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An Act Regarding Unemployment Compensation for Full-time Seasonal Workers
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  26 MRSA §1192, sub-§3, ¶B  is enacted to read:
 
B.  Notwithstanding this subsection, beginning October 1, 2017, an individual who is available for full-time work as required by this subsection is not disqualified from receiving benefits if the individual has a verifiable guarantee of returning to employment from the individual's most recent employer and:
 
(1) The individual's most recent employer offers or is providing the individual full-time yearly benefits;
 
(2) The individual is not receiving vacation pay or other compensation from the individual's most recent employer other than benefits under subparagraph (1); and
 
(3) The individual is available for recall to employment by the individual's most recent employer.
 
Benefits must be terminated for an individual under this paragraph who refuses recall to employment under subparagraph (3) or seeks employment from another employer. An individual under this paragraph otherwise eligible for benefits is not required to register for work under subsection 2 or to fulfill any other requirements to seek employment or receive training under this chapter.
Sec. 2. Rulemaking. The Department of Labor shall adopt rules to implement this Act, including defining requirements necessary to grant an individual the status of holding a "verifiable guarantee" that the individual may return to employment. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
 
SUMMARY
This bill allows an unemployed individual to receive unemployment benefits without registering for work or looking for employment if the individual has a verifiable guarantee to return to employment from the individual's most recent employer and the individual is available for recall and is receiving full-time yearly benefits but is not receiving vacation pay.