Workers can turn away job, keep benefits

People who turn down a new job — or their old one — because of coronavirus concerns may be able to continue collecting unemployment insurance, according to new guidelines from the California Employment Development Department.

Normally people who turn down a job offer are denied unemployment benefits, unless the position is “unsuitable.” The EDD says a job could be deemed unsuitable if the workplace is not in an “essential sector” or has not met state or county requirements for reopening. Even if it has, a job offer could be

deemed unsuitable if the employee is older than 65, has a weakened immune system or has a chronic health condition that means COVID19, the coronavirus disease, poses more of a threat. It could also be deemed unsuitable if it pays significantly less than the prevailing wage.

While many workers are eager to return to work, for some it would entail taking the equivalent of a pay cut. Some people are earning more on unemployment than they did in their previous low or middlewage job, thanks to the extra $600 a week everyone on unemployment is getting from April through the end of July from the federal government under the Cares Act.

The $600 a week, added to the average unemployment benefit nationwide, was designed to replace 100% of the average worker’s wage. That means people making less than the average wage could get more on unemployment than they previously earned — and those above average could get less.

Of course, anyone who turns down an opportunity “is taking a big risk,” said Jesse Rothstein, director of UC Berkeley’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment. “You risk not having a job when this all runs out.” The maximum benefit in California is $450 per week, but the extra $600 from the federal government brings it to $1,050 per week through July.

The EDD explains that individuals are disqualified from unemployment insurance if they refuse to accept suitable employment. It will consider whether a job offer is suitable “in light of factors such as the degree of risk involved to the individual’s health and safety, and as a result whether the individual has good cause for refusing the work.”

An individual “would have good cause to refuse to return to work if the business does not provide an essential service and is not in one of the industries reopening now under the state’s Resilience Roadmap ,” the EDD says. This is because the stayathome order is still in effect outside of essential or reopened industries.

“Even if your employer has complied with the state’s requirements for reopening, and any and all government safety regulations, you would have good cause to refuse to return to work if you are at greater personal risk due to higher risk factors as identified by the” California Department of Public Health. These factors include being older than 65, having a weakened immune system or having certain serious chronic health conditions, such as heart disease, lung disease or diabetes.

“However, you may not have good cause for refusing suitable work if your employer was willing to allow you to telework and you still refused the suitable work. In this scenario, you could be disqualified from continuing to receive regular (unemployment) benefits,” it said.

Workers can maintain unemployment benefits if they turn down a job that is “substantially less favorable” than similar local jobs, based on factors like wages, hours and working conditions.

For example, a person offered a position at $20 an hour that typically pays $30 an hour “may have good cause to refuse the work. However, you would not have good cause for refusing the work solely because the wages you are offered” are less than what “you have been receiving in your regular (unemployment) benefits,” according to the EDD.

Normally people who quit a job don’t get unemployment benefits. However, they could be eligible if they show good cause for quitting, and the reasons are “real, substantial, and compelling,” the EDD says.

“This could include: if your employer has not complied with the guidance for safely reopening in your industry; you had child care or transportation problems that you could not resolve; or you have a disability or condition that your employer could not reasonably accommodate.” To show good cause, workers should document efforts they have made to preserve the employment relationship, such as showing they asked permission to telework and were denied.

Rothstein of UC Berkeley said the guidelines “strike a reasonable balance, recognizing workers’ legitimate decisions not to go to work in unsafe conditions while making clear that workers need to be reasonable about this and can’t simply decide not to work if the employer has made appropriate arrangements to ensure safety.”

Nationally, there have been reports of employers having trouble luring back workers on unemployment, especially in states with higher benefits. California’s average benefit of $338 per week is lower than the national average of $378. California’s maximum benefit of $450 per week, which hasn’t risen since 2005, is about average compared to other states.

The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce recently sent an email to members, most of whom are small businesses, asking whether their furloughed employees were reluctant to return because they are making more on unemployment. None replied yes. “Their issues are around customers and social distancing guidelines. They haven’t run into this issue yet,” chamber spokesman Jay Cheng said. “They think employees know that unemployment benefits won’t last forever. By the time they are ready to reopen, those employees will get back to work.”

Joe Miglia is the general manager of Novacart, a bakery packaging company in Richmond with 45 employees in California and New Jersey. He said three workers at his New Jersey plant took “voluntary layoff early on because they were just so nervous about the virus,” and applied for unemployment. “We recalled them this week and they have come back willingly. I am finding that even with my employees that are telecommuting, they are going a bit stircrazy. Maybe having to deal with their kids 24/7 is adding to that.”

Felicia Reid, an attorney with Hirschfeld Kraemer who represents employers, said the new guidelines “are in line with what we have been advising employers who want to bring people back to work.” They need to comply with government orders, perform a risk assessment of their workplace and adopt specific measures to address risk. “This guidance makes clear that the government is very serious about employers going through this process” and educating employees about it before opening, Reid said.

To see all the guidelines, visit https://bit.ly/eddbenefits.