Can you get unemployment insurance benefits if you quit your job?
These days workers are quitting their jobs in droves.[1] In fact, more than 4 million people quit their jobs in April 2021. The reasons for leaving one’s job are often varied and the decision may come about due to various reasons. An employee may leave their job to take a new position that pays better or has better benefits. Sometimes, an employee is just dissatisfied with their working conditions and decides it’s time to make a change. But when it comes to applying for unemployment benefits after you leave your job, not all reasons for leaving are treated equally.
In Arkansas, like in most states, an employee that quits their job for purely personal reasons is usually not qualified for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.[2] To be eligible for UI benefits, the law states that an employee must have “good cause” to quit.[3]
Generally, the issue of “good cause” arises when an employee indicates that they quit their job on their unemployment application. This will prompt the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services (DWS) to send out forms to the employee-applicant and the former employer to gather information on the means of the separation. Once those forms are returned, a decision is made whether a good cause existed to quit or if some other exception applied. An applicant will have a right to appeal that decision.
If appealed, the issue will be addressed first at the Arkansas Appeals Tribunal (“Tribunal”). A hearing will be held and the issue will be decided by a hearing officer. The hearing officer will apply Arkansas law in deciding the good cause question.
So how do you know if you have “good cause” to quit?
Well, Arkansas law says that “good cause,” in the unemployment context, is a cause that would reasonably compel the average able-bodied, qualified worker to give up their employment.[4] In determining whether a good cause exists, the law looks at the good faith of the employee involved and tries to determine whether the employee sincerely wants to work and be self-supporting.
A hearing officer deciding whether an employee had good cause to quit will look at:
(1) the degree of risk to the employee’s health, safety, and morals; and
(2) the employee’s physical fitness, prior training, and experience in deciding the issue.
Further, when an employee quits due to mistreatment, the employee is not required to exhaust every option while trying to rectify some injustice or abuse before quitting their job.[5] However, a hearing officer will ask whether the employee took steps to prevent the mistreatment from continuing.[6] Deciding what constitutes “good cause” is fact-specific and often “turns on matters of degree.”[7]
Some cases where good cause to leave one’s employment has been found include the following:
Where an employee was given the option of resigning or being terminated because of a “work slow-down,” and the employee chose to resign, he did not “voluntarily” and without good cause leave his employment.[8]
After an employee’s supervisor came up behind her and pulled her shirt up, the employee complained to human resources. The supervisor was reassigned to a workstation that was within 10 feet of the complainant-employee. Employee’s later complaints to her new supervisor about having to work near the harassing supervisor went unanswered. The employee then quit due to extreme anxiety. Under these circumstances, the Arkansas Court of Appeals found good cause to quit.[9]
Good cause has been found when an employee quits a temporary job to take a new temporary job that affords more pay.[10]
Good cause to quit existed where an employee had frequent contact with persons (her son who had kidney problems as well as her husband’s elderly parents) who were vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 and the employee had requested her employer put into place safety measures to limit employees’ exposure to the virus.[11] And the employer never implemented any safety measures.
In a case where an employee was hired as a “security person” for a sixty-five unit independent living facility and the employee had raised safety-related issues with her employer after a series of break-ins and robberies, good-cause-to-quit existed when the employer’s only response was to post a bulletin in the facility asking residents to lock the doors.[12]
Some of the cases where the good cause has not been found include:
The employee testified that the hours on his paycheck were incorrect and that employee had observed another co-worker taking employees’ timecards and punching the employees out early. The employee did not raise his concerns with management first before quitting. This was held not sufficient to show good cause.[13]
An employee found to have quit without good cause where an employee took a position with Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission with full understanding that his official workstation might move and that he might either have to commute or move to a different county to continue employment. When the workstation moved, the employee quit his job.[14]
No good cause was found where an employee, who was a cashier at Family Dollar Store, testified that a manager trainee accused her falsely of stealing from the store and that the manager trainee had harassed her due to her interracial marriage. In reaching the finding, the Board of Review relied on fact that the manager trainee was only scheduled to work at the store for another 30 days and that the employee had not requested a leave of absence.[15]
The employee quit because she was planning to marry her husband, who held a supervisory position and worked in the same company. The company had a policy against husbands and wives working in the same facility and the employee and fiancée decided she would be the one to quit because he had a larger salary. Board of Review found no good cause to quit.[16]
Where the employer had a policy that no employee could continue in its employ if that employee chose to run for public office, and the employee subsequently resigned to seek public office, the Board found no good cause to quit.[17]
It’s also been held that good cause does not exist as a matter of law if an employee quits because they are dissatisfied with their current wages,[18] or if the employee quits seeking other employment.[19]
The means described above are just a tiny sample of the types of cases where the good cause has been found to exist or not exist. Employees in Arkansas are cautioned that they should only resign from their jobs when it is essential. That means raising issues with management first and giving management an opportunity to correct any problems. Doing so may help protect your right to unemployment benefits.
If you or someone you know needs help with an Appeal, call an attorney of your choice or try our Helpline at 501-376-3423 (Mon.-Fri, 9-11 am and 1-4 pm). We also help with other public benefit issues -https://www.
AUTHOR: TREVOR TOWNSEND, STAFF ATTORNEY FOR THE CENTER FOR ARKANSAS LEGAL SERVICES
RESOURCES:
[1] Millions of workers are quitting their jobs during the pandemic. Meet six who made a big change, Washington Post, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/06/17/record-workers-quit-pandemic/.
[2] See Lawson v. Daniels, 269 Ark. 701, 704, 600 S.W.2d 423, 424 (1980).
[3] Ark. Code Ann. § 11-10-513(a)(1).
[4] Perdrix-Wang v. Director, Employment Sec. Dep't, 42 Ark. App. 218, 222, 856 S.W.2d 636 (1993)
[5] Davis v. Dir., Dep’t of Workforce Services., 2014 Ark. App. 260, *2.
[6] Tyler v. Dir., Dept. of Workforce Servs., 2017 Ark. App. 545.
[7] Perdrix-Wang, at 222.
[8] Dobbins v. Everett, 2 Ark. App. 254, 620 S.W.2d 309 (1981).
[9] Tyler v. Dir., Dept. of Workforce Servs., 2017 Ark. App. 545.
[10] Kilgore v. Falls Church Animal Hospital, 267 Ark. 801, 590 S.W.2d 671 (Ark. App. Ct. 1979).
[11] Keener v. Dir., Dep't of Workforce Servs., 2021 Ark. App. 88, 618 S.W.3d 446.
[12] Winn v. Dir. of Workforce Servs., 2007 Ark. App. LEXIS 685.
[13] Bauldwin v. Stiles, 1988 Ark. App. LEXIS 23.
[14] Lawson v. Daniels, 269 Ark. 701, 600 S.W.2d 423 (1980).
[15] Owens v. Director, Ark. Empl. Sec. Dep't, 55 Ark. App. 255, 935 S.W.2d 285 (1996).
[16] Gilbert v. Everett, 7 Ark. App. 260, 647 S.W.2d 486 (1983).
[17] Hunter v. Daniels, 2 Ark. App. 94, 616 S.W.2d 763 (1981).
[18] Harris v. Daniels, 263 Ark. 897, 567 S.W.2d 954 (1978).
[19] Id.