The basic purpose of Oregon's unemployment program is helping people who are unemployed through no fault of their own. Therefore, you will have to prove that you had "good cause" for quitting your job. "Good cause" means that your reasons were so serious that you had no reasonable alternatives to quitting. Most of the time, your reasons for quitting must be directly related to your work, although a few situations, such as illness, disability, or family problems, may be good causes.

If you quit the job, but with good cause, you will be able to receive unemployment benefits. If you quit without good cause, you will not be able to receive benefits for a penalty period and must meet certain other requirements which the Employment Division will explain to you.

What is "quitting?"

Quitting means you left the job voluntarily. If you could have continued to work for some period of time and chose not to, you will be found to have "quit."

In the alternative, if you were willing to continue working, but your employer would not allow it, you have been "discharged" or "fired".

What is "good cause?"

"Good cause" for quitting a job is defined by law as:

Good cause for voluntarily leaving work ... is such that a reasonable and prudent person of normal sensitivity, exercising ordinary common sense, would leave work. For an individual with a permanent or long-term "physical or mental impairment" ... good cause for voluntarily leaving work is such that a reasonable and prudent person with the characteristics and qualities of such individual, would leave work. For all individuals, the reason must be of such gravity that the individual has no reasonable alternative but to leave work.

Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) 471-30-038(4)

In other words, you have to prove that the work situation became unsuitable, and you had no reasonable alternative but to quit.

Some examples of what might make a work situation unsuitable are: discrimination because of race or sex, constant supervisor harassment which prevented you from doing your job, unsafe working conditions which threatened your health, or a downgrade in your job status which results in substantially worse conditions or less money (more than 10%). You could also have had "good cause" to leave your job if you are a victim of domestic violence and had pursued reasonable alternatives (such as seeking a restraining order, relocating to a secure area, or getting a transfer) before quitting.

You will have to show that the situation was so bad that any reasonable person would have quit.

You will also have to show that you exhausted all opportunities to correct the situation before leaving. This means talking to your supervisor, boss, or union steward, requesting a transfer to a different position, taking any leaves available under company policy, following company or union grievance procedures, and so on.

Some examples of quitting without good cause would be:

• You quit work to return to school or to look for another job; or
• You willfully failed to maintain a union membership, license or certification necessary to keep your job; or
• You became unsatisfied with the job and did not completely exhaust all the opportunities to correct the situation with your employer.

For example, if you were harassed by your supervisor but didn't talk to somebody higher up in the company or try to get a transfer, you would not have good cause to quit.

Oregon law requires you to prove that you had good cause for quitting. That is why it is extremely important that you put your best foot forward and present your best case at the hearing.

Be sure to bring witnesses and documents to the hearing that will show that the job was unsuitable and did everything possible to remedy the situation. You may need doctors' letters or health and safety reports, etc., to prove that the work was unsuitable. Be sure to get them.

If you read the pamphlet entitled "Unemployment Benefits: Representing Yourself at a Hearing," you should be able to handle your own hearing. Good Luck! Unemployment.1.wpd (7/00)

Click here to view Oregon Revised Statutes online.
 

THIS PAMPHLET IS A GENERAL STATEMENT OF LAW AND PROCEDURE AND NOT ASUBSTITUTE FOR SPECIFIC LEGAL ADVICE.  IT MAY GIVE YOU SOME IDEA OF YOUR RIGHTS, BUT THE LAW IS ALWAYS CHANGING THROUGH ACTIONS OF THE COURTS AND LEGISLATURE.                So when a problem arises . . . SEE A LAWYER! Don't know a lawyer?  Contact the OREGON STATE BAR REFERRAL SERVICE (Toll Free Number: 1-800-452-7636).  Can't afford a lawyer?  If you live in Lane County, contact Lane County Legal Aid and Advocacy Center, 376 East 11th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon 97401 (541-485-1017).  In other Oregon counties, check the telephone yellow pages under the heading "attorneys" for the Legal Aid or Legal Services office closest to your city. We do not accept applications by e-mail.  For assistance, please contact our office in person or by phone.

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