Registration and Claims in General

(1) To file a claim an unemployed individual shall appear in person and register for work at the public employment office that is nearest to his home or nearest to the place of business at which he was last employed, or in such other manner as the Commissioner shall prescribe; except that an individual who has wage credits in Massachusetts but is not residing in Massachusetts, may register and file claims as provided for in 430 CMR 4.05, Interstate Claims. (3) The effective date of a claim for an individual in partial unemployment shall be the Sunday of the week immediately preceding the week in which such registration and filing occurred, provided the individual was in partial unemployment during such earlier week and such earlier week occurred after the expiration of any benefit year previously established for such individual; except that for good cause the Commissioner or his authorized agent may allow an earlier effective date. (a) In any case where an earlier effective date has been allowed, it shall be deemed, for the purpose of 430 CMR 4.00, that the individual registered and filed during the week of the effective date. (b) In any case where an earlier effective date has been allowed, and the period between the effective date allowed and the date on which the registration actually occurred includes both weeks of partial and weeks of total unemployment, waiting period credit or benefits will be allowed only for the weeks of partial unemployment. (4) Whenever the continuity of a claim has been interrupted for any reason, the claim may be reopened within the same benefit year. (a) To reopen a claim, a claimant shall report in such manner as the Commissioner shall prescribe. (b) The effective date of reopening of a claim shall be the Sunday of the week in which the claimant reports as under 430 CMR 4.01(4)(a); except that if the claimant was in partial unemployment prior to such reporting, the reopening shall be effective as of the Sunday of the week immediately preceding the week in which such reporting occurred, provided that for good cause an earlier date may be allowed. (5) To continue a claim, a claimant shall report as directed by the Commissioner or his or her authorized representative for each period for which benefits are being claimed, and shall furnish all facts pertaining to eligibility with respect to each week for which he or she is claiming benefits. (a) A claimant shall complete all required information on the benefit certification form and sign the form. (b) A claimant who is directed to report by mail may return the benefit certification form by mailing as a postcard, placing the form in an envelope and mailing, or by returning the form to a designated location at his or her local office. (c) A claimant who is directed to report in person to the local office during a specified week must do so as directed, but no later than the third Friday after the Saturday ending date of the bi-weekly reporting period on the certification form or where the form was reissued, no later than the third Friday following the week in which said form was reissued unless otherwise directed by the Commissioner or his or her authorized representative. (d) The claimant's benefit certification form, if returned by mail, must be postmarked no earlier than Saturday of the last week of the bi-weekly reporting period for which benefits are claimed and no later than 21 days after the Saturday of the last week of the bi-weekly reporting period. In cases where the benefit certification form was reissued, the form must be postmarked no later than the third Friday following the week in which said form was reissued unless otherwise directed by the Commissioner or his or her authorized representative. (e) A claimant may return the benefit certification form to a designated location at his or her local office. The claimant shall return the form no earlier than the first business day following the Saturday of the last week of the bi-weekly reporting period for which benefits are being claimed and no later than the third Friday after the Saturday ending date of the bi-weekly reporting period. In cases where the benefit certification form was reissued, the form must be returned no later than the third Friday following the week in which said form was reissued unless otherwise directed by the Commissioner or his or her authorized representative. (f) The benefit certification form shall be deemed filed by the postmark date on the benefit certification form or by the date stamp at a local office. (g) The Commissioner may consider the claimant to have filed the benefit certification form timely if the postmark date or date stamp is illegible or missing. (h) The claimant may inquire as to lost or missing benefit certification form(s) at his or her local office no earlier than eight days after the last reporting period. Reissuance of a new benefit certification form will begin a new filing period. (6) A claimant shall report as directed by the Commissioner all remuneration earned in any week for which he or she claims benefits: (a) The Commissioner may require a claimant who is in partial unemployment in any week to present evidence of earnings, as obtained from the employing unit, to substantiate his or her claim for benefits for such week. (b) Individuals inducted into the Armed Forces of the United States, who were eligible for benefits immediately prior to the date of such induction, may be eligible for partial benefits for the week in which they were inducted. The cash remuneration received as members of the United States Armed Forces during the week in which they were inducted plus a subsistence rate of $3.00 per day shall be deemed to be partial earnings for that week. (7) Extended Benefits. To be eligible to receive extended benefits with respect to any week of unemployment in the individual's eligibility period, the individual must have been paid wages during the base period of the current benefit year in an amount exceeding 1½ times the wages of the individual's highest quarterly earnings or 40 times the most recent weekly benefit amount including dependency benefits. If the individual is denied extended benefits on the basis of either test set forth above, the individual may present evidence to the Department, in a manner prescribed by the Director, that the individual has had 20 weeks of full-time insured employment. If the Department concludes, based upon the evidence so presented that the individual has had 20 weeks of full-time insured employment, the individual will be eligible to receive extended benefits. (8) Profiling. (a) Any individual who has been identified pursuant to a profiling system established by the Commissioner as likely to exhaust regular benefits and in need of job search assistance services to make a successful transition to new employment shall not be eligible for benefits for any week such individual fails without good cause to attend and participate in a reemployment services seminar or such follow-up review sessions as directed by the Commissioner. (b) For the purposes of 430 CMR 4.01(8)(a), the term "good cause" shall mean: 1. attendance at a job interview; 2. claimant, household member or immediate family member illness; 3. emergency family care issue, provided, that attempts to secure family care for the scheduled activity have been made; 4. unexpected transportation problems; 5. previously scheduled health-related appointments; 6. jury duty; 7. death of a household member or immediate family member (including a spouse, child, parent, brother, sister, grandparent, stepchild or parent of a spouse); 8. the individual’s need to address the physical, psychological and legal effects of domestic violence as defined in M.G.L. c. 151A, § 1(g½); and 9. other circumstances which the Commissioner determines are beyond the individual's control. (c) An individual who fails to attend a reemployment services seminar or review session (either for good cause or otherwise) shall attend a rescheduled seminar or review session as directed by the Commissioner. (d) A claimant who has been determined to have good cause for failing to attend a reemployment services seminar or review session shall be eligible for benefits, provided, that the claimant is otherwise eligible for benefits under the other provisions of M.G.L. c. 151A.