Ariz. Admin. Code § R6-3-50515 - Working Conditions (v L 515)

A. General (V L 515.05)

1. The term "working conditions" includes all aspects of the employer-employee relationship, but in this Section it will be confined to environmental conditions such as light, sanitation, fellow-employees, etc.

2. A worker who leaves because of dissatisfaction with working conditions, must show that one or more of these conditions are substantially below those prevailing in the area for similar work. Mere dislike, distaste, or inconvenience created by small variations in working conditions will not establish good cause for leaving work. The determination generally will turn on a comparison of the claimant's actions with the degree of tolerance the normal worker would be expected to exercise before leaving under the same conditions.

3. When an employer imposes unreasonable demands or working conditions which force a worker to terminate his employment, the worker would leave with good cause.

4. Before good cause or a compelling personal reason for leaving can be established, a worker must have attempted to adjust his grievance prior to leaving unless such an attempt was not feasible.

B. Apportionment of work (V L 515.2)

1. An employer may reasonably alter or add to the job duties of an employee from time to time. Unless these changes render the work unsuitable, this is not good cause for leaving. Occasional emergency assignments do not establish good cause.

2. Assignment of more work to one employee than another in the same classification does not in itself establish good cause for leaving. It may be good cause if:

a. The assignment is unreasonably difficult; or

b. The assignment of work was made on a discriminatory basis.

C. Fellow employee (V L 515.4)

1. A worker who leaves because of inharmonious relations with a fellow employee leaves with good cause if he is established that the conditions were so unpleasant that remaining at work would create an intolerable work situation for him.

2. In determining whether a situation is intolerable, the following factors should be considered:

a. Would continued employment create a severe nervous strain or result in a physical altercation with the other employee?

b. Was the worker subjected to extreme verbal abuse or profanity? The importance of profane language as an adverse working condition varies in different types of work.

3. A physical attack by a fellow-employee would be good cause for leaving if the claimant was clearly not at fault, unless the employer had taken reasonable steps to avoid a recurrence.

D. Prevailing conditions for similar work in the area (V L 515.55)

1. A worker who establishes that the actual conditions of his job were substantially below the prevailing standards in the area, leaves for good cause.

2. It will often be difficult to compare conditions in one establishment against those prevailing in the area for similar work. The adjudicator, in making his determination, may want to refer to such information as:

union contracts

state or federal law

public health regulations

3. If the conditions are not substandard, but yet create an undue hardship on the individual worker, he leaves for a compelling personal reason not attributable to the employer.

E. Production requirement or quantity of duties (V L 515.6)

1. A worker who leaves because of the employer's production requirements leaves without good cause if these requirements are reasonable. The following factors should be considered in determining reasonableness:

a. Are the production requirements creating a condition substantially below those prevailing in the area?

b. Are the requirements reflected equitably in the worker's wages?

c. Are the requirements discriminatory? See R6-3-50515(B).

2. When a worker who leaves because he cannot, for some personal reason, meet an employer's work requirements, the adjudicator must consider the appropriate Section of these rules relating to his specific reason for leaving.

F. Supervisor (V L 515.8). When a worker leaves his job for any reason involving his relations with a supervisor, the adjudicator will apply the same considerations that apply to relations with a fellow employee; see R6-3-50515(C).

Notes

Ariz. Admin. Code § R6-3-50515

Former Rule number -- Voluntary Leaving 515. - 515.8. Former Rule repealed, new Section R6-3-50515 adopted effective January 24, 1977 (Supp. 77-1).