I work for a fortune 100 company as a supervisor. We were asked to cut down on our workforce in december and january. I have an employee thats willing to take a leave of absence w/out pay from the company. Is she entitle to unemployment?

That's a question that only the state UI office can answer with any certainty.

My guess, however, would be unlikely, since it would be her choice. Now, if they furloughed her, she most likely would be.

Problem is, though, that she wouldn't know for sure, until she actual does it and files, then, if denied, it would be too late. She could call the EDD and inquire, but they may not either answer nor, if they do, commit to the accuracy of such answer.

I hate resurrecting old posts, but my experiences with the CA EDD suggests that she likely would not be entitled to unemployment. Here is why:

1) She is not unemployed. You are giving her a leave of absence and retaining her as an employee.

2) She is doing this voluntarily. The EDD uses the "moving party" concept as a main consideration. Since she would be the moving party, she would not be eligible.

This would not prevent her from claiming that she was laid off, at which point EDD would definitely consider her eligible. It would also not prevent her from claiming if you eventually did lay her off.

cbg is correct that the only thing certain about dealing with EDD is nothing is certain, but I wanted to convey my personal EDD dealings experience.

By the way, you could always have your corporate counsel create a waiver. Nothing says that you can't make her sign that her leave of absence is voluntary and that she will be allowed to return after her leave.

Sorry for kicking up old dirt cbg, but I haven't been around the site much lately.

Heck, a week is nothing. On another board someone recently raised a post that was 5 years old and asked me to address it.