45 U.S.C. § 352 Benefits

• Library: United States Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through P.L. 118-30 (published on www.congress.gov on 12/21/2023)
• Year: 2023
• Citation: 45 U.S.C. § 352

(a) Days for which benefits payable; determination of amount

(1)

(A) PAYMENT OF UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.-

(i) GENERALLY.-Except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, benefits shall be payable to any qualified employee for each day of unemployment in excess of 4 during any registration period within a period of continuing unemployment.

(ii) WAITING PERIOD FOR FIRST REGISTRATION PERIOD.-Benefits shall be payable to any qualified employee for each day of unemployment in excess of 7 during that employee's first registration period in a period of continuing unemployment if such period of continuing unemployment is the employee's initial period of continuing unemployment commencing in the benefit year.

(iii) STRIKES.-

(I) INITIAL 14-DAY WAITING PERIOD.-If the Board finds that a qualified employee has a period of continuing unemployment that includes days of unemployment due to a stoppage of work because of a strike in the establishment, premises, or enterprise at which such employee was last employed, no benefits shall be payable for such employee's first 14 days of unemployment due to such stoppage of work.

(II) SUBSEQUENT DAYS OF UNEMPLOYMENT.-For subsequent days of unemployment due to the same stoppage of work, benefits shall be payable as provided in clause (i) of this subparagraph.

(III) SUBSEQUENT PERIODS OF CONTINUING UNEMPLOYMENT.-If such period of continuing unemployment ends by reason of clause (v) but the stoppage of work continues, the waiting period established in clause (ii) shall apply to the employee's first registration period in a new period of continuing unemployment based upon the same stoppage of work.

(iv) DEFINITION OF PERIOD OF CONTINUING UNEMPLOYMENT.-Except as limited by clause (v), for the purposes of this subparagraph, the term "period of continuing unemployment" means-

(I) a single registration period that includes more than 4 days of unemployment;

(II) a series of consecutive registration periods, each of which includes more than 4 days of unemployment; or

(III) a series of successive registration periods, each of which includes more than 4 days of unemployment, if each succeeding registration period begins within 15 days after the last day of the immediately preceding registration period.

(v) SPECIAL RULE REGARDING END OF PERIOD.-For purposes of applying clause (ii), a period of continuing unemployment ends when an employee exhausts rights to unemployment benefits under subsection (c) of this section.

(vi) LIMIT ON AMOUNT OF BENEFITS.-No benefits shall be payable to an otherwise eligible employee for any day of unemployment in a registration period where the total amount of the remuneration (as defined in section 351(j) of this title) payable or accruing to him for days within such registration period exceeds the amount of the base year monthly compensation base. For purposes of the preceding sentence, an employee's remuneration shall be deemed to include the gross amount of any remuneration that would have become payable to that employee but did not become payable because that employee was not ready or willing to perform suitable work available to that employee on any day within such registration period.

(B) PAYMENT OF SICKNESS BENEFITS.-

(i) GENERALLY.-Except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, benefits shall be payable to any qualified employee for each day of sickness after the 4th consecutive day of sickness in a period of continuing sickness but excluding 4 days of sickness in any registration period in such period of continuing sickness.

(ii) WAITING PERIOD FOR FIRST REGISTRATION PERIOD.-Benefits shall be payable to any qualified employee for each day of sickness in excess of 7 during that employee's first registration period in a period of continuing sickness if such period of continuing sickness is the employee's initial period of continuing sickness commencing in the benefit year. For the purposes of this clause, the first registration period in a period of continuing sickness is that registration period that first begins with 4 consecutive days of sickness and includes more than 4 days of sickness.

(iii) DEFINITION OF PERIOD OF CONTINUING SICKNESS.-For the purposes of this subparagraph, a period of continuing sickness means-

(I) a period of consecutive days of sickness, whether from 1 or more causes; or

(II) a period of successive days of sickness due to a single cause without interruption of more than 90 consecutive days which are not days of sickness.

(iv) SPECIAL RULE REGARDING END OF PERIOD.-For purposes of applying clause (ii), a period of continuing sickness ends when an employee exhausts rights to sickness benefits under subsection (c) of this section.

(2) The daily benefit rate with respect to any such employee for such day of unemployment or sickness shall be in an amount equal to 60 per centum of the daily rate of compensation for the employee's last employment in which he engaged for an employer in the base year, but not less than $12.70: Provided, however, That for registration periods beginning after June 30, 1975, but before July 1, 1976, such amount shall not exceed $24 per day of such unemployment or sickness, that for registration periods beginning after June 30, 1976, but before July 1, 1988, such amount shall not exceed $25 per day of such unemployment or sickness, that for registration periods beginning after June 30, 1988, but before July 1, 1989, such amount shall not exceed $30 per day of unemployment or sickness, and that for registration periods beginning after June 30, 1989, such amount shall not exceed the maximum daily benefit rate provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection. The daily rate of compensation referred to in this paragraph shall be determined by the Board on the basis of information furnished to the Board by the employee, his employer, or both.

(3) The maximum daily benefit rate computed by the Board under section 362(r)(2) of this title shall be the product of the monthly compensation base, as computed under section 351(i)(2) of this title for the base year immediately preceding the beginning of the benefit year, multiplied by 5 percent. If the maximum daily benefit rate so computed is not a multiple of $1, it shall be rounded down to the nearest multiple of $1.

(4) In computing benefits to be paid, days of unemployment shall not be combined with days of sickness in the same registration period.

(5)

(A) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), subsection (c)(1)(B), and any other limitation on total benefits in this chapter, for registration periods beginning on or after April 1, 2020, but on or before July 31, 2020, and for registration periods beginning after December 26, 2020, but on or before September 6, 2021, a recovery benefit shall be payable to a qualified employee with respect to any registration period in which the employee received unemployment benefits under paragraph (1)(A), and in any registration period in which the employee did not receive unemployment benefits due to the limitation in subsection (c)(1)(B) or due to reaching the maximum number of days of benefits in the benefit year beginning July 1, 2019, or July 1, 2020, or July 1, 2021, under subsection (c)(1)(A). No recovery benefits shall be payable under this section upon the exhaustion of the funds appropriated under subparagraph (B) for payment of benefits under this subparagraph. For registration periods beginning on or after April 1, 2020, but on or before July 31, 2020, the recovery benefit payable under this subparagraph shall be in the amount of $1,200. For registration periods beginning after December 26, 2020, but on or before September 6, 2021, the recovery benefit payable under this subparagraph shall be in the amount of $600.

(B) Out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated $425,000,000 to cover the cost of recovery benefits provided under subparagraph (A), to remain available until expended.

(b) Time of payments

The benefits provided for in this section shall be paid to an employee at such reasonable intervals as the Board may prescribe.

(c) Maximum number of days for benefits

(1) Normal benefits

(A) Generally

The maximum number of days of unemployment within a benefit year for which benefits may be paid to an employee shall be 130, and the maximum number of days of sickness within a benefit year for which benefits may be paid to an employee shall be 130.

(B) Limitation

The total amount of benefits that may be paid to an employee for days of unemployment within a benefit year shall in no case exceed the employee's compensation in the base year; and the total amount of benefits that may be paid to an employee for days of sickness within a benefit year shall in no case exceed the employee's compensation in the base year, except that notwithstanding section 351(i) of this title, in determining the employee's compensation in the base year for the purpose of this sentence, any money remuneration paid to the employee for services rendered as an employee shall be taken into account that is not in excess of an amount that bears the same ratio to $775 as the monthly compensation base for that year as computed under section 351(i) of this title bears to $600.

(2) Extended benefits

(A) Generally

With respect to an employee who has 10 or more years of service as defined in section 231(f) of this title, who did not voluntarily retire and (in a case involving exhaustion of rights to normal benefits for days of unemployment) did not voluntarily leave work without good cause, and who had current rights to normal benefits for days of unemployment or days of sickness in a benefit year but has exhausted such rights, the benefit year in which such rights are exhausted shall be deemed not to be ended until the last day of the extended benefit period determined under this paragraph, and extended unemployment benefits or extended sickness benefits (depending on the type of normal benefit rights exhausted) may be paid for not more than 65 days of unemployment or 65 days of sickness within such extended benefit period.