(1) Any unemployed individual
shall be eligible to receive benefits with respect to any week only if the division
finds that:
(a) (I) He or she has registered for work at and thereafter has continued to
report at an employment office in accordance with such regulations as the director
of the division may prescribe; except that the director of the division, by regulation,
may waive or alter either or both of the requirements of this subparagraph (I) as to
individuals attached to regular jobs and as to such other types of cases or
situations with respect to which the director of the division finds that compliance
with such requirements would be oppressive, or would be inconsistent with the
purposes of articles 70 to 82 of this title, but that no such regulation shall conflict
with section 8-73-101.
(II) Without in any way limiting the authority of the director of the division to
waive or alter the requirements of subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a), during the
period of the national economic recession that began in 2008, in order to assist
unemployed individuals in being available for appropriate jobs and to assist
employers in having available trained employees, the director of the division shall
waive or alter such requirements so that individuals attached to regular jobs do not
have to comply with the requirements of subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a) for a
period of twenty-six weeks.
(b) He has made a claim for benefits in accordance with the provisions of
section 8-74-101;
(c) (I) The individual is able to work and is available for all work deemed
suitable pursuant to the provisions of section 8-73-108, and, with respect thereto:
(A) Decisions of the division regarding the ability of the claimant to work, the
availability of the claimant for work, and the claimant's active search for work may
be appealed by the claimant or by any employer whose account may be charged
with any benefits paid pursuant to such decision, if the appeal is received within
twenty calendar days, as defined in section 8-70-103 (5), after the date on the
notice of any such decision;
(B) A potentially chargeable employer may protest on the basis of inability to
work, nonavailability for work, or failure to search for work within fifteen calendar
days after the date on which he discovers such a condition to exist, within thirty
days after the date on which payment was made for the week during which the
claimant is alleged to have been unable to work or unavailable for work, or within
sixty calendar days after the mailing date of the report of quarterly benefit
charges, whichever comes first;
(C) No individual shall be considered available for work during any week in
which he has no reasonable expectation of securing employment in his usual
occupation or in an occupation for which he is reasonably qualified as a result of his
movement to an area;
(D) No individual shall be denied benefits because of nonavailability or
failure to make an active search for work solely due to his compliance with a
summons to report for jury duty. Remuneration received in connection with such
duty shall not be considered wages, as defined in section 8-70-141 (1)(a), and the
individual's weekly benefit amount shall not be reduced as prescribed in section 8-73-102 (4).
(E) If an individual left employment because of health-related reasons, the
division may require a written medical statement issued by a licensed practicing
physician or licensed practicing physician assistant authorized under section 12-240-107 (6) addressing any matters related to health.
(II) Nothing in this paragraph (c) shall prevent the division from reviewing and
redetermining any decision at any time if the redetermination is based upon facts
not known to the division at the time of its original decision.
(d) Repealed.
(e) The individual has during his or her base period been paid wages for
insured work equal to not less than forty times such individual's weekly benefit
amount or two thousand five hundred dollars, whichever is greater. For the
purposes of this paragraph (e), wages shall be counted as wages for insured work
for benefit purposes with respect to any benefit year only if such benefit year
comes subsequent to the date on which the employing unit by whom such wages
were paid has satisfied the conditions of sections 8-70-113, 8-76-104, and 8-76-107
with respect to becoming an employer.
(f) His total wages earned for the week are less than his weekly benefit
amount;
(g) (I) He or she is actively seeking work. In determining whether the claimant
is actively seeking work, the division, taking notice of the customary methods of
obtaining work in the claimant's usual occupation, or any occupation for which he or
she is reasonably qualified, and the current condition of the labor market, shall
consider, but shall not be limited to a consideration of, whether, during said week,
the claimant followed a course of action that was reasonably designed to result in
his or her prompt reemployment in suitable work.
(II) This paragraph (g) shall not apply to a person determined eligible to
receive benefits pursuant to section 8-73-108 (4)(r)(I) for the first fifteen business
days after a claim for benefits is filed if compliance with this paragraph (g) would:
(A) Make it more difficult for the person to escape domestic abuse; or
(B) Unfairly penalize a person who is or has been a victim of domestic abuse
or is at further risk of domestic abuse.
(h) The individual has furnished the division with separation and other reports
containing the information deemed necessary by the division to determine the
individual's eligibility for benefits, but this provision shall not apply if the individual
proves to the satisfaction of the division that he or she had good cause for failing to
furnish such reports. The eligibility of any individual shall not be affected by the
refusal or failure of an employer to furnish reports concerning separation and
employment as required by articles 70 to 82 of this title and the rules pursuant
thereto, and the division shall determine the eligibility of such individual upon the
basis of such information it may obtain; and any employer who fails or refuses to
furnish reports concerning separation and employment shall cease to be an
interested party to the separation issue directly related to determinations made in
accordance with section 8-73-108 (4) and (5)(e). For each instance of failure to
furnish the division with such reports, the employer, unless good cause to the
contrary is shown to the satisfaction of the division, may be assessed a penalty of
twenty-five dollars, which shall be collected in the same manner as premiums due
under articles 70 to 82 of this title.
(i) It is not, in whole or in part, within a period during which the worker is not
working due to a disciplinary suspension as provided in the contract of employment;
(j) Such individual is not absent from work due to an authorized and approved
voluntary leave of absence.
(2) An individual who has received compensation during the individual's
benefit year is required to have worked for an employer as defined in section 8-70-113 since the beginning of such year and to have earned at least two thousand
dollars as remuneration for such employment in order to qualify for compensation
in the next benefit year.
(3) For the purpose of this subsection (3), educational institution includes
the Colorado school for the deaf and the blind; except that such term does not
include a headstart program that is not a part of a school administered by a board
of education because such headstart employees are not subject to the same
employment conditions as other employees of the school. Compensation is payable
on the basis of services to which sections 8-70-119, 8-70-125, and 8-70-125.5 apply
in the same amount, on the same terms, and subject to the same conditions as
compensation payable on the basis of other services subject to articles 70 to 82 of
this title; except that:
(a) With respect to services in an instructional, research, or principal
administrative capacity for an educational institution, compensation shall not be
payable based on such services for any week commencing during the period
between two successive academic years or terms (or when an agreement provides
instead for a similar period between two regular but not successive terms, during
such period) to any individual if such individual performs such services in the first of
such academic years or terms and if there is a contract or reasonable assurance
that such individual will perform services in any such capacity for any educational
institution in the second of such academic years or terms;
(b) With respect to services in any other capacity, for an educational
institution compensation payable on the basis of such services shall be denied to
any individual for any week which commences during a period between two
successive academic years or terms or periods described in paragraph (c) of this
subsection (3) if such individual performs such services in the first of such
academic years, terms, or periods and there is a reasonable assurance that such
individual will perform such services in the second of such academic years, terms,
or periods; except that, if compensation is denied to any individual for any week
under this paragraph (b) and such individual was not offered, an opportunity to
perform such services for the educational institution for the second of such
academic years, terms, or periods, such individual shall be entitled to a retroactive
payment of the compensation for each week for which the individual filed a timely
claim for compensation and for which compensation was denied solely by reason of
this paragraph (b);
(c) With respect to any services described in paragraph (a) or (b) of this
subsection (3), compensation payable on the basis of such services shall be denied
to any individual for any week which commences during an established and
customary vacation period or holiday recess if such individual performs such
services in the period immediately before such vacation period or holiday recess
and if there is a reasonable assurance that such individual will perform such
services in the period immediately following such vacation period or holiday recess;
(d) With respect to any services described in paragraph (a) or (b) of this
subsection (3), compensation payable on the basis of services in any such capacity
shall be denied as specified in paragraph (a), (b), or (c) of this subsection (3) to any
individual who performed such services in an educational institution while in the
employ of an educational service agency. For the purpose of this paragraph (d), the
term educational service agency means a governmental agency or governmental
entity, such as that created by the Boards of Cooperative Services Act of 1965,
article 5 of title 22, C.R.S., which is established and operated exclusively for the
purpose of providing such services to one or more educational institutions.
(e) With respect to any services described in paragraph (a) of this subsection
(3), compensation payable on the basis of such services shall be denied to any
individual for any week during a period of paid or unpaid sabbatical or other
voluntary leave provided for in the individual's contract if such individual performs
such services in the academic year or term immediately preceding the beginning of
sabbatical or other voluntary leave and if there is a contract or reasonable
assurance that such individual will perform such services in the academic year or
term following the end of the sabbatical or other voluntary leave;
(f) With respect to services to which section 8-70-140 applies, if such
services are provided to or on behalf of an educational institution, benefits shall not
be payable under the same circumstances and subject to the same terms and
conditions as described in paragraphs (a) to (d) of this subsection (3).
(4) (a) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, no otherwise
eligible individual shall be denied benefits for any week because he is in training
with the approval of the division, nor shall such individual be denied benefits by
reason of the application of provisions in paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of this
section relating to availability for work, the provisions of paragraph (g) of
subsection (1) of this section relating to active search for work, or the provisions of
section 8-73-108 relating to failure to apply for, or a refusal to accept, suitable
work with respect to any week in which he is in training with the approval of the
division.
(b) (Deleted by amendment, L. 98, p. 89, � 3, effective March 23, 1998.)
(5) Repealed.
(6) Benefits shall not be paid to any individual on the basis of any services,
substantially all of which consist of participating in sports or athletic events or
training or preparing to so participate, for any week which commences during the
period between two successive sport seasons (or similar periods) if such individual
performed such services in the first of such seasons (or similar periods) and there is
a reasonable assurance that such individual will perform such services in the latter
of such seasons (or similar periods).
(7) (a) Benefits shall not be payable on the basis of services performed by an
alien unless such alien is an individual who was lawfully admitted for permanent
residence at the time such services were performed, or was lawfully present for
purposes of performing such services, or was permanently residing in the United
States under color of law at the time such services were performed. For purposes
of the Colorado Employment Security Act:
(I) An alien shall be considered to be lawfully admitted for permanent
residence only if the alien has been granted status under section 101 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. sec. 1101 (a)(20);
(II) An alien shall be considered to be lawfully present for purposes of
performing services only if the alien is an alien who possesses work authorization
or has been lawfully admitted to temporary residence under section 245 (a) or
section 210 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. sec. 1255(a) and 8
U.S.C. sec. 1160, respectively;
(III) An alien shall be considered to be permanently residing in the United
States under color of law only if the alien is:
(A) An alien admitted as a refugee under section 207 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. sec. 1157, in effect after March 31, 1980;
(B) An alien granted asylum by the attorney general of the United States
under section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. sec. 1158;
(C) An alien granted a parole into the United States for an indefinite period
under section 212 (d)(5)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. sec.
1182 (d)(5)(B);
(D) An alien granted the status as a conditional entrant refugee under
section 203 (a)(7) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. sec. 1153 (a)(7),
in effect prior to March 31, 1980; or
(E) An alien who has been formally granted deferred action status by the
immigration and naturalization service, or any successor agency.
(b) Any data or information required of individuals applying for benefits to
determine whether benefits are not payable to them because of their alien status
shall be uniformly required from all applicants for benefits.
(c) In the case of an individual whose application for benefits would
otherwise be approved, no determination that benefits to such individual are not
payable because of his alien status shall be made except upon a preponderance of
the evidence.
Source: L. 36, 3rd Ex. Sess.: p. 18, � 4. L. 37: p. 1254, � 2. CSA: C. 167A, � 4. L.
39: p. 570, � 2. L. 41: p. 765, � 4. L. 43: p. 601, � 2. L. 45: p. 712, � 1. L. 47: p. 886, � 2. L. 49: p. 722, � 2. L. 51: p. 807, � 2. L. 53: p. 623, �� 2-4. CRS 53: � 82-4-8. L. 55: p.
533, � 1. C.R.S. 1963: � 82-4-7. L. 65: p. 832, � 4. L. 71: p. 932, � 7. L. 73: p. 959, � 7. L. 75: (3) amended, p. 322, � 3, effective June 20. L. 76: (3) amended, p. 360, � 2,
effective April 20; (3) amended, p. 339, � 11, effective October 1. L. 77: (5), (6), and
(7) added, p. 463, � 14, effective July 1; (3) repealed, p. 471, � 27, effective January 1,
1978. L. 79: (1)(c) and (7)(a) R&RE, (1)(d)(I) amended, (3) RC&RE, and (5) repealed, pp.
346, 347, 356, �� 7, 8, 9, 25, effective September 30. L. 81: (1)(h) amended, p. 492, �
6, effective July 1; (3) amended, p. 511, � 1, effective July 1. L. 82: (1)(e) and (2)
amended, p. 236, � 3, effective July 1. L. 83: (3)(b) amended, p. 436, � 5, effective
April 12. L. 84: (2) R&RE, p. 317, � 6, effective July 1; (3)(e) amended, p. 323, � 1,
effective July 1. L. 85: (3)(e) amended, p. 1358, � 4, effective June 28; (1)(h) and (7)(a)
amended, p. 366, � 3, effective July 1. L. 86: (1)(a) amended, p. 489, � 89, effective
July 1; (3)(f) added and IP(7)(a) amended, p. 542, �� 4, 5, effective July 1. L. 87: (4)
amended, p. 406, � 1, effective May 16. L. 89: (1)(h) and (2) amended, p. 425, � 3,
effective July 1. L. 90: (1)(c)(I)(A), (1)(c)(I)(D), (1)(e), (2), IP(3) and (3)(f) amended, p.
603, � 6, effective April 3; (7)(a) amended, p. 609, � 7, effective April 16. L. 92: (1)(c)(I)(B) and (1)(h) amended, p. 1793, � 2, effective April 10. L. 98: IP(1)(d), (2), and
(4)(b) amended, p. 89, � 3, effective March 23. L. 99: (1)(e) amended, p. 634, � 1,
effective August 4; (1)(c)(I)(E) and (1)(j) added, p. 396, �� 1, 2, effective August 15. L.
2001: IP(3) amended, p. 1548, � 4, effective December 21, 2000. L. 2005: (1)(g)
amended, p. 319, � 1, effective August 8. L. 2007: IP(1)(c)(I) and (1)(c)(I)(A) amended,
p. 802, � 2, effective August 3. L. 2009: (1)(a) amended, (SB 09-178), ch. 268, p.
1220, � 1, effective May 18; (1)(h) amended, (HB 09-1363), ch. 363, p. 1883, � 10,
effective July 1. L. 2011: (7)(a)(III)(E) amended, (HB 11-1303), ch. 264, p. 1149, � 5,
effective August 10. L. 2016: (1)(c)(I)(E) amended, (SB 16-158), ch. 204, p. 720, � 4,
effective August 10. L. 2019: (1)(c)(I)(E) amended, (HB 19-1172), ch. 136, p. 1648, � 25,
effective October 1. L. 2022: (1)(d) amended, (SB 22-234), ch. 224, p. 1613, � 3,
effective May 25.