Resigning Due to Medical Issues?
/When applying for Ohio unemployment benefits, this can be just cause to resign, but generally the employee must both prove the medical condition prevents them from working that job AND take steps to try to resolve the issue with the employer (e.g., asking about alternative positions) before resigning.
The Ohio 8th District Court of Appeals recently issued a decision repeating these rules:
[G]enerally[,] employees who experience problems in their working conditions must make reasonable efforts to attempt to solve the problem before leaving their employment. Essentially, an employee must notify the employer of the problem and request it be resolved, and thus give the employer an opportunity to solve the problem before the employee quits the job; those employees who do not provide such notice ordinarily will be deemed to quit without just cause and, therefore, will not be entitled to unemployment benefits.
The court went on to quote an Ohio Supreme Court case that stated, “"[A]n employee's voluntary resignation on the basis of health problems is without cause within the meaning of R.C. 4141.29(D)(2)(a) when the employee is physically capable of maintaining a position of employment with the employer, but fails to carry her burden of proving that she inquired of her employer whether employment opportunities were available which conformed to her physical capabilities and same were not offered by her employer."
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=7335078543154502269&hl=en&as_sdt=6,36
