By Sara Anne T. Quinn, JD
Under Tennessee law, a former employee isn’t eligible for unemployment benefits if she left her most recent job voluntarily without good cause connected to her work. However, the law creates an exception to that rule (known as the “medical exception”) if the employee was forced to leave because she was sick or disabled and she meets certain notice requirements, including offering to return once she is able to work.
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The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently addressed whether someone who was discharged during a medical leave is eligible for unemployment benefits once she is cleared for work without restrictions. The court held that the employee was eligible for benefits even though she didn’t reapply for a job after her leave ended.