The "burden of proof" rests with the former employee in cases involving a voluntary quit. The former employee must prove that he/she voluntarily quit with good cause as defined by the applicable state statutes in order to argue entitlement to unemployment benefits such as a substantial change in pay, working conditions, et cetera. Good cause is generally established when work-related conditions have substantially deteriorated or a situation exists that would force a reasonable person to leave his/her employment.

In these cases, the employer should be able to present facts where they have attempted to resolve the situation with the employee, i.e., alternatives that were available to the employee prior to the resignation.

Witnesses should be prepared to provide the initial background information regarding the former employee's employment, establish the reason(s) given for quitting, provide details of the events that caused the former employee to quit and, finally, state what attempts the former employee made to resolve the situation before quitting.

Tammy Mullin