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3 Varieties of Volatile Scheduling ChallengesJob schedule volatility takes a wide range of forms.In turn, workers experiencing such scheduling challengesmay find themselves in need of unemploymentinsurance under a variety of circumstances. Schedulingchallenges may include:a. Lack of advance notification of schedules: Manyworkers receive little notice of their job schedules,with some employers never posting schedules at alland others disseminating or posting them withinonly a few days of the first scheduled shifts.b. Lack of worker input into schedules: Nearlyhalf of workers do not have any input into their jobschedules; 18 they work entirely at their managers’discretion.c. Little worker control over schedules: Managersoften change, cancel, or add workers’ shifts at thelast moment; impose mandatory overtime; sendworkers home early, without pay; deny them sufficienttime to rest between shifts; and/or assignthem to “split shifts,” or shifts with nonconsecutivehours.d. On-call shifts: Some workers are required to be “oncall” or “call in.” This means that they must makethemselves available to work, but are not guaranteeda shift and are generally not paid while on callif they are called in.e. Access to hours: Workers are frequently not guaranteedany minimum number of hours per weekand receive too few hours to make ends meet.f. Retaliation for scheduling-related requests:Requests for more notice of schedules or otheraccommodations frequently lead to retaliation,such as reduced hours, disciplinary action, or evenjob loss.6 NELP | HOW UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE RULES FAIL WORKERS WITH VOLATILE JOB SCHEDULES
4 Overview of UI RulesUI is a federal-state social insurance program thatprovides weekly benefits for up to six months to individualswho are considered involuntarily unemployed. 19Basic eligibility and disqualification rules, includingweekly amounts and number of weeks compensated,are primarily determined at the state level. The legalrules governing UI programs include statutes passedby legislatures; rules, regulations, and interpretationsissued by agencies; and court decisions in appeals concerningthese statutes and administrative rules. As ourshorthand term for all these sources of UI law, we referto the combination of these sources as “UI rules.”Because volatile scheduling is an emerging employerpractice that has not received much attention untilrecently, there are very few reported UI cases directlyinvolving volatile scheduling practices. As a result,our examination draws on analyses of related casesinvolving cuts in hours or wages causing individuals toleave work, or creating problems that led to dischargesor quits. The rules reviewed below help to provide thecontext for this analysis. 20A. Eligibility RulesUI claimants must meet certain requirements toinitially qualify for weekly benefits and remain eligibleon an ongoing basis. First, they must meet monetaryeligibility requirements, which establish a thresholdfor sufficient earnings prior to job loss. Second, theymust meet nonmonetary eligibility requirements, suchas filing a timely claim for benefits, being able to work,being available for work, and actively seeking work foreach weekly or biweekly claim period.Claimants must show that they are available towork in a range of jobs that exist in the current labormarket. State agency adjudicators consider the days andhours of the week each claimant is willing to work, thegeographic area of his or her work search, and the kindsof jobs a claimant is willing to accept. Adjudicators alsoconsider a claimant’s willingness to work and diligencein seeking work. Many states have availability rulesspecifically barring eligibility to those available only forpart-time work. Twenty-one states deem jobless workerswho limit their availability to part-time work ineligible.Another 20 states permit eligibility only for thoseworkers with a past history of part-time work. AppendixTable 1 summarizes part-time availability provisions forall state UI programs.B. Disqualification RulesUI rules disqualify only those who have voluntarily quittheir jobs without good cause. In a majority of states,any valid cause for leaving work must involve reasonsrelated to employment (usually for reasons “attributableto” employers). Non-work related reasons for leaving areusually termed “personal reasons.” Only 10 states specificallyrecognize personal reasons as good cause. Inrecent years, a number of states have recognized “compellingfamily circumstances” for leaving work, whichinclude survivors of domestic violence compelled toleave work, people accompanying their spouses to newwork locations, and people leaving work due to caregivingobligations. 21 Twenty-five states exempt quits forcompelling family circumstances from disqualification.Appendix Table 2 shows the overall breakdown of statesand their disqualification rules regarding quits.UI rules also disqualify those fired for deliberate,willful, or reckless reasons, while paying UI to individualsfired for reasons of negligence, inadvertence, or notwithin their control. Claimants can also be disqualifiedfor refusing offers of work, unless they have goodcause to so. A job offer must be for “suitable” work. Moststates define suitability as involving consideration ofthe individual’s prior earnings, skills, experience, andtraining. 22C. Partial Unemployment Insurance RulesEmployees who face a reduction in their usual hoursand earnings may be eligible for partial unemploymentinsurance benefits. Partial benefits can mitigatethe impact of sudden drops in income that occur whenemployees are subject to unstable schedules. State UIprograms also provide partial unemployment insurancebenefits to unemployed claimants working parttime while they search for a permanent, full-timejob. We refer to claimants in the former group as “jobattachedpartial UI claimants” and those in the lattergroup as “job-seeking partial UI claimants.” Partial UIrules apply to both categories of workers, with someNELP | OUT OF SYNC 7
Page 1 and 2: Out of Sync:How Unemployment Insura
Page 3 and 4: Executive SummaryMillions of Americ
Page 5 and 6: 1 IntroductionMillions of American
Page 7: improve workers’ job schedules, b
Page 11 and 12: 5ApplyingUI Rules to Workerswith Vo
Page 13 and 14: time of hire. A Connecticut agency
Page 15 and 16: E. Trial Work Provisions Permit Qui
Page 17 and 18: Figure 1 helps to explain these phe
Page 19 and 20: employers engage in unfair scheduli
Page 21 and 22: AppendixAppendix Table 1. UI Rules
Page 23 and 24: Appendix Table 2. UI Rules for Excu
Page 25 and 26: Notes for Table 2: There are 51 sta
Page 27 and 28: Appendix Table 3. State Partial UI
Page 29 and 30: Endnotes1. In the summer of 2014, t
Page 31 and 32: enefits are less than the costs of

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