(1) The department investigates and adjudicates each separation from insured work that occurred during the six weeks immediately preceding the effective date of an initial or an additional claim. If the claimant was not separated from insured work during the six week period, the department investigates and adjudicates the claimant's most recent separation from insured work that occurred prior to the six weeks immediately preceding the effective date of the claim.

(2) Except as provided in ARM 24.11.454A(1) and (2) , if there is more than one separation occurring within the time frames specified in (1) involving the same employer, only the last separation involving that employer is investigated and adjudicated.

(3) Each employer involved in a claimant's separation is allowed eight days to respond to the claimant's statement of the reasons for the separation. If the information obtained from any employer is substantially different from that provided by the claimant, the claimant is allowed eight days to respond to the employer's statement. The eight days allowed for the employer's or the claimant's response begins on the day following the date the information is mailed, faxed, or communicated by telephone to the employer or to the claimant. In the interest of making timely determinations and redeterminations, department personnel may attempt to provide the parties' statements to each other by telephone and obtain their responses at that time or request that they respond at sometime sooner than the expiration of the eight days allowed for them to respond. Either party may waive the eight days by providing their response prior to the expiration of the eight days.