As an unemployed person trying to receive benefits, you must be able to available for work. You cannot refuse ‘suitable work’, or work you have experience in that will pay you the same or above the rate of pay that you were earning before.

If you receive unemployment benefits, you must continue to put forth the effort to secure work. You will have to file out job applications, go on interviews and accept a job if offered to you. Most states ask you to file for the benefit each week and you will have show proof that you are looking for work. The unemployed worker’s health must be good enough for work within the area.

You must not have personal circumstances which prevent you from applying for a job and accepting a job when offered. Some examples of circumstances that may prevent you from being available for work include, but are not limited to:

Inadequate child care;
Lack of adequate transportation;
Lack of tools required to perform the job;
Unwillingness or inability to work the days and hours customarily required by the type of work; and,
A personal decision to attend school not designated as approved training by the Division.
If you are in good standing with a hiring hall union and reporting for job call as directed, those on temporary lay-off with a definite date to return to work as defined by the employer and approved by the Division and persons attending a training or educational program designated as approved by the Division are considered available for work.

Must Not Refuse Suitable Work:

You must accept an offer of suitable employment when made and must go on referrals for work. Suitable work is defined as work which you have performed and that pays the prevailing (average) wage for that type of work in the area that the work is being performed. If you have held a job for a long time and then become unemployed you may have difficulty, as your wages likely exceed the average wage paid for that type of work. It is not designed to allow anyone to refuse lower-paying positions until you secure a job with 100% wage replacement.