KRS 341.350: Conditions of qualification for benefits -- Weekly audits to evaluate work

search activity compliance.

An unemployed worker shall, except as provided in KRS 341.360 and 341.370, be

eligible for benefits with respect to any week of unemployment only if:

(1) He or she has made a claim for benefits;

(2) For an initial claim made on or after January 1, 2012, he or she has served a waiting

period of one (1) week, during which he or she has not received benefits. The

waiting week period shall be t he first compensable week of an initial claim for

benefits for which he or she is eligible and qualified to receive benefits under this

chapter. A waiting week period shall be required for each benefit year, whether or

not consecutive. No more than one (1) waiting week period shall be required in any

benefit year. The waiting week shall become compensable once the remaining

balance on the claim is equal to or less than the compensable amount for the

waiting week;

(3) (a) He or she has registered for work wi th respect to such week in accordance

with administrative regulations promulgated by the secretary;

(b) He or she participates in reemployment services, such as job search assistance

services, if pursuant to a profiling system established by the secretary, he or

she has been determined to be likely to exhaust regular benefits unless:

1. The claimant has completed the services to which he or she is referred;

or

2. There is justifiable cause for the claimant's failure to participate in the

services. For the purpose of this section, "justifiable cause" shall be

interpreted to mean what a reasonable person would do in like

circumstances; and

(c) He or she engages in at least five (5) verifiable work search activities during

each week in which he or she claims eligibility. At least three (3) of these

activities each week shall consist of formally submitting an application for

employment or interviewing for employment. "W ork search activities"

includes any of the following:

1. Formally submitting an application for employment, either in person or

online;

2. Interviewing for employment virtually, in person, or online;

3. Job shadowing;

4. Attending a job fair or networking event hosted by state or local

government or a business organization;

5. Participating in a job search skills workshop or seminar; and

6. Participating in official Kentucky Career Center or partner programs

related to employment or the search for employment;

(4) He or she is physically and mentally able to work;

(5) He or she is available for suitable work, and making such reasonable effort to

obtain work as might be expected of a prudent person under like circumstances;

(6) His or her base -period wages in that calendar quarter of his or her base period in

which such wages were highest are equal to at least one thousand five hundred

dollars ($1,500), and his or her total base -period wages are not less than one and

one-half (1-1/2) times the base-period wages paid to him or her in such quarter and

he or she was paid base -period wages in the last six (6) months of his or her base

period equal to at least eight (8) times his or her weekly benefit rate with a

minimum of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) earned outside the high

quarter. Beginning on January 1, 2020, and continuing on January 1 in even -

numbered years thereafter, the secretary shall adjust the minimum base -period

wages at a rate that is directly proportional to the average percentage change in the

Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI -U) for the two (2) previous

calendar years;

(7) An otherwise eligible worker shall not be denied benefits under subsection (5) of

this section or because of his or her failure to actively seek work u nder subsection

(3) of this section, nor disqualified under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of KRS

341.370:

(a) With respect to any week he or she is certified as being enrolled and making

satisfactory progress in an approved job training or certification program;

(b) If he or she has verified definite return -to-work or recall -to-work prospects

within a period of sixteen (16) weeks from the date of filing of the initial or

reopened claim; or

(c) If he or she has a definite return -to-work or recall-to-work prospect no longer

than one (1) year from the filing date of the initial or reopened claim which

the secretary has evaluated and confirmed in writing to be a bona fide return -

to-work or recall -to-work prospect. As used in this paragraph, "bona fide

return-to-work or recall -to-work prospect" means prospective employment

which:

1. Would allow an employee to return to employment with his or her

former employer with a break in service not to exceed one (1) year; and

2. Is attested to in a letter from the employer to the secretary which:

a. States the employer's reasons for the period of nonemployment;

b. Identifies the affected worker or workers by name;

c. Identifies each affected worker's expected return-to-work or recall-

to-work date; and

d. Authorizes the emp loyer's reserve account to be charged for

benefits payable to the affected employee or employees.

The employer shall notify the secretary of any changes to the plans or

circumstances set forth in the letter. The secretary shall not confirm a bona

fide return-to-work or recall -to-work prospect if the secretary has grounds to

believe that such confirmation is contrary to federal law or could jeopardize

the Commonwealth's compliance with federal law. The secretary shall rescind

any previous confirmation of a bona fide return -to-work or recall -to-work

prospect if the secretary has grounds to believe that it is contrary to federal

law or could jeopardize the Commonwealth's compliance with federal law.

(8) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, no otherwise eligible worker

shall be denied benefits for any week because he or she is in training approved

under 19 U.S.C. sec. 2296 (Section 236(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974), nor shall

such worker be denied benefits by reason of leaving work to enter su ch training

provided such work is not suitable employment, or because of the application to any

such week in training of provisions in this law (or any applicable federal

unemployment compensation law) relating to availability for work, active search

for w ork, or refusal to accept work. For purpose of this subsection, the term

"suitable employment" shall mean employment of a substantially equal or higher

skill level than the worker's past adversely affected employment as defined in 19

U.S.C. sec. 2319 (Trad e Act of 1974), and wages for such work are not less than

eighty percent (80%) of the workers' average weekly wage as determined for

purposes of the Trade Act of 1974.

(9) The foregoing eligibility requirements and the conditions of benefit

disqualifications imposed by KRS 341.370 shall be strictly construed. Nothing in

this section, excepting subsection (6) of this section, nor in KRS 341.360 or

341.370 shall affect the establishment of a "benefit year."

(10) The cabinet shall conduct randomized weekly audits of a number determined by the

secretary as sufficient to evaluate compliance with the work search activity

requirements of this section, and shall submit an annual report to the Governor and

the Interim Joint Committee on Economic Development and Workf orce Investment

detailing:

(a) The percentage of audited claimants that failed to comply with the work

search activity requirement outlined in this section;

(b) The work search activities that were most commonly engaged in by audited

claimants;

(c) Recommendations to make the work search activity requirement more

effective in assisting claimants in finding employment;

(d) The number of claims audited each week and the total number of claims

audited during the reporting period;

(e) The percentage of total claims audited each week and percentage of total

claims audited during the reporting period; and

(f) A summary of the methodology used to conduct randomized auditing.

(11) The secretary shall promulg ate regulations and standards for the verification of

claimants' work search activities and the methods by which claimants shall submit

work search activities and any associated documentation required by the secretary

for verification.