N.M. Admin. Code § 11.3.300.320

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 21, November 5, 2024

Section 11.3.300.320 - WORK SEARCH REQUIREMENT

A. WORK SEARCHES: To qualify for continued benefits, a claimant must:

(1) be a member of a union with a hiring hall or a referral hall and meet the union requirements for job referral or placement;

(a) the claimant must be a member in good standing at the time of certification;

(b) the hiring hall or referral hall must be actively seeking to place its members in employment; or

(2) actively seek work by contacting a minimum number of different employers each week during the week for which benefits are claimed, as directed by department representatives. It is not mandatory that the work searches occur on different days of the week;

(a) a claimant may contact the same employer more than one time during a given week, which may count for multiple searches if the claimant applies for multiple jobs with the same employer so long as the applications are distinct and separate positions;

(b) a claimant may list jobs applied for through the New Mexico department of workforce solutions workforce connection centers, the New Mexico state personnel office (SPO), America's job bank, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) partners and similar programs as approved from time to time by the department as valid work search contacts for each week of claim certification;

(3) Other unions may apply for work search waivers by submitting a request in writing to the secretary, who may upon discretion make an exception to the work search requirements.

B. in order to qualify for continued benefits, interstate, if New Mexico is the liable state, claimants must seek work within the week for which benefits are being claimed and actively seek work by contacting a minimum of two different employers each week, or if a union member, actively seek work by contacting the union as required by the union in order to be eligible for job referral or placement

C. claimants must keep a record of the name, address and telephone number or electronic mail address of each employer contacted in the event of an audit and must retain a copy of any email confirmation received as a result of applying for a job on-line;

(1) This information must be provided to department representatives upon request;

(2) the claimant must provide the requested information no later than 10 calendar days from the date of the department's request;

(3) the claimant must provide sufficient information for the department to verify the claimant's work search efforts. If the claimant is able to provide specific job numbers or requisition numbers for the job applied for, this information will be considered sufficient to verify the contact;

(4) failure to provide the required information without good cause may result in a denial of benefits for the week in question;

(5) if the information provided is insufficient to verify a valid work search occurred, benefits for the week in question will be denied;

(6) if a denial is imposed, the effective period may include weeks for which the claimant has already been paid benefits. Such benefits would constitute an overpayment which would be recouped pursuant to Section 51-1-38 NMSA 1978;

(7) any denial imposed for failure to provide the required information may be appealed pursuant to 11.3.500.9 NMAC;

D. A claimant whose work search is deemed inadequate or invalid shall be denied benefits for the week in question. A rebuttable presumption that the claimant failed to meet the active work-search requirements for that week will be raised in all cases where a claimant's work search is deemed inadequate or invalid. In order to overturn the denial of benefits the claimant shall provide proof that the claimant did meet the active work-search requirements for that week. If a denial is imposed, the effective period may include weeks for which the claimant has already been paid benefits. Such benefits would constitute an overpayment which would be recouped pursuant to Section 51-1-38 NMSA 1978. Any denial imposed on the basis of an inadequate or invalid work search may be appealed pursuant to 11.3.300.500.9 NMAC.

E. The department may waive the work search requirements for claimants who the department determines are on temporary lay-off status from their regular full-time employment upon receipt of an assurance from the employer that the lay-off shall not exceed four weeks or upon receipt of an express offer in writing of substantially full-time work which will begin within a period not exceeding four weeks. Such waivers shall apply only to the four-week period covered on the determination. A claimant who receives a determination granting a waiver for the four-week period shall promptly transmit any change to the claimant's recall date or start date to the department. The claimant's eligibility shall then be subject to redetermination pursuant to Subsection A of 11.3.300.308 NMAC.

F. In cases where the department determines a claimant is in a temporary lay-off status due to a government furlough or shutdown, the department may waive the work search requirements during the period of the temporary lay-off for all affected claimants.

G. In the event of a public health emergency declaration issued by the governor, work searches shall, to the extent permissible by federal law, be waived for all claimants at the discretion of the secretary until the end of the public health crisis.

N.M. Admin. Code § 11.3.300.320

5-15-97; 7-15-98; 11.3.300.320 NMAC - Rn & A, 11 NMAC 3.300.320, 01-01-2003; A, 7-1-2003; A, 11-15-2012, Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXIX, Issue 20, October 30, 2018, eff. 11/1/2018, Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXX, Issue 02, January 29, 2019, eff. 1/9/2019, Amended by New Mexico Register, Volume XXX, Issue 20, October 29, 2019, eff. 10/29/2019, Amended by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXI, Issue 10, May 19, 2020, eff. 4/24/2020, Amended by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXI, Issue 14, July 28, 2020, eff. 7/28/2020, Amended by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXII, Issue 01, January 12, 2021, eff. 1/12/2021, Amended by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXII, Issue 17, September 14, 2021, eff. 9/14/2021