§ 28-44-17. Voluntary leaving without good cause. (a) For benefit years beginning prior to July 1, 2012, an individual who leaves work voluntarily without good cause shall be ineligible for waiting-period credit, or benefits for the week in which the voluntary quit occurred, and until he or she establishes to the satisfaction of the director that he or she has subsequent to that leaving had at least eight (8) weeks of work, and in each of those eight (8) weeks has had earnings of at least twenty (20) times the minimum hourly wage as defined in chapter 12 of this title for performing services in employment for one or more employers subject to chapters 42 - 44 of this title. For benefit years beginning on or after July 1, 2012, and prior to July 6, 2014, an individual who leaves work voluntarily without good cause shall be ineligible for waiting period credit or benefits for the week in which the voluntary quit occurred and until he or she establishes to the satisfaction of the director that he or she has subsequent to that leaving had at least eight (8) weeks of work, and in each of those eight (8) weeks has had earnings greater than, or equal to, his or her weekly benefit rate for performing services in employment for one or more employers subject to chapters 42 - 44 of this title. For benefit years beginning on or after July 6, 2014, an individual who leaves work voluntarily without good cause shall be ineligible for waiting period credit or benefits for the week in which the voluntary quit occurred and until he or she establishes to the satisfaction of the director that he or she has, subsequent to that leaving, had earnings greater than, or equal to, eight (8) times his or her weekly benefit rate for performing services in employment for one or more employers subject to chapters 42 - 44 of this title. For the purposes of this section, "voluntarily leaving work with good cause" shall include:

(1) Sexual harassment against members of either sex;

(2) Voluntarily leaving work with an employer to accompany, join, or follow his or her spouse to a place, due to a change in location of the spouse's employment, from which it is impractical for such individual to commute; and

(3) The need to take care for a member of the individual's immediate family due to illness or disability as defined by the Secretary of Labor; provided that the individual shall not be eligible for waiting period credit or benefits until he or she is able to work and is available for work. For the purposes of this provision, the following terms apply:

(i) "Immediate family member" means a spouse, parents, mother-in-law, father-in-law and children under the age of eighteen (18);

(ii) "Illness" means a verified illness that necessitates the care of the ill person for a period of time longer than the employer is willing to grant leave, paid or otherwise; and

(iii) "Disability" means all types of verified disabilities, including mental and physical disabilities, permanent and temporary disabilities, and partial and total disabilities.

(b) For the purposes of this section, "voluntarily leaving work without good cause" shall include voluntarily leaving work with an employer to accompany, join, or follow his or her spouse in a new locality in connection with the retirement of his or her spouse, or failure by a temporary employee to contact the temporary help agency upon completion of the most recent work assignment to seek additional work unless good cause is shown for that failure; provided, that the temporary help agency gave written notice to the individual that the individual is required to contact the temporary help agency at the completion of the most recent work assignment to seek additional work.

History of Section. (P.L. 1936, ch. 2333, § 7; P.L. 1937, ch. 2556, § 1; G.L. 1938, ch. 284, § 7; P.L. 1949, ch. 2175, § 1; P.L. 1953, ch. 3206, § 3; G.L. 1956, § 28-44-17; P.L. 1958 (s.s.), ch. 215, § 3; P.L. 1978, ch. 311, § 1; P.L. 1980, ch. 205, § 1; P.L. 1993, ch. 298, § 1; P.L. 1995, ch. 102, § 1; P.L. 1997, ch. 33, § 2; P.L. 1997, ch. 70, § 1; P.L. 1998, ch. 369, § 3; P.L. 1998, ch. 401, § 3; P.L. 1999, ch. 98, § 1; P.L. 2010, ch. 23, art. 22, § 2; P.L. 2011, ch. 151, art. 4, § 2; P.L. 2014, ch. 179, § 3; P.L. 2014, ch. 203, § 3.)