D.C. Code Ann. § 51-110; D.C. Mun. Regs. Tit. 7, § 312 – Unemployment Compensation
(a) For weeks commencing after March 15, 1983, any individual who left his most recent work voluntarily without good cause connected with the work, as determined under duly prescribed regulations, shall not be eligible for benefits until he has been employed in each of 10 subsequent weeks (whether or not consecutive) and, notwithstanding § 51-101, has earned wages from employment as defined by this subchapter equal to not less than 10 times the weekly benefit amount to which he would be entitled pursuant to § 51-107(b).
(b) (1) For weeks commencing after January 3, 1993, any individual who has been discharged for gross misconduct occurring in his most recent work, as determined by duly prescribed regulations, shall not be eligible for benefits until he has been employed in each of 10 successive weeks (whether or not consecutive) and, notwithstanding § 51-101, has earned wages from employment as defined by this subchapter equal to not less than 10 times the weekly benefit amount to which he would be entitled pursuant to § 51-107(b).
(2) For weeks commencing after January 3, 1993, any individual who is discharged for misconduct, other than gross misconduct, occurring in the individual's most recent work, as defined by duly prescribed regulations, shall not be eligible for benefits for the first 8 weeks otherwise payable to the individual or until the individual has been employed in each of 8 subsequent weeks (whether or not consecutive) and, notwithstanding § 51-101, has earned wages from employment as defined by this subchapter equal to not less than 8 times the weekly benefit amount to which the individual would have been entitled pursuant to § 51-107(b). In addition, such individual's total benefit amount shall be reduced by a sum equal to 8 times the individual's weekly benefit amount.
(3) The District of Columbia Unemployment Compensation Board shall add to its rules and regulations specific examples of behavior that constitute misconduct within the meaning of this subsection.
(c) (1) For weeks commencing after March 15, 1983, if any individual without good cause (as determined under duly prescribed regulations) fails to apply for new work in covered employment found to be suitable when notified by any employment office or fails to accept any suitable work in covered employment when offered by any employment office, by a union hiring hall, or directly by any employer, that individual shall not be eligible for benefits until he has been employed in each of 10 subsequent weeks (whether or not consecutive) and, notwithstanding § 51-101, has earned remuneration from employment equal to not less than 10 times the weekly benefit amount to which he would be entitled pursuant to § 51-107(b).
(2) In determining whether or not work is suitable, the following shall be considered:
(A) The physical fitness and prior training, experience, and earnings of the individual;
(B) The distance of the place of work from the individual's place of residence; and
(C) The risk involved as to health, safety, or morals.
(3) The term "in covered employment" as used in this section means employment which is insured under this subchapter or any other state or federal unemployment insurance program.
(d) (1) Benefits shall not be denied to any otherwise eligible individual for refusing to accept new work under any of the following conditions:
(A) If the position offered is vacant due directly to a strike, lockout, or other labor dispute;
(B) If the wages, earnings, hours, or other conditions of the work offered are less favorable to the individual than those prevailing for similar work in the locality; or
(C) If as a condition of being employed the individual would be required to join a company union or to resign from or refrain from joining any bona fide labor organization;
(2) Compensation shall not be denied to any otherwise eligible individual for any week during which he is attending a training or retraining course with the approval of the Director, and such individual shall be deemed to be otherwise eligible for any such week despite the provisions of § 51-109(4) and subsection (c) of this section.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, compensation shall not be denied or reduced to an individual solely because he files a claim in another state (or a contiguous country with which the United States has an agreement with respect to unemployment compensation) or because he resides in another state (or such a contiguous country) at the time he files a claim for unemployment compensation.
(e) If any individual otherwise eligible for benefits fails, without good cause as determined by the Director under regulations prescribed by the Board, to attend a training, retraining, or job counseling course when recommended by the manager of the employment office or by the Director and such course is available at public expense, he shall not be eligible for benefits with respect to any week in which such failure occurred.
(f) An individual shall not be eligible for benefits with respect to any week if it has been found by the Director that such individual is unemployed in such week as a direct result of a labor dispute, other than a lockout, still in active progress in the establishment where he is or was last employed; provided, that this subsection shall not apply if it is shown to the satisfaction of the Director that:
(1) He is not participating in or directly interested in the labor dispute which caused his unemployment; and
(2) He does not belong to a grade or class of workers of which, immediately before the commencement of the dispute, there were members employed at the premises at which the dispute occurs, any of whom are participating in or directly interested in the dispute; provided, that if in any case separate branches of work which are commonly conducted as separate businesses in separate premises are conducted in separate departments of the same premises, each such department shall, for the purposes of this subsection, be deemed to be a separate factory, establishment, or other premises.
(g) An individual shall not be eligible for benefits for any week with respect to which he has received or is seeking unemployment compensation under any other unemployment compensation law of another state or of the United States; provided, that if the appropriate agency of such other state or of the United States finally determines that he is not entitled to such unemployment benefits, this disqualification shall not apply.
(h) The eligibility of any individual, who is or has recently been pregnant, for benefits under this subchapter, shall be determined under the same standards and procedures as for any other claimant under this subchapter. There shall be no presumption that a person who is pregnant is physically unable to work, even when pregnancy was an issue with respect to the reason for separation from employment.
(i) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, no otherwise eligible individual shall be denied benefits for any week because:
(A) He or she is in training approved under § 236(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974;
(B) He or she is in such approved training by reason of leaving work to enter such training; provided, that the work left is not suitable employment; or
(C) Because of the application to any such week in training of provisions in this law (or any federal unemployment insurance law administered hereunder) relating to availability for work, active search for work or refusal to accept work.
(D) He or she is enrolled in an approved certificate course authorized by the Educational Stepladder Act of 2004 [§ 32-1651 et seq.], and maintaining a satisfactory level of attendance and achievement, as required by § 32-1653.
(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term "suitable employment" means, with respect to an individual, work of a substantially equal or higher skill level than the individual's past adversely affected employment (as defined for purposes of the Trade Act of 1974), and wages as determined for purposes of the Trade Act of 1974.
D.C. Mun. Regs. Tit. 7, § 312 – Unemployment Compensation
312.1 Pursuant to §10(b) of the Act, the Director shall disqualify for benefits any individual discharged for misconduct occurring in his/her most recent work. The nature of the disqualification shall be in accordance with §10(b) (1) or §10(b) (2) of the Act as defined in §312.3, §312.4, §312.5 and §312.6 of this section.
312.2 The party alleging misconduct shall have the responsibility to present evidence sufficient to support a finding of misconduct by the Director.
312.3 For purposes of §10(b) (1) of the Act, the term "gross misconduct" shall mean an act which deliberately or willfully violates the employer's rules, deliberately or willfully threatens or violates the employer's interests, shows a repeated disregard for the employee's obligation to the employer, or disregards standards of behavior which an employer has a right to expect of its employee.
312.4 Gross misconduct may include, but is not limited to the following:
a. Sabotage;
b. Unprovoked assault or threats;
c. Arson;
d. Theft or attempted theft;
e. Dishonesty;
f. Insubordination;
g. Repeated disregard of reasonable orders;
h. Intoxication, the use of or impairment by an alcoholic beverage, controlled substance, or other intoxicant;
i. Use or possession of a controlled substance;
j. Willful destruction of property;
k. Repeated absence or tardiness following warning.
312.5 For purposes of §10(b) (2) of the Act, the term "other than gross misconduct" shall mean an act or omission by an employee which constitutes a breach of the employee's duties or obligations to the employer, a breach of the employment agreement or contract, or which adversely affects a material employer interest. The term "other than gross misconduct" shall include those acts where the severity, degree, or other mitigating circumstances do not support a finding of gross misconduct.
312.6 Other than gross misconduct may include, but is not limited to the following:
a. Minor violations of employer rules;
b. Conducting unauthorized personal activities during business hours;
c. Absence or tardiness where the number of instances or their proximity in time does not rise to the level of gross misconduct;
d. Inappropriate use of profane or abusive language.
312.7 If a violation of the employer's rules is the basis for a disqualification from benefits pursuant to §10(b) (1) or §10(b)(2) the Act, the Director shall determine the following:
(a) That the existence of the employer's rule was known to the employee:
(b) That the employer's rule is reasonable; and
(c) That the employer's rule is consistently enforced by the employer.
312.8 In an appeal hearing, no misconduct shall be presumed. The absence of facts which affirmatively establish misconduct shall relieve a claimant from offering evidence on the issue of misconduct.
312.9 In an appeal hearing, the persons who supplied the answers to questionnaires or issued other statements alleging misconduct shall be present and available for questioning by the adverse party.
312.10 In an appeal hearing, prior statements or written documents, in the absence of other reliable corroborating evidence, shall not constitute evidence sufficient to support a finding of misconduct by the Director.
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