Section 41-31-52 - Benefits for seasonal workersEffective with claims filed on or after January 1, 2012:
(1) A seasonal pursuit is one which, because of seasonal conditions making it impracticable or impossible to do otherwise, customarily carries on production operations only within a regularly recurring active period or periods of less than an aggregate of thirty-six weeks in a calendar year. No pursuit shall be considered seasonal until the department makes a determination that the pursuit is seasonal. However, any successor to a seasonal pursuit shall be deemed seasonal unless the successor requests cancellation of the seasonal pursuit status within one hundred twenty days after the acquisition. This provision shall not be applicable to pending cases nor retroactive in effect.(2) Upon application by a pursuit for seasonal pursuit status, the department shall determine or redetermine whether the pursuit is seasonal and, if seasonal, the pursuit's active period. The department may, on its own motion, redetermine a seasonal pursuit's active period. An application for a seasonal determination must be made on forms prescribed by the department and must be made at least thirty days prior to the beginning date of the period of production operations for which a determination is requested.(3) Whenever the department has determined or redetermined a pursuit to be seasonal, the pursuit shall be notified immediately, and the notice must contain the beginning and ending dates of the pursuit's active period or periods. Pursuits determined or redetermined to be a seasonal pursuit shall display notices of its seasonal determination conspicuously on its premises in a sufficient number of places to be available for inspection by its workers. The notices shall be furnished by the department.(4) A seasonal determination must become effective unless an interested party files an application for review within ten days of the beginning date of the first period of production operations to which it applies. An application for review shall be an application for a determination of status.(5) All wages paid to a seasonal worker during his base period must be used in determining his weekly benefit amount; provided, however, that all weekly benefit amounts so determined shall be rounded to the nearest lower full dollar amount, if not a full dollar amount.(6)(a) A seasonal worker is eligible to receive benefits based on seasonal wages only for a week of unemployment which occurs, or the greater part of which occurs, within the active period of the seasonal pursuit in which he earned base period wages.(b) A seasonal worker is eligible to receive benefits based on nonseasonal wages for any week of unemployment which occurs during any active period of the seasonal pursuit in which he has earned base period wages; provided he has exhausted benefits based on seasonal wages. The worker is also eligible to receive benefits based on nonseasonal wages for any week of unemployment which occurs during the inactive period or periods of the seasonal pursuit in which he earned base period wages irrespective as to whether he has exhausted benefits based on seasonal wages.(c) The maximum amount of benefits which a seasonal worker is eligible to receive, based on seasonal wages, shall be an amount, adjusted to the nearest multiple of one dollar, determined by multiplying the maximum benefits payable in his benefit year, as provided in Section 41-35-50, by the percentage obtained by dividing the seasonal wages in his base period by all of his base period wages.(d) The maximum amount of benefits which a seasonal worker is eligible to receive based on nonseasonal wages shall be an amount, adjusted to the nearest multiple of one dollar, determined by multiplying the maximum benefits payable in his benefit year, as provided in Section 41-35-50, by the percentage obtained by dividing the nonseasonal wages in his base period by all of his base period wages.(e) In no case is a seasonal worker eligible to receive a total amount of benefits in a benefit year in excess of the maximum benefits payable for such benefit year, as provided in Section 41-35-50.(7)(a) All benefits paid to a seasonal worker based on seasonal wages shall be charged, as prescribed in Section 41-31-20, against the account of his base period employer who paid him such seasonal wages, and for the purpose of this paragraph such seasonal wages shall be deemed to constitute all of his base period wages.(b) All benefits paid to a seasonal worker based on nonseasonal wages shall be charged, as prescribed in Section 41-31-20, against the account of his base period employer who paid him such nonseasonal wages, and for the purpose of this paragraph such nonseasonal wages shall be deemed to constitute all of his base period wages.(8) The benefits payable to any otherwise eligible individual shall be calculated in accordance with this section for any benefit year which is established on or after the beginning date of a seasonal determination applying to a pursuit by which such individual was employed during the base period applicable to such benefit year, as if such determination had been effective in such base period.(9) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the right of any individual whose claim for benefits is determined in accordance herewith to appeal from such determination as provided in Section 41-35-660.(10) As used in this section: (a) "Pursuit" means an employer or branch of an employer.(b) "Branch of an employer" means a part of an employer's activities which is carried on or is capable of being carried on as a separate enterprise.(c) "Production operations" means all the activities of a pursuit which are primarily related to the production of its characteristic goods or services.(d) "Active period or periods" of a seasonal pursuit means the longest regularly recurring period or periods within which production operations of the pursuit are customarily carried on.(e) "Seasonal wages" means the wages earned in a seasonal pursuit within its active period or periods. The department may prescribe by regulation the manner in which seasonal wages shall be reported.(f) "Seasonal worker" means a worker at least twenty- five percent of whose base period wages are seasonal wages.(g) "Interested party" means any individual affected by a seasonal determination.(h) "Inactive period or periods" of a seasonal pursuit means that part of a calendar year which is not included in the active period or periods of such pursuit.(i) "Nonseasonal wages" means the wages earned in a seasonal pursuit within the inactive period or periods of such pursuit, or wages earned at any time in a nonseasonal pursuit.(j) "Wages" means remuneration for employment."Added by 2011 S.C. Acts, Act No. 63 (HB 3762), s 16, eff. 6/14/2011.