Section 34 Offer of Work by a Former Employer

• Library: Employer-Employee Law 2008

If a claimant does not accept work offered by a former employer either directly or through the Division, the deputy must resolve a number of issues:

• Was the offer communicated to the claimant
• Was the offer bona fide
• Was the work suitable

Section 288.050.1(3)(a) and (b), RSMo Supp. 2007. If the above elements are all present, the deputy must decide if good cause existed for the failure to accept. This “good cause” is different from the “good cause” involved with a voluntary leaving because there is no requirement that good cause for failing to accept an offer of work be attributable to the work or the employer. Placzek v. Div. of Employment Sec., 49 S.W.3d 717 (Mo. App. S.D. 2001). Good cause for failure to accept an offer of work may be any one of a multitude of reasons making it unreasonable or impractical for a claimant to accept the offer. A claimant who attempts to establish good cause for failing to accept an offer of work risks proving that the claimant is not available for work or able to work. See the discussion in §§4.36 and 4.37 below.

“An offer of work shall be rebuttably presumed if an employer notifies the claimant in writing” sent by any form of certified mail to the claimant’s last known address. Section 288.050.1(3).

In Ross v. Whelan Security Co., 195 S.W.3d 559 (Mo. App. S.D. 2006), the court addressed whether the suitable work provision applies when an offer of work is made before the individual files a claim. The court held, in part, “An offer of work made to an individual before that individual becomes a ‘claimant’ cannot, by definition, be an offer of work to the...