Legal Question in Employment Law in California

If you lost your job through no fault of your own, you are eligible for benefits. This could include being too ill to work, though you may be eligible for SDI if you meet their criteria.

But there are steps you must take to be able to receive unemployment when you quit for health reasons. Title 22, Section 1256-15(b) of the Unemployment Insurance Code, provides:

A claimant leaves work with good cause if a reasonable person genuinely desirous of remaining employed would have left work due to an undue risk of injury or illness caused by health reasons, physical impairment, impairment of hearing, speech, or vision, pregnancy, or unsanitary conditions, temperature, or ventilation problems, adverse weather or climate conditions, or other working conditions, . . .

But Title 22 cautions in the same subsection:

. . . and the claimant has taken reasonable steps under the circumstances to preserve the employment relationship such as seeking sick leave where health factors are involved, or other leave, if available, or a transfer to other available work the claimant can perform.

If you think you can show you did everything reasonable to continue working but had no choice but to leave for health reasons, go ahead with your appeal and let the judge decide if you are eligible.