Unemployment Insurance

Web Library Topic - Health

Statute

§ 8‑73‑108(4)(b), C.R.S. 2005

(4) An individual separated from a job shall be given a full award of benefits if any of the following reasons and pertinent conditions related thereto are determined by the division to have existed. The determination of whether or not the separation from employment shall result in a full award of benefits shall be the responsibility of the division. The following reasons shall be considered, along with any other factors that may be pertinent to such determination:

(b)(I) The health of the worker is such that the worker is separated from his or her employment and must refrain from working for a period of time that exceeds the greater of the employer's medical leave of absence policy or the provisions of the federal “Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993”, if applicable, or the worker's health is such that the worker must seek a new occupation, or the health of the worker or the worker's spouse or dependent child is such that the worker must leave the vicinity of the worker's employment; except that, if the health of the worker or the worker's spouse or dependent child has caused the separation from work, the worker, in order to be entitled to a full award, must have complied with the following requirements: Informed the worker's employer in writing, if the employer has posted or given actual advance notice of this writing requirement, of the condition of the worker's health or the health of the worker's spouse or dependent child prior to separation from employment and allowed the employer the opportunity to make reasonable accommodations for the worker's condition; substantiated the cause by a competent written medical statement issued by a licensed practicing physician prior to the date of separation from employment when so requested by the employer prior to the date of separation from employment or within a reasonable period thereafter; submitted himself or herself or the worker's spouse or dependent child to an examination by a licensed practicing physician selected and paid by the interested employer when so requested by the employer prior to the date of separation from employment or within a reasonable period thereafter; or provided the division, when so requested, with a written medical statement issued by a licensed practicing physician. For purposes of providing the medical statement or submitting to an examination for an employer, “a reasonable period thereafter” shall include the time before adjudication by either a deputy or referee of the division. An award of benefits pursuant to this subparagraph (I) shall include benefits to a worker who, either voluntarily or involuntarily, is separated from employment because of pregnancy and who otherwise satisfies the requirements of this subparagraph (I).

(II) In the event of an injury or sudden illness of the worker which would preclude verbal or written notification of the employer prior to such occurrence, the failure of the worker to notify the employer prior to such occurrence will not in itself constitute a reason for the denial of benefits if the worker has notified the employer at the earliest practicable time after such occurrence. Such notice shall be given no later than two working days following such occurrence unless the worker's physician provides a written statement to the employer within one week of the employer's request that the worker's condition made giving such notice impracticable and substantiating the illness or injury.

(III) Any physician who makes or is present at any examination required under these provisions shall testify as to the results of his examination; except that no such physician shall be required to disclose any confidential communication imparted to him for the purpose of treatment which is not necessary to a proper understanding of the case.

(IV) The off-the-job or on-the-job use of not medically prescribed intoxicating beverages or controlled substances, as defined in section 12-22-303 (7), C.R.S., may be reason for a determination for a full award pursuant to this paragraph (b), but only if:

(A) The worker has declared to the division that he or she is addicted to intoxicating beverages or controlled substances;

(B) The worker has substantiated the addiction by a competent written medical statement issued by a physician licensed to practice medicine pursuant to article 36 of title 12, C.R.S., or has substantiated the successful completion of, or ongoing participation in, a treatment program as described in sub-subparagraph (C) of this subparagraph (IV) within four weeks of the claimant's admission. Such substantiation shall be in writing to the division and signed by an authorized representative of the approved treatment program.

(C) A worker who is not affiliated with an approved treatment program must present to the division within four weeks after the date of the medical statement referred to in sub-subparagraph (B) of this subparagraph (IV), substantiation of registration in a program of corrective action that will commence within four weeks after the date of the medical statement and that is provided by an approved private treatment facility or an approved public treatment facility as defined in section 25-1-302 (2) or (3), C.R.S., or by an alcoholics anonymous program. Such substantiation shall be in writing to the division and signed by an authorized representative of the approved treatment program.

Cases

Andersen v. Industrial Commission, 167 Colo. 281, 447 P.2d 221 (1968)

There is no requirement that a claimant be advised to quit by a physician in order to be entitled to unemployment benefits; rather, a medical statement is only required if the employer requires or requests one according to the terms of the statute.

Savio House v. Dennis, 665 P.2d 141 (Colo. 1983)

Evidence of causation in a workers' compensation case was not limited to medical testimony or evidence; the claimant's testimony as to her condition was sufficient to support an award of benefits.

Frontier Airlines v. Industrial Commission, 734 P.2d 142 (Colo. App. 1986)

Claimants who were on mandatory leave from their jobs as flight attendants due to pregnancy were "separated" from employment, even if the separation was only partial, and the employer's continuation of "employee benefits" to the claimants did not preclude a determination that the claimants were separated from employment.  Further, § 8‑73‑108(4)(b)(I) is an exception to the to the general rule in Sec. 8-73-108(1)(a) that claimants must be unemployed through no fault of their own, and thus the claimants did not have to show they became pregnant through no fault of their own.

Public Service Company of Colorado v. Ingle, 794 P.2d 1374 (Colo. App. 1990)

In order to be entitled to unemployment benefits for having to seek a new occupation because of health reasons under § 8‑73‑108(4)(b)(I), a claimant must be required to seek a new line of work, not simply another job.  Also, if the employer fails to ask for medical documentation to substantiate the cause of the claimant's resignation, the claimant is not precluded from being awarded unemployment benefits for failing to provide that information.

Nelson v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office, 826 P.2d 436 (Colo. App. 1992)

The claimant and his wife both had significant medical problems, and both were covered under the wife's insurance plan.  The wife's employer required her to transfer to California, and the claimant quit his job in Colorado to move with her so that they could maintain their insurance coverage.  As there was no evidence the couple's medical problems were work-related or that anything in the vicinity of their jobs in Colorado contributed to their medical conditions, and there was no indication that the medical treatment in Colorado was inadequate, the court held that the the claimant quit for financial rather than health reasons and denied unemployment benefits.

Hodges v. Canon Lodge Medical Investors, Ltd., 879 P.2d 476, (Colo. App. 1994)

Where the claimant has informed the employer of his or her health condition, it is not required that the claimant specifically inform the employer that the health condition is the cause of the claimant's resignation.

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