Unemployment Insurance

Web Library Topic - Quit to Move

Statutes

§ 8‑73‑108(4)(s), 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:

(s)(I) Quitting a job to relocate as a result of the individual's spouse's transfer for medical-related purposes in time of war or armed conflict to a new place of residence, wither within or outside Colorado, from which it is impractical to commute to the place of employment, and upon arrival at the new place of residence, the individual is in all respects available for suitable work.  Such spouse shall be a member of the United States armed forces who is on active duty as defined in 10 U.S.C. SEC. 101 (d) (1), active Guard and Reserve duty as defined in 10 U.S.C. SEC. 101 (d) (6), or active duty to pursue special work pursuant to Title 10 or 32 of the United States Code. Such individual shall submit with the application for unemployment benefits an affidavit stating that the individual has resided in Colorado for a period of at least two years. Such individual shall also comply with paragraph (b) of this subsection (4).

(II) Any benefits awarded to the claimant under the provisions of this paragraph (s) normally chargeable to the employer shall be charged to the fund.

§ 8‑73‑108(5)(e)(IV), C.R.S. 2005

(5)(e) Subject to the maximum reduction consistent with federal law, and insofar as consistent with interstate agreements, if a separation from employment occurs for any of the following reasons, the employer from whom such separation occurred shall not be charged for benefits which are attributable to such employment and, because any payment of benefits which are attributable to such employment out of the fund as defined in section 8-70-103 (13) shall be deemed to have an adverse effect on such employer's account in such fund, no payment of such benefits shall be made from such fund:

(IV) Quitting to move to another area as a matter of personal preference or to maintain contiguity with another person or persons, unless such move was for health reasons or pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (f) of subsection (4) of this section.

Cases

Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Department of Labor and Employment, 197 Colo. 335, 592 P.2d 808 (1979)

The claimant quit her job to move to California with her husband, who had obtained employment there.  The claimant was awarded benefits, but the court held that the Industrial Commission was mandated to apply the unemployment statute as intended, and a reduction of benefits could not be avoided on the basis of the claimant's martial obligation.

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.

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