Facts
The Italian national [A.], born in 1969, worked as a construction worker in Switzerland from his entry on April 23, 2019 until his registration with the unemployment insurance on November 19, 2019. His last assignment for the company "B. AG" ended on November 14, 2019 with the assurance of re-employment in the spring of 2020. [A.] was deregistered from the unemployment insurance on April 6, 2020 after he had resumed employment with the same employer. The Office for Industry, Trade and Labor (DIHA) of the Canton of Valais denied [A.] an entitlement to unemployment compensation, as he was not eligible as a genuine frontier worker.
The Cantonal Court of Valais overturned the objection decision and found that [A.] fulfilled the requirement of residence in Switzerland. The DIHA then filed a public law appeal.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. It found that [A.] did not qualify as a genuine frontier worker, as he did not commute daily or weekly between Switzerland and his place of residence in Italy. However, he qualified as a quasi-frontier worker, as he at least occasionally returned to his place of residence in Italy.
Pursuant to Art. 65 (2) sentence 3 of Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004, quasi-frontier workers are entitled to benefits from the last state of employment in the event of full unemployment, provided they do not return to their state of residence and make themselves available to the employment services in that state. Quasi-frontier workers who were employed in Switzerland and have their…