I was discharged from my managment position and offered a minimum wage job. How do I not accept the

If you refuse the position offered, you may still collect benefits if your refusal was reasonable because the work was unsuitable. Here are a couple of regulations that address the issue.

R6-3-50138. Disciplinary action (V L 138)

A. A worker may leave because of disciplinary action taken against him by his employer. He leaves without good cause in connection with the work if:

1. The event which resulted in the disciplinary action was within his control, or

2. He was responsible for the event.

B. He leaves with good cause in connection with the work if he makes a reasonable attempt to adjust his grievance prior to leaving and the disciplinary action was:

1. Discriminatory, or

2. Unreasonable, or

3. Unduly severe.

H. Reduction in wages (V L 500.75)

1. General (V L 500.751). Under the ordinary employment relationship, there is neither an express nor implied agreement that the employer will not reduce wages.

2. A claimant who quits solely because his wages were reduced shall be disqualified for leaving work voluntarily unless he attempted to adjust his grievance prior to leaving and:

a. The wage rate is reduced to an amount which is below the legal minimum, or which would make the work unsuitable in accordance with the refusal of work portion of these rules; or

b. The employer arbitrarily reduced the wages as a means of discriminating against the worker, even though the reduced wage is not below the prevailing rate. Arbitrarily reduced means the reduction was substantial or disproportionate and not generally applied.

R6-3-53365. Prospect of other work (Refusal of Work 365)

A. A claimant who has reasonable prospects of employment in the near future may refuse other less suitable work with good cause. In general, the more definite the prospect, the more reasonable is the decision to wait for the more acceptable job.

B. Prospect of obtaining future work may include:

1. A definite offer and acceptance of a job to begin at a definite time; or

2. A definite promise of a job although the starting date is an estimate by the employer; or

3. An indefinite statement by the employer that he may have work for the claimant; or

4. Statement by Job Service personnel; or

5. General knowledge that jobs will soon be available in a particular industry.
R6-3-53510. Work, nature of (Refusal of Work 510)

A. Customary (Refusal of Work 510.1)

1. Occupation refers to the type of work a claimant was performing and not the industry in which he worked.

2. Customary occupation may be defined as follows:

a. The occupation in which an individual has developed his highest skill either through experience, training, or education; or

b. The occupation in which he has developed a skill through progressive steps of advancement, even though he has worked in such occupation for a relatively short period of time; or

c. The occupation in which he was engaged the longest period of time, when his work history indicates experience in a number of occupations involving related skills; or

d. The only occupation in which the claimant has engaged.

3. If during the adjustment period (Refer to R6-3-53295) a claimant has a good prospect of obtaining work in his customary occupation, he would have good cause for refusing other work. Conversely, if it is apparent there is little opportunity of obtaining work in his customary occupation he would not have good cause for refusing suitable work outside his customary occupation.

B. Light or heavy work (Refusal of Work 510.35). To be suitable, the offered work must be within the claimant's physical limitation.

posted by Francis Fanning  |  Jul 27, 2012 5:47 PM [EST]