Refusal To Work Could Jeopardize Unemployment Benefits In Tennessee

If you have been recently laid off due to the Coronavirus Pandemic and then decide to not return to work when there is available employment may be considered a “refusal to work”and could potentially disqualify those individuals from receiving Tennessee Unemployment Compensation. The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development follows federal guidelines that an individual must be willing and able to work to receive state unemployment benefits. The federal CARES Act provides provisions for individuals who have traditionally been ineligible for state unemployment benefits, but those provisions do not apply to employees who may be apprehensive about returning to work because of health concerns.