(a) In all States, except as provided in paragraphs (c) and (d) of
this section, the amount of DUA payable to an unemployed worker or
unemployed self-employed individual for a week of total unemployment
shall be the weekly amount of compensation the individual would have
been paid as regular compensation, as computed under the provisions of
the applicable State law for a week of total unemployment. In no event
shall such amount be in excess of the maximum amount of regular
compensation authorized under the applicable State law for that week.
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(2) or (b) of this section,
in computing an individual's weekly amount of DUA, qualifying employment
and wage requirements and benefit formula of the applicable State law
shall be applied; and for purposes of this section, employment, wages,
and self-employment which are not covered by the applicable State law
shall be treated in the same manner and with the same effect as covered
employment and wages, but shall not include employment or self-
employment, or wages earned or paid for employment or self-employment,
which is contrary to or prohibited by any Federal law, such as, but not
limited to, section 3304(a)(14)(A) of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act
(26 U.S.C. 3304(a)(14)(A)).
(2) For purposes of paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the base
period to be utilized in computing the DUA weekly amount shall be the
most recent tax year that has ended for the individual (whether an
employee or self-employed) prior to the individual's unemployment that
was a direct result of the major disaster. The self-employment income to
be treated as wages for purposes of computing the weekly amount under
this paragraph (a) shall be the net income reported on the tax return of
the individual as income from all self-employment that was dependent
upon the performance of services by the individual. If an individual has
not filed a tax return for the most recent tax year that has ended at
the time of such individual's initial application for DUA, such
individual shall have a weekly amount determined in accordance with
paragraph (e)(3) of this section.
(3) As of the date of filing an initial application for DUA, family
members over the age of majority, as defined under the statutes of the
applicable State, who were customarily or routinely employed or self-
employed as a family unit or in the same self-employment business prior
to the individuals' unemployment that was a direct result of the major
disaster, shall have the wages from such employment or net income from
the self-employment allocated equally among such adult family members
for purposes of computing a weekly amount under this paragraph (a),
unless the documentation to substantiate employment or self-employment
and wages earned or paid for such employment or self-employment
submitted as required by paragraph (e) of this section supports a
different allocation. Family members under the age of majority as of the
date of filing an initial application for DUA shall have a weekly amount
computed under this paragraph (a) based on the actual wages earned or
paid for employment or self-employment rather than an equal allocation.
(b) If the weekly amount computed under paragraph (a) of this
section is less than 50 percent of the average weekly payment of regular
compensation in the State, as provided quarterly by the Department, or,
if the individual has insufficient wages from employment or insufficient
or no net income from self-employment (which includes individuals
falling within paragraphs (a)(3) and (b)(3) of Sec. 625.5) in the
applicable base period to compute a weekly amount under paragraph (a) of
this section, the individual shall be determined entitled to a weekly
amount equal to 50 percent of the average weekly payment of regular
compensation in the State.
(1) If an individual was customarily or routinely employed or self-
employed less than full-time prior to the individual's unemployment as a
direct result of the major disaster, such individual's weekly amount
under this paragraph (b)(1) shall be determined by calculating the
percent of time the individual was employed or self-employed compared to
the customary and usual hours per week that would constitute the average
per week hours for year-round full-time employment or self-employment
for the occupation, then applying the percentage to the determined 50
percent of the average weekly amount of regular compensation paid in the
State. The State agency shall utilize information furnished by the
applicant at the time of filing an initial application for DUA and any
labor market or occupational information available within the State
agency to determine the average per week hours for full-time employment
or self-employment for the occupation. If the weekly amount computed for
an individual under this paragraph (b)(1) is less than the weekly amount
computed under paragraph (a) of this section for the individual, the
individual shall be entitled to the higher weekly amount.
(2) The weekly amount so determined under paragraph (b)(1) of this
section, if not an even dollar amount, shall be rounded in accordance
with the applicable State law.
(c) In the Territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, the amount of DUA payable to an unemployed worker or
unemployed self-employed individual for a week of total unemployment
shall be the average of the payments of regular compensation made under
all State laws referred to in Sec. 625.2(r)(1)(i) for weeks of total
unemployment in the
first four of the last five completed calendar quarters immediately
preceding the quarter in which the major disaster began. The weekly
amount so determined, if not an even dollar amount, shall be rounded to
the next higher dollar.
(d) In American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of
the Marshall Islands and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the
amount of DUA payable to an unemployed worker or unemployed self-
employed individual for a week of total unemployment shall be the amount
agreed upon by the Regional Administrator, Employment and Training
Administration, for Region IX (San Francisco), and the Federal
Coordinating Officer, which shall approximate 50 percent of the area-
wide average of the weekly wages paid to individuals in the major
disaster area in the quarter immediately preceding the quarter in which
the major disaster began. The weekly amount so determined, if not an
even dollar amount, shall be rounded to the next higher dollar.
(e) The State agency shall immediately determine, upon the filing of
an initial application for DUA, a weekly amount under the provisions of
paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section, as the case may be, based on
the individual's statement of employment or self-employment preceding
the individual's unemployment that was a direct result of the major
disaster, and wages earned or paid for such employment or self-
employment. An immediate determination of a weekly amount shall also be
made where, in conjunction with the filing of an initial application for
DUA, the individual submits documentation substantiating employment or
self-employment and wages earned or paid for such employment or self-
employment, or, in the absence of documentation, where any State agency
records of employment or self-employment and wages earned or paid for
such employment or self-employment, justify the determination of a
weekly amount. An immediate determination shall also be made based on
the individual's statement or in conjunction with the submittal of
documentation in those cases where the individual was to commence
employment or self-employment on or after the date the major disaster
began but was prevented from doing so as a direct result of the
disaster.
(1) In the case of a weekly amount determined in accordance with
paragraph (e) of this section, based only on the individual's statement
of earnings, the individual shall furnish documentation to substantiate
the employment or self-employment or wages earned from or paid for such
employment or self-employment or documentation to support that the
individual was to commence employment or self-employment on or after the
date the major disaster began. In either case, documentation shall be
submitted within 21 calendar days of the filing of the initial
application for DUA.
(2) Any individual who fails to submit documentation to substantiate
employment or self-employment or the planned commencement of employment
or self-employment in accordance with paragraph (e)(1) of this section,
shall be determined ineligible for the payment of DUA for any week of
unemployment due to the disaster. Any weeks for which DUA was already
paid on the application prior to the date of the determination of
ineligibility under this paragraph (e)(2) are overpaid and a
determination shall be issued in accordance with Sec. 625.14(a). In
addition, the State agency shall consider whether the individual is
subject to a disqualification for fraud in accordance with the
provisions set forth in Sec. 625.14(i).
(3) For purposes of a computation of a weekly amount under paragraph
(a) of this section, if an individual submits documentation to
substantiate employment or self-employment in accordance with paragraph
(e)(1), but not documentation of wages earned or paid during the base
period set forth in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, including those
cases where the individual has not filed a tax return for the most
recent tax year that has ended, the State agency shall immediately
redetermine the weekly amount of DUA payable to the individual in
accordance with paragraph (b) of this section.
(4) Any individual determined eligible for a weekly amount of DUA
under the provisions of paragraph (e)(3) of
this section may submit necessary documentation to substantiate wages
earned or paid during the base period set forth in paragraph (a)(2) of
this section, including those cases where the individual has not filed a
tax return for the most recent tax year that has ended, at any time
prior to the end of the disaster assistance period. A redetermination of
the weekly amount payable, as previously determined under paragraph (b)
of this section, shall immediately be made if the wages earned or paid
for services performed in employment or self-employment reflected in
such documentation is sufficient to permit a computation under paragraph
(a) of this section of a weekly amount higher than was determined under
paragraph (b) of this section. Any higher amount so determined shall be
applicable to all weeks during the disaster assistance period for which
the individual was eligible for the payment of DUA.
(f)(1) The weekly amount of DUA payable to an unemployed worker or
unemployed self-employed individual for a week of partial or part-total
unemployment shall be the weekly amount determined under paragraph (a),
(b), (c) or (d) of this section, as the case may be, reduced (but not
below zero) by the amount of wages that the individual earned in that
week as determined by applying to such wages the earnings allowance for
partial or part-total employment prescribed by the applicable State law.
(2) The weekly amount of DUA payable to an unemployed self-employed
individual for a week of unemployment shall be the weekly amount
determined under paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) of this section, as the
case may be, reduced (but not below zero) by the full amount of any
income received during the week for the performance of services in self-
employment, regardless of whether or not any services were performed
during the week, by applying the earnings allowance as set forth in
paragraph (f)(1) of this section. Notwithstanding the definition of
``wages'' for a self-employed individual under Sec. 625.2(u), the term
``any income'' for purposes of this paragraph (f)(2) means gross income.
[60 FR 25568, May 11, 1995]
