Weekly benefit amount - Average annual wage - Average weekly wage - Minimum weekly benefit amount - Maximum weekly benefit amount - Qualifying wage - Insured worker and insured work defined
N.D. Cent. Code § 52-06-04
in effect52-06-04. Weekly benefit amount - Average annual wage - Average weekly wage -
Minimum weekly benefit amount - Maximum weekly benefit amount - Qualifying wage -
Insured worker and insured work defined.
1. 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; and
b. 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".
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t52c06.pdf#nameddest=52-06-04Fetched: 10/16/2026