Good Cause Terminations

• The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services evaluates each applicant's claim for benefits and sends her former employer a notice of her pending application. Each applicant must submit a reason for unemployment. Generally, the state limits unemployment insurance benefits to those who are not working through no fault of their own. Employees terminated for a lack of work qualify for benefits.
  
  

Voluntary Termination

• Employees who quit must prove they terminated employment for good cause or just cause reasons. According to the department, good cause or just cause reasons for termination include those based on moral or ethical standards and legal discrimination or retaliation. Additionally, an employee who terminated employment because her employer failed to comply with the terms of her employment contract or collective bargaining agreement had a good cause reason for termination. Similarly, an employee who quit because her employer failed to comply with existing job safety laws has good reasons to terminate employment.
  
  

Burden of Proof

• Ohio law places the burden of proving just cause on employees. Ohio law uses a "reasonable standard" rule in determining whether an employee's reason for quitting was based on just cause. The Department of Job and Family Services conducts a case-by-case review of each case to determine whether an employee's voluntary termination was for just cause reasons. If the department finds that any other ordinarily reasonable and careful worker would not have terminated employment for any given reason, it will deny benefits.
  
  

Appellate Rights

• Applicants have 21 days to appeal their denials. Once the department sends a "Notice of Initial Determination" letter to an applicant, she has 21 days from the date of issuance to file a written protest or appeals. Her former employer will receive notice of her appeals, and both parties can submit other evidence or information during the 21-day appellate period. If the department accepts her appeals, it will transfer the case to the director of the Ohio Unemployment Compensation Review Commission for a decision. Employees and employers have further rights to appeal after this decision and can request a hearing in front of the commission.
  
  

Considerations

• Since state laws can frequently change, seek advice through an attorney licensed to practice law in your state.