Facts
A., born in 1985, was employed at Hospital B. since 2002. After the birth of her first child on April 1, 2013, she resigned from her position effective July 31, 2013. On December 15, 2014, she gave birth to her second child. On January 29, 2015, she registered with the Regional Employment Center and applied for unemployment benefits.
The Office for Economy and Labor of the Canton of Zurich (AWA) initially denied her employability and thus her entitlement to unemployment benefits as of January 29, 2015. In an objection decision, the AWA recognized her employability and her entitlement to unemployment benefits as of January 29, 2015, with a chargeable loss of employment of 50%.
The insured person filed a complaint against this decision with the Social Insurance Court of the Canton of Zurich. The court dismissed the complaint and amended the objection decision, stating that the insured person was employable as of April 8, 2015, with a chargeable loss of employment of 50% of full-time employment.
The insured person filed an appeal in public law matters with the Federal Supreme Court against this decision.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court held that employability must be assessed prospectively, i.e., based on the actual circumstances up to the issuance of the objection decision. Either the insured person is employable, in particular willing to accept a reasonable job, or not.
The Federal Supreme Court concluded that it is contrary to federal law to deny the appellant's employability solely on the basis of the protection under Art. 35b of the Employment Act (ArG)…