Ariz. Admin. Code § R6-3-52500 - Wages (able and Available 500)

A. A claimant should understand the import of any statement he makes regarding acceptable wages, and be aware of the prevailing rate. When it has been determined that a claimant has restricted the wages acceptable to him, an evaluation of the claimant's wage requirement is necessary to determine whether he is employable at the specified wage. The claimant's work history showing higher earnings and his possession of unusual abilities might result in employment at wages in excess of the prevailing rate. A claimant should be given a reasonable time in which to seek employment yielding comparable earnings, especially when the higher earnings appear due to superior ability. However, in time, when his continued unemployment clearly demonstrates that he must accept the prevailing rate if he is to obtain work in the particular locality, his refusal to accept the prevailing rate would render him unavailable for work.

B. In the absence of special circumstances, work at wages prevailing for his occupation in the community may be considered suitable for the claimant. Whether refusal of such work would render him unavailable depends upon whether such refusal results in his being inaccessible to a substantial number of work opportunities which the community affords. The fact that his restriction excludes some opportunities for suitable work is not conclusive that he is unavailable for work. If work in the particular locality in a particular occupation is quite standardized as to terms of employment and the vast majority of the local establishments provide rather uniform rates of pay for work in the claimant's occupation, a claimant's insistence upon higher wages for such work may result in his having only the slightest chance of becoming employed. Such a claimant would not be available for work.

C. In restricting acceptable wages to his former rate of pay, the claimant's availability is not impaired if there are reasonable prospects of reemployment at that figure in the near future.

D. A claimant who insists on union wages in a community where the union of which he is a member has agreements covering a substantial percentage of the jobs in the locality is not unduly restricting his availability. However, in a community where the union scale covers a very small percentage of jobs, such a restriction may render a claimant unavailable for work.

E. Claimants sometimes profess willingness to accept the prevailing wage scale on condition that they are guaranteed a higher wage by reason of overtime; a 48 rather than a 40-hour week; bonuses of one kind or another; or on condition they are guaranteed immediate promotion to a higher scale. Unless there is a substantial percentage of jobs in the locality subject to those conditions, the claimant is unavailable for work. (For a discussion of the method of determining prevailing wages, refer to R6-3-53500(B) of these rules.)

Notes

Ariz. Admin. Code § R6-3-52500

Former rule number Able and Available 500. Former rule repealed, new Section R6-3-52500 adopted effective January 24, 1977 (Supp. 77-1).