Skip to main content
Fact Sheet 151 - Understanding Reasonable Assurance

Fact Sheet 151 - Understanding Reasonable Assurance

Understanding Reasonable Assurance

What you need to know about reasonable assurance and how it affects unemployment benefits.

What is reasonable assurance?

Reasonable assurance is a seasonal or school employer's* honest belief that they will bring a worker back to work in the next season in the same job the worker previously performed, or in a job that is like the job, location, wages, and benefits the worker previously had.

Reasonable assurance isn't a guarantee of a job. It’s a good faith statement from the employer that they expect the worker to return to work in the next employment season or school year.

The employer must take into consideration

  • Economic circumstances at the time the assurance was given,
  • Economic circumstances that are likely to exist at the start of the return-to-work period.

*School employers include, but are not limited to, public schools, colleges/universities, private third-party companies doing business for schools.

How does reasonable assurance affect unemployment benefits?

If an employer provides reasonable assurance to a worker that is subject to a denial period, that worker may not receive benefits during that denial period.

A denial period is the time between employment seasons or during school breaks where seasonal workers or school employees are not eligible to paid unemployment benefits due to reasonable assurance.

For more information:

Fact Sheet 151: Understanding Reasonable Assurance

Updated July 2026