Section 28 — Employment Insurance Act: Duration of disqualification

A disqualification under section 27 is for the number of weeks that the Commission may determine, but the number of weeks of a disqualification arising under paragraph 27(1)(a) or (b) shall be not fewer than 7 or more than 12; and the number of weeks of a disqualification arising under paragraph 27(1)(c) or (d) or subsection 27(1.1) shall be not more than 6. Subject to subsections (3) to (5), the weeks of disqualification are to be served during the weeks following the waiting period for which benefits would otherwise be payable if the disqualification had not been imposed and, for greater certainty, the length of the disqualification is not affected by any subsequent loss of employment by the claimant during the benefit period. Any portion of the disqualification that has not been served when the claimant’s benefit period ends shall, subject to subsections (4) and (5), be served in any benefit period subsequently established within two years after the event giving rise to the disqualification. No weeks of disqualification shall be carried forward against a claimant who has had 700 or more hours of insurable employment since the event giving rise to the disqualification. The Commission shall defer the serving of the disqualification if the claimant is otherwise entitled to special benefits or benefits by virtue of section 25. For the purposes of this Part, benefits are deemed to be paid for the weeks of disqualification. Subsection (6) does not apply to prevent a claimant from requesting that a benefit period established for the claimant as a minor attachment claimant be cancelled under subsection 10(6) and that a benefit period be established for the claimant as a major attachment claimant to enable the claimant to receive special benefits.