5.5.4 Voluntary Quit

Employees who leave jobs face an uphill battle and usually need your help to get UC benefits.

Employees who leave part-time or interim work to protect full-time or regular employment are protected from disqualification.1  Employees who leave a job with a new employer not yet in the base period, when the job pays less than their UC benefits, can’t be disqualified for quitting.

Otherwise, your client must show “good cause attributable to a substantial change made to the employment by the employer.” In quit cases, claimants have the burden of proof. Because of the agency’s employer bias, it can often help it you can show your client tried to correct a situation before quitting.

In determining “good cause,” a court should use a standard of reasonableness as applied to the average person, not the supersensitive. Dissatisfaction with initially-agreed upon working conditions is not generally considered good cause for leaving. The agency typically construes failure to try to work out job disagreements as unreasonable, so if your client objected before quitting, bring that out or explain why not.

A change in significant work conditions such as work schedules or pay, when imposed unilaterally by the employer, should meet the “good cause” standard unless the employee has agreed to the change. A change in job duties alone is unlikely to meet the standard. It’s the rare person who actually “agrees” to work more hours or receive less pay, but the agency typically construes failure to immediately quit as implied “agreement” with the change. So, bring out any objections made by your client, their limited options, and any other factors negating “agreement” to counter this agency bias.

Discriminatory or unsafe treatment uncorrected by an employer can meet the “good cause” and “substantial change” requirements because an employee is entitled to expect a workplace that complies with applicable legal standards. That your client filed an internal grievance or a complaint with an external agency is helpful but not necessary evidence.

Adverse health reactions resulting from the job or an on-the-job injury don’t necessarily need medical records or proof of causation, but such evidence can help.

• 1La. R.S. 23:1601(1).