Section 52-06-04 - Weekly benefit amount - Average annual wage - Average weekly wage - Minimum weekly benefit amount - Maximum weekly benefit amount - Qualifying wage - Insured worker and insured work defined1. The procedures, provisions, and conditions of this section must determine the "weekly benefit amount" of those individuals who establish a benefit year: a. For the purpose of this section, the bureau shall each year, on or before the first day of June, determine the average annual wage paid to insured workers and, from that determination, an "average weekly wage", by the following computation: The total wages reported on contribution reports for the preceding calendar year must be divided by the average monthly number of covered workers, whose number must be determined by dividing by twelve the total covered employment reported on contribution reports for the preceding calendar year, and the quotient obtained by dividing the total wages by the average monthly number of covered workers is the average annual wage; and such quotient must be divided by fifty-two and the amount thus obtained, rounded to the nearest cent, is the "average weekly wage".
b. An individual's "weekly benefit amount" is one sixty-fifth, if not a multiple of one dollar to be computed to the next lower multiple of one dollar, of the sum of: (1) The individual's total wages for insured work paid during the two quarters of the individual's base period in which the individual's wages were the highest; and(2) One-half of the individual's total wages for insured work paid during the third highest quarter in the individual's base period. However, if that amount is less than the "minimum weekly benefit amount" the individual is monetarily ineligible for benefits. The "minimum weekly benefit amount" is forty-three dollars. The "maximum weekly benefit amount" is sixty-two percent of the "average weekly wage", rounded to the next lower multiple of one dollar if not a multiple of one dollar. However, if on October first of any calendar year this state's average contribution rate is below the nationwide average for the preceding calendar year, the maximum weekly benefit amount is sixty-five percent of the "average weekly wage", rounded to the next lower multiple of one dollar if not a multiple of one dollar.
2. To qualify as an insured worker an individual must have been paid wages for insured work in at least two calendar quarters of the individual's base period totaling not less than one and one-half times the individual's total wages paid during the quarter of the individual's base period in which the individual's wages were the highest. However, the wage credits of an individual earned during the period commencing with the end of the prior base period and ending on the date on which the individual filed a valid claim are not available for benefit purposes in a subsequent benefit year unless, in addition thereto, the individual has subsequently earned wages for insured work in an amount equal to at least ten times the individual's current weekly benefit amount. Base-period wages used to determine an individual's monetary eligibility under this subsection, as a result of the following employment, may not exceed ten times the individual's weekly benefit amount:a. Employment by a partnership, if one-fourth or greater ownership interest in the partnership is or during such employment was owned or controlled, directly or indirectly by the individual's spouse or child, or by the individual's parent if the individual is under age eighteen, or by a combination of two or more of them.b. Employment by a corporation, if one-fourth or more of the ownership interest, however designated or evidenced in the corporation is or during such employment was owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the individual or by the individual's spouse or child, or by the individual's parent if the individual is under age eighteen, or by a combination of two or more of them.c. Employment by a limited liability company, if one-fourth or more of the ownership interest, however designated or evidenced in the limited liability company is or during such employment was owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the individual's spouse or child, or by the individual's parent if the individual is under eighteen, or by a combination of two or more of them.d. The exceptions in subdivisions a, b, and c do not apply if, at the time of making the claim, the ownership interest described in those subdivisions has been ceded. An ownership interest is ceded within the meaning of this subdivision if:(1) The appropriate official of the partnership, corporation, or limited liability company has officially filed articles of dissolution, a notice of intent to dissolve, or a notice of termination with the secretary of state, and presents proof of that filing to job service North Dakota;(2) The appropriate official of the corporation has received a certificate of dissolution from the secretary of state;(3) The partnership, corporation, or limited liability company has sold or otherwise transferred to uninvolved third parties substantially all the assets of the partnership, corporation, or limited liability company with an intent to end the business operation and terminate or dissolve the partnership, corporation, or limited liability company. As used in this subdivision, "uninvolved third parties" excludes all relatives of the partners, directors, members of a board of governors, or substantial stockholders or holders of a substantial membership interest in a limited liability company; and excludes any corporation, limited liability company, or partnership, in which the relative holds a one-fourth or greater ownership interest. As used in this paragraph, "relative" means the following persons whether related by blood, marriage, or adoption: grandparents, parents, siblings, spouses, children, grandchildren, uncles, aunts, and first cousins; or(4) Substantially all of the assets of the partnership, corporation, or limited liability company have been legally seized by creditors rendering the business incapable of further operation.3. With respect to weeks of unemployment beginning on or after January 1, 1978, wages for insured work shall include wages paid for previously uncovered services. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "previously uncovered services" means services: a. Which were not employment as defined in subsection 17 of section 52-01-01 and were not services covered pursuant to section 52-05-03 at any time during the one-year period ending December 31, 1975; andb. Which are: (1) Agricultural labor as defined in subdivision m of subsection 17 of section 52-01-01, or domestic service as defined in subdivision n of subsection 17 of section 52-01-01; or(2) Services performed by an employee of this state or a political subdivision thereof, as provided in subdivision f of subsection 17 of section 52-01-01, or by an employee of a nonprofit educational institution which is not an institution of higher education, as provided in paragraph 3 of subdivision h of subsection 17 of section 52-01-01; except to the extent that assistance under title II of the Emergency Jobs and Unemployment Assistance Act of 1974 was paid on the basis of such services.4. For the purpose of the North Dakota unemployment compensation law, the term "insured worker" means an individual who, with respect to a base period, meets the wage and employment requirements of this chapter and "insured worker" means employment for "employers".