What constitutes abandonment of a job in NJ? I assume it is no contact in XX number of workdays.

Would this be considered a voluntary termination, or termination for cause.

Finally--this is just a logic check for my own part--If the employee does meet the original abandonment criteria, but later returns and is allowed to work for a few days (manager was out of town during all of this) Does the abandonment arguement pretty much go away?

I realize we can still discipline/terminate for performance and policy issues.

Thanks

In all 50 states, job abandonment is what the employer says it is. No law in any state specifies what length of time the employee must be nc/ns before it can be termed job abandonment.

As far as voluntary quit or abandonment for cause, that's a door that can swing both ways, but I'd term it a quit.

Yeah, I'd say if he comes back and is allowed to work, there's no abandonment any more.

We're in NJ and have fired people for abandonment for leaving during a shift without permission, since some of our clients can't be left alone. Or, if someone requests vacation time that they have not accrued, the manager says no, then later they just don't show up, we consider that abandonment too.

We tend to mostly get people who go on vacation or some other leave, then don't return on the agreed-upon day, with a no-call, no-show. That's abandonment. As long as this is administered consistently, and definitely not in a way that's discriminatory, it should be fine...

even here in NJ where employees are always right and evil capitalist companies are the devil....