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VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT EMPLOYMENT SERVICES OF SOCIAL SERVICES AND VOLUNTARY QUIT/WORK REDUCTION

10/24 VOLUME V, PART VIII, PAGE 5

whether any household member quit a job or purposefully reduced the number of hours worked.

a. Voluntary quit provisions apply if:

1) the employment involved 30 hours or more per week or provided weekly earnings at least equivalent to the federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 hours;

2) the quit occurred within 60 days prior to the date of application or any time thereafter; and

3) the quit was without good cause.

b. Work reduction provisions apply if:

1) the employment involved more than 30 hours per week;

2) fewer than 30 hours per week exist after the reduction;

3) the reduction occurred within 60 days prior to the date of application or any time afterwards; and

4) the reduction was without good cause.

Changes in employment status that result from ending a self- employment enterprise or resigning from a job at the demand of the employer do not count as voluntary quit for purposes of this chapter. Changes in employment status will also include situations in which renewal contracts are not offered or a decision is made not to reenlist in the military. Failure to accept a renewal offer of a contract with comparable terms will count as voluntary quit.

An employee of the federal, state or local government who participates in a strike against that government and is dismissed from the job because of participation in the strike, will be considered to have voluntarily quit the job without good cause.

If an individual quits a job, secures new employment at comparable wages or hours, and is then laid off, or through no fault of his own loses the new job, the earlier quit will not form the basis of a disqualification.

3. Voluntary Quit or Work Reduction at Application

Upon a determination that a household member voluntarily quit employment or reduced the work effort, the local agency must determine if the quit or reduction was for good cause, as defined in Part VIII.B.7.

For an applicant household, if the quit or reduction was without good cause, the household's application must be denied and a sanction imposed in accordance with Part VIII.C. The

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