Facts
B., born in 1941, was granted a half disability pension by the Disability Insurance Office of the Canton of Ticino with effect from October 1, 1995. From December 20, 1994, he registered with the unemployment insurance, receiving the corresponding benefits. From December 20, 1996 until December 19, 1998, the person concerned again received unemployment benefits by virtue of the exemption, due to illness, from the fulfillment of the contribution period. From April 27, 1998 to April 30, 1999, he was declared 100% unfit for work, while from May 10, 1999 he reported himself as partially unemployed, with a work capacity of 50%.
By decision of May 26, 1999, the Labor Office of the Canton of Ticino again exempted B. from the fulfillment of the contribution period due to illness. Against this measure, the Federal Office for Economic Development and Labor (now the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, SECO) appealed to the Insurance Court of the Canton of Ticino.
Considerations
The Federal Court held that the law does not limit the possibility of obtaining an exemption from the fulfillment of the contribution period again. According to the case law, the exemption from the fulfillment of the contribution period derives from the constitutional mandate that unemployment insurance must be in principle compulsory for all workers and aims to ensure insurance coverage even for those workers who have contribution gaps due to particular…