(1) A leave of absence is an absence from work mutually and voluntarily agreed upon by you and your employer or a collective bargaining agent, or leave to which you are entitled under federal or state law, where the employer-employee relationship is continued and you will be reinstated in the same or similar job when the leave expires.

(a) If you are on a leave of absence, you are eligible for unemployment insurance benefits as long as you meet:

(i) The definition of "unemployed" per RCW 50.04.310; and

(ii) All other eligibility requirements provided per RCW 50.20.010.

(b) If you choose not to return to work when the leave of absence ends, the separation is treated as a voluntary quit. The separation date will be the first working day after the leave expires.

(c) If no job is available with the employer when the leave of absence ends, the separation is treated as a layoff due to a lack of work.

(d) If you have been on medical leave and are released for work by your medical provider, but your employer refuses to permit you to return to work, you are considered to be laid off due to a lack of work and potentially eligible for benefits.

(2) A leave of absence does not exist if the employer offers you only a preference for rehire or a promise of a job if work exists at the end of the leave. An employee-initiated leave that only provides fringe benefits during the leave or preferential status for reemployment is not a leave of absence but a voluntary quit.

(3) A temporary or indefinite disciplinary suspension from work by the employer is not a leave of absence. The department will treat this as a suspension.