Title 56 IDES RULES Part 2865
R-161 (05/11)
2) Example: Same facts as in example above but, prior to working as a parking lot attendant, the individual worked
as a short-order cook. In addition to, or instead of, seeking work as a parking lot attendant, he should seek work
as a short-order cook, or other work for which he is qualified; otherwise, he would be determined to be not
actively seeking work.
f) Whether or not the individual is actively seeking work is determined by the quality of his efforts; although the
quantity of job contacts should be considered, it is not necessarily determinative of an active search for work. The
methods that the individual uses to contact employers should be examined in light of those customarily used to
obtain work in the occupation.
1) Example: The individual seeks work as a retail sales clerk. On a Monday morning, she visits a shopping mall,
where she applies for work at seven stores and is rejected by each. For the rest of the week, she makes no effort
to find work. This individual would be determined to be not actively seeking work, despite having made seven
job contacts in one day.
2) Example: The individual, a cash-flow specialist, last worked for a major corporation, and was directly
accountable to the highest corporate officers. After being unemployed for one month, she contacts a friend who
works for a company located in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. On Monday, the claimant travels to Woonsocket.
On Tuesday, she begins the interviewing process, meeting the manager of human resources. On Wednesday
morning, she is interviewed by a budget analyst. That evening, there is a dinner-interview with two vice-presidents,
who tell her they will speak with the president, then get back to her the next day or the day after. The
claimant stays in Woonsocket until Friday, at which time she is told she will not be offered a job. The claimant
would be determined to have been actively seeking work, despite this being her only job contact.
3) Example: The individual states that he is currently seeking work as a day laborer or in food service. He contacts
prospective employers by telephone, exclusively. Because, as a practical matter, many day laborer and food
service positions are filled by persons making applications in-person, this individual would be determined to be
not actively seeking work.
g) The best evidence that an individual is "actively seeking work" is that he readily secures work, based upon his
efforts.
Example: The individual last worked as assistant manager of a shoe store. During his first week of
unemployment, he prepares a resume and mails 100 copies to retail establishments. The next week, he mails
another 100 resumes. As a result of his mailings, and no other efforts, he readily obtains work. This individual
would be determined to have been actively seeking work during the weeks under review.
h) There is a rebuttable presumption that an individual is not actively seeking work if he was last employed by a
"temporary help firm," as defined in Section 2865.1, and the temporary help firm submits a notice of possible
ineligibility (see Section 2720.130) alleging that, during the week for which he claimed benefits, the individual did
not contact the temporary help firm for an assignment. The presumption is rebutted if the individual shows that he
did contact the temporary help firm or that he had good cause for his failure to contact the temporary help firm for
an assignment.
1) Example: An individual completes an assignment on Friday and does not contact the temporary help firm
during the next week, for which he claims benefits. The individual states that he did not contact the temporary
help firm because he did not remember the firm's telephone number, even though the number was listed in the
telephone book. This is not good cause. On the basis of his failure to contact the temporary help firm, he is not
actively seeking work.
2) Example: An individual completes an assignment on Monday, reports to his Local Office on Tuesday, and does
not contact the temporary help firm the remainder of the week. The individual did not contact the temporary
help firm because he had already accepted an assignment from the temporary help firm for the following
Monday and had been told by the temporary help firm that there were no other assignments until then. This is
good cause and he is not ineligible on the basis of not contacting the temporary help firm.
