ADVISORY:	UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER No.11-03
TO:	ALL STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES

FROM:	CHERYL ATKINSON  /s/ Administrator       Office of Workforce Security

SUBJECT:

Active Duty Constituting Federal Military Service for Unemployment Compensation for Ex-servicemembers (UCX) Purposes

1. Purpose.To remind state workforce agencies (SWAs) that the procedures for and the use of the Request for Military Document/Information for Unemployment Compensation Purposes UCX, Form ETA 8-43, have not changed, and to provide an updated list of the addresses of State Adjutants General.

2. References. ET Handbook No. 384, Chapter II, pages II-1 and 2, Chapter III, page III-1, Chapter IV-15, page IV-15 and Chapter VI, pageVI-14.

3. Background. Although the procedures for the various uses of the ETA 8-43 have not changed, this advisory focuses on the procedures previously issued in UIPL 1-79. SWAs are being reminded of these procedures because, increasingly, SWAs are requesting the Employment and Training Administration (national office) to approve the use of military "orders to report" and "orders of release" in lieu of a Report of Separation from Active Duty, DD Form 214, to make UCX eligibility determinations. In many of these cases, there is little or no evidence that the SWA made any effort to obtain the DD Form 214 from the branch of military service.

A DD Form 214 is usually issued to each ex-servicemember upon separation from military service. However, if an ex-servicemember states that the form was not issued or that it has been lost or stolen, the SWA should assist the individual in obtaining a DD Form 214 by completing and mailing an ETA 8-43 to the appropriate branch of the federal military service from which the individual was separated.

RESCISSIONS	EXPIRATION DATE
UIPL No. 1-79	January 31, 2004

In order for the national office to considers authorizing the use of documents other than the DD Form 214 as evidence of creditable military service, the SWA must submit a copy of the ETA Form 8-43 and evidence of the branch of service's refusal to issue a DD Form 214, together with other data or explanations as evidence that the SWA made all reasonable efforts to obtain a DD Form 214, and a legible completed copy of the individual's military "orders to report" or "orders of release" as documentation of the individual's military service.

Authorization to use the individual's military "orders to report" and/or "orders of release" for purposes of determining UCX eligibility is granted only after it has been determined that: (a) the SWA has exhausted all reasonable efforts to obtain DD Form 214 from the federal military service; and (b) the individual's military orders provide sufficient documentation of creditable military service, and the situation warrants such action by the Department of Labor. When the national office determines that there is no convincing evidence that the SWA has followed the appropriate procedures to obtain a DD Form 214 from the applicable branch of service and/or where the contents of the military service documents are inadequate to justify approval for UCX purposes, the national office will return the cases without approval.

A number of the cases forwarded to the national office involve Army National Guard (ANG) members. The SWAs are reminded that Army Regulation 635-5 authorizes State Adjutants General, or their designated representatives, to issue DD Form 214s to Army National Guard (ANG) members released after 90 days or more of continuous active duty for training (ADT) or full time training duty (FTTD) "… with other than an active federal installation." This ensures that an ANG member ordered to ADT/FTTD for 90 or more continuous days as a recruiter will be issued a DD Form 214 whether or not he/she was attached to an active federal military unit during such service. An updated list of the State Adjutants General may be obtained by using the website cited below.

4. Action Required. State administrators are requested to ensure that:

1. The SWA continues to follow the appropriate procedures for using the ETA 8-43 to obtain a copy of or a correction to a DD Form 214;

2. The SWA's Federal program coordinator review the military documents and approve for submission any case before it is sent to the national office; and

3. Requests concerning Army or Air National Guard members who performed ADT/FTTD for 90 or more continuous days are sent, exclusively, to the State Adjutants General in the State in which the individual's unit is located.

4. The SWAs should use the website as indicated to obtain the most current National Guard Adjutants General list (by state) on the Internet. Go to http://www.ngb.dtic.mil, Click on National Guard Staff, Click on General Officer mgt, and Click on TAG Roster..