in a correctional facility by a prisoner;  
			(C) jury duty;  
			(D) inactive military service;  
			(E) self-employment; or  
			(F) short-term, casual, or temporary work taken to avoid disqualification under AS 23.20.379 for an earlier work separation.  

Authorities

23.20.045;23.20.379;23.20.385

Notes

Reference

8 AAC 85.075

Authority

AS 23.20.045 AS 23.20.379 AS 23.20.385

History

Eff. 11/7/80, Register 76; am 4/11/90, Register 114; am 4/28/95, Register 134; am 10/12/97, Register 144; am 11/1/2009, Register 192; am 4/24/2010, Register 194