S.C. Code Regs. § § 47-29

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 11, November 22, 2024

Section 47-29 - Payment of Benefits to Interstate Claimants and the Combination of Wage Credits

A. The following regulations shall govern the Department of Employment and Workforce, in its administrative cooperation with other States adopting a similar regulation for the payment of benefits to interstate claimants.

1. Definitions, as used in this regulation, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

a. "Interstate Benefit Payment Plan" means the plan approved by the Interstate Conference of Employment Security Agencies under which benefits shall be payable to unemployed individuals absent from the State (or States) in which benefit credits have been accumulated.

b. "Interstate claimant" means an individual who claims benefits under the unemployment insurance law of one or more liable States in which claimant is not residing. The term "interstate claimant" shall not include an individual who customarily commutes from a residence in an agent state to work in a liable state unless the Department finds that this exclusion would create undue hardship on such claimants in specified areas.

c. "State" includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

d. "Agent state" means any state in which an individual files a claim for benefits from another state.

e. "Liable state" means any state against which an individual files, through another state or by other means as provided by the liable state, a claim for benefits.

f. "Benefits" means the compensation payable to an individual, with respect to his unemployment, under the unemployment insurance law of any state.

g. "Week of unemployment" includes any week of unemployment as defined in the law of the liable state from which benefits with respect to such week are claimed.

B. Registration for Work:

1. Each interstate claimant shall be registered for work, through any public employment office in the agent state when and as required by the law, regulations, and procedures of the agent state. Such registration shall be accepted as meeting the registration requirements of the liable state.

2. Each agent state shall duly report, to the liable state in question, whether each interstate claimant meets the registration requirements of the agent state.

C. Benefit Rights of Interstate Claimants:

1. If a claimant files a claim against any state, and it is determined by such state that the claimant has available benefit credits in such state, then claims shall be filed only against such state as long as benefit credits are available in that state. Thereafter, the claimant may file claims against any other state in which there are available benefit credits. For the purpose of this regulation, benefit credits shall be deemed to be unavailable whenever benefits have been exhausted, terminated, or postponed for an indefinite period or for the entire period in which benefits would otherwise be payable, or whenever benefits are affected by the application of a seasonal restriction.

2. The benefit rights of interstate claimants established by this regulation shall apply only with respect to new claims (notices of unemployment) filed.

D. Claim for Benefits:

1. When it is determined by the Agent state that a South Carolina Interstate claim is in order, the initial claim for benefits shall be filed by interstate claimants via the Remote Interstate Claims Unit. The Agent state shall provide to the claimant the telephone number or filing procedures as defined in the online Interstate Handbook. When acting as the Agent state, the Department shall take Interstate claims on uniform interstate claim forms and in accordance with uniform procedures developed pursuant to the Interstate Benefit Payment Plan or refer to the appropriate liable state as described in the on-line Interstate Handbook. Claims shall be filed in accordance with the type of week in use in the liable state.

2. South Carolina Continued Claims shall be filed via the Interactive Voice Response System. The Department shall provide a mail packet to the claimant with the telephone number and/or any other filing means as provided by the Department.

a. With respect to claims for weeks of unemployment in which an individual was not working for his regular employer, the liable state shall, under circumstances, which it considers good cause, accept a continued claim filed up to one week, or one reporting period, late. If a claimant files more than one reporting period late, an initial claim must be used to begin a claim series and no continued claim for a past period shall be accepted.

b. With respect to weeks of unemployment during which an individual is attached to his regular employer, the liable state shall accept any claim, which is filed within the time limit applicable to such claims under the law of the Agent state.

E. Determinations of Claims:

1. The Agent state shall, in connection with each claim filed by an interstate claimant, ascertain and report to the liable state in question such facts relating to the claimant's availability for work and eligibility for benefits as are readily determinable in and by the agent state.

2. The Agent state's responsibility and authority in connection with the determination of interstate claims shall be limited to investigation and reporting of relevant facts. The Agent state shall not refuse to take an interstate claim.

3. When acting as the liable state, the Department shall conduct its own investigation as to the eligibility of the claimant and issue adjudication.

F. Appellate Procedure:

With respect to the time limits imposed by the law of a liable state upon the filing of an appeal in connection with a disputed benefit claim, an appeal made by an interstate claimant shall be deemed to have been made and communicated to the liable state on the date when it is received by any qualified officer of the Agent state.

G. Extension of Interstate Benefit Payments to Include Claims Taken In and For Canada. This regulation shall apply in all its provisions to claims taken in and for Canada.

H. Wage-Combining.

1. The Department subscribes to the Interstate Plan for Combining Wages (Basic Plan and Extended Plan) in accordance with Section 41-29-140, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, for the administrative cooperation with other participating states for the payment of combined wage claims to interstate claimants.

a. The Basic Wage-Combining Plan is adopted to establish a system whereby an unemployed worker not eligible for benefits in any one state may, through combining of wages in more than one participating state, become eligible for benefits.

b. The Extended Wage-Combining Plan is adopted to establish a system whereby an unemployed worker having sufficient base-period wages to qualify for less than maximum annual unemployment insurance benefits in one or more participating states and insufficient base-period wages to qualify for benefits in one or more other participating states, may increase the benefits to which he is entitled by combining wages in one of the states in which he has sufficient base-period wages with base-period wages in all states in each of which he has insufficient wages.

2. The Plan for Combining Wages shall be administered in accordance with uniform Interstate Benefit Payment Procedures for combining wages.

I. Termination of Combining Wages:

Combining of wages terminates upon the termination of the benefit year in the paying state or at such time as re-determination of benefit rights becomes necessary under the law of the paying state.

J. Relation to Interstate Benefit Payment Procedures:

Whenever this Plan applies, it shall supersede any inconsistent provisions of the Interstate Benefit Payment Plan and the Regulations there under.

S.C. Code Regs. § 47-29

Amended by State Register Volume 24, Issue No. 5, eff May 26, 2000.