(1) General rule. To establish good cause for leaving work voluntarily because of your illness or disability or the illness, disability, or death of a member of your immediate family, you must demonstrate that:

(a) You left work primarily because of such illness, disability, or death; and

(b) The illness, disability, or death made it necessary for you to leave work; and

(c) You first exhausted all reasonable alternatives prior to leaving work, including:

(i) Notifying your employer of the reason(s) for the absence as provided in WAC 192-150-060; and

(ii) Asking to be reemployed when you are able to return to work. (You are not required to request reemployment after the job separation has occurred to establish good cause.)

(2) For claims with an effective date of January 4, 2004, or later, you are not eligible for unemployment benefits unless, in addition to the requirements of subsection((s (1)(a)-(c) above))(1)(a) through (c) of this section, you terminate your employment and are not entitled to be reinstated in the same or similar position.

(3) Exception. You may be excused from failure to exhaust reasonable alternatives prior to leaving work as required by subsection (1)(c) of this section if you can show that doing so would have been a futile act.

(4) Definitions. For purposes of this chapter:

(a) "Disability" means a sensory, mental, or physical condition that:

(i) Is medically recognizable or diagnosable;

(ii) Exists as a record or history; and

(iii) Substantially limits the proper performance of your job;

(b) "Immediate family" means your spouse, domestic partner, and the children (including unborn children), siblings, step-children, foster children, or parents of either spouse or domestic partner, whether living with you or not, and other relatives who temporarily or permanently reside in your household;

(c) "Necessary" means the conditions are of such degree or severity in relation to your particular circumstances that they would cause a reasonably prudent person acting under similar circumstances to quit work;

(d) "Illness" includes a request from a medical professional, local health official, or the Secretary of Health to be isolated or quarantined as a consequence of an infection from a disease that is the subject of a public health emergency that is active on the date of the request to enter isolation or quarantine, even if you or your immediate family member have not been actually diagnosed with the disease that is the subject of a public health emergency.

With respect to claims that occur on or after July 4, 2021, a claimant has good cause for leaving work and is not disqualified from benefits under RCW 50.20.050 (2)(a) if the claimant worked at a health care facility as defined in RCW 9A.50.010, was directly involved in the delivery of health services, and left work on a day of an active public health emergency for a period of quarantine consistent with the recommended guidance from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or subject to the direction of the state or local health jurisdiction because of exposure to or contracting the disease that is the subject of the public health emergency.

(1) It is not misconduct for a health care worker to leave work for the period of quarantine consistent with the recommended guidance from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or subject to the direction of the state or local health jurisdiction because of exposure to or contracting the disease that is the subject of the declaration of the public health emergency.

(2) For purposes of this section, the public health emergency must be active on the date the health care worker leaves work.

(3) For purposes of this section, "health care worker" means an individual who worked at a health care facility as defined in RCW  9A.50.010 and was directly involved in the delivery of health services.

(1) In general, the department will consider you available for work if you:

(a) Are willing to accept suitable full-time, part-time, and temporary work during the usual hours and days of the week customary for your occupation.

(i) You are not required to accept part-time or temporary work if it would substantially interfere with your return to your regular occupation.

(ii) The requirement to be willing to accept full-time work does not apply under the circumstances described in WAC 192-170-050 (1)(b) or 192-170-070;

(b) Are capable of accepting and reporting for any suitable work within the labor market in which you are seeking work;

(c) Do not impose conditions that substantially reduce or limit your opportunity to return to work at the earliest possible time;

(d) Are available for work for at least 40 hours during the week during the hours customary for your trade or occupation; and

(e) Are physically present in your normal labor market area, unless you are actively seeking and willing to accept work outside your normal labor market.

(2) You are considered available for work if you are an active registered electrical apprentice in an approved electrical apprenticeship program under chapter 49.04 RCW and chapter 296-05 WAC.

(3) You are not considered available for work if you fail or refuse to seek work as required in a directive issued by the department under WAC 192-180-010.

(4) If you are physically located outside of the United States, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, the department will consider you available for work if you meet the requirements of subsections (1) and (2) of this section, and:

(a) You are legally authorized to work in the country in which you are physically located;

(b) You are immediately available for work in the United States; or

(c) You are a spouse or domestic partner of a member of the United States Armed Forces and you are legally authorized to work within the foreign military base where your spouse or domestic partner is stationed.

(5)(a) During the weeks of a declared public health emergency, an unemployed health care worker described in RCW 50.20.050(3) and 50.29.021 (1)(c)(iii) is considered available for work while isolated or under quarantine as directed by a medical professional, local health official, or the Secretary of Health, if the individual is available for work that:

(i) Will commence after the isolation or quarantine period ends; or

(ii) Can be performed from the individual's home.

(b) For the purposes of this section, a health care worker is defined as an individual who was directly involved in the delivery of health services at a health care facility as defined in RCW 9A.50.010.

In determining whether work is suitable as defined by RCW 50.20.100 and 50.20.110, the department will consider the degree of risk to the health of those residing with the individual during a public health emergency. Work will only be considered unsuitable due to risks associated with a public health emergency on the days the public health emergency declaration is in effect.

For the purposes of RCW 50.29.021 (3)(a)(iii)((,)):

(1) "Catastrophic occurrence" includes ((an infection from a))the presence of any dangerous, contagious, or infectious disease that is the subject of a public health emergency at the employer's ((place of business))plant, building, worksite, or other facility that causes the employer to close or severely curtail operations.