California Code of Regulations › Title 22 - Social Security › Division 1 - Employment Development Department › Subdivision 1 - Director of Employment Development › Division 1 - Unemployment and Disability Compensation › Part 1 - Unemployment Compensation › Chapter 5 - UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION BENEFITS › Article 1 - ELIGIBILITY AND DISQUALIFICATIONS › Section 1256-22 - Voluntary Leaving -Good Cause -Wages

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) Scope. This section relates to whether
						  good cause for leaving the most recent work exists when an individual leaves
						  work due to dissatisfaction with wages. Section
						  1256-21 of these regulations
						  governs if a collective bargaining agreement exists. For provisions as to an
						  individual who leaves work to seek other work or to accept other work, see
						  Section 1256-19 of these regulations.
						  Sections 1256-1,
						  1256-2, and
						  1256-3 of these regulations set
						  forth general principles also applicable under this section.
(b) Good Cause. An individual who leaves work
						  due to dissatisfaction with some aspect of wages has left work with good cause
						  if the leaving of work is for any one or any combination of the following
						  reasons:
(1) The wages paid by the employer
						  are less than the minimum wages required by federal or state law and the
						  employer refuses to pay such minimum wages.
(2) The individual has no reasonable
						  assurance of payment of wages when due, or the employer repeatedly does not pay
						  wages when due, or the employer willfully refuses to pay wages when
						  due.
(3) The individual is notified
						  of a transfer or demotion to another position with the employer at a
						  substantial reduction in pay, or under any conditions which render the other
						  position not "suitable employment" under Section
						  1258,
						  1258.5, or
						  1259 of the code. For example, an
						  individual leaves work for good cause, pursuant to Section
						  1259 of the code, if the leaving
						  is due to the fact that an individual after diligently working on a piece-rate
						  or commission basis for a reasonable time is paid substantially less than the
						  wages prevailing for similar work in the locality.
(4) The employer substantially breaches the
						  agreement with an employee as to the agreed rate of pay. (For breach of other
						  conditions of hire, see Sections
						  1256-21 and
						  1256-23 of these
						  regulations.)
(5) The employer
						  makes substantial misrepresentations to the employee as to the duties, hours,
						  working conditions, or wages for the job.
COMMENTS. Under paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), if
							 factors other than a pay reduction influence an individual's decision to leave
							 the work, all such factors are evaluated to determine whether a reasonable
							 person genuinely desirous of retaining employment would have left the work.
							 Additional factors may include skills required and the possible loss of skills
							 in the other position, opportunities for advancement and increase in pay,
							 seniority and recall rights affected, working conditions, hours of work,
							 location of the position and the effect on the distance and cost of commuting,
							 any additional expenses due to the other position, time worked in the prior job
							 and relative permanency of the new position, the individual's prospects for
							 obtaining other employment at a wage commensurate with prior earnings, and the
							 individual's awareness of the labor market and the effect upon employment
							 prospects, among others.
However, a pay decrease of 20% or more, taken alone,
							 is a substantial reduction in pay to establish good cause for leaving work
							 where the employee is notified of a transfer or demotion to another position
							 with the employer. Pay includes the basic wage, shift differentials, board and
							 room furnished by the employer, and guaranteed overtime. Pay also includes
							 fringe benefits such as vacation pay and insurance if such fringe benefits are
							 currently available or set schedules and information to value the fringe
							 benefits for the former and other position are available.
Speculative fringe benefits whose receipt is
							 dependent on contingencies, such as pension, vacation and sick leave, are given
							 less weight to the extent that their values and the probability of future
							 realization are uncertain. Incentive pay would not be compared unless it is
							 prevailing practice in the industry. Moreover, regardless of pay, in some cases
							 the loss of skills in another position may justify leaving the work; for
							 example, a stenographer might refuse a downgrade to a clerk-typist position due
							 to the importance of preserving stenographic skills to maintain ability for
							 employment at the higher skill.