Suitable Employment Law & Legal Definition

Generally suitable employment, in relation to a worker, means employment for which the worker is suited. However what is considered suitable employment for one person may not be suitable for another. According to context in which it is applied the term has varied meaning. Generally a worker can be regarded as suitably employed if

• Wage offered aligns with the worker’s expectations and skill.
• The worker is not required to join, resign, or refrain from joining any legitimate labor organization as a condition of employment
• The employer meets all reasonable health and safety standards
• The worker is physically and mentally able to perform the job
• The employment will not interfere with the worker’s religious observances, convictions, or beliefs
• Public or private transportation is available or the workplace is within walking distance
• Childcare is available, if needed to accept the job.

Example of some statutes using the term suitable employment.

In West Virginia, W. Va. Code § 21A-6-4 on Unemployment compensation defines suitable employment as follows:

W. Va. Code § 21A-6-4 : Individual not denied benefits by receiving vocational training.

Notwithstanding any other provision in this article, no individual shall be denied unemployment compensation benefits because of his receiving training as part of an area vocational program, or similar program, which has as its object the training of unemployed individuals in new occupational skills: Provided, That such individual's training and training institution are approved by the commissioner, and such individual produces evidence of his continued attendance and satisfactory progress at such training institution when requested to do so by the commissioner.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, no otherwise eligible individual shall be denied benefits for any week because he or she is in training approved under section 236(a)(1) of the Federal Trade Act of 1974, nor shall such individual be denied benefits by reason of leaving work to enter such training, if the work left is not suitable employment, or because of the application of the provisions of this chapter or any applicable federal unemployment compensation law relating to availability for work, active search for work or refusal to work to any such week in training.

For purposes of this section, the term "suitable employment" means with respect to an individual, work of a substantially equal or higher skill level than the individual's past adversely affected employment as defined for purposes of the Federal Trade Act of 1974 and wages for such work at not less than eighty percent of the individual's average weekly wage as determined for the purposes of the Federal Trade Act of 1974.

W. Va. Code § 62-11A-1 (Criminal Procedure Code)

§ 62-11A-1. Release for work and other purposes by courts of record with criminal jurisdiction.

(a) When a defendant is sentenced or committed for a term of one year or less by a court of record having criminal jurisdiction, the court may in its order grant to the defendant the privilege of leaving the jail during necessary and reasonable hours for any of the following purposes:

(d) If the inmate has been granted permission to leave the jail to seek or take employment, the court's probation officers or, if none, the jail shall assist him or her in obtaining suitable employment and in making certain that employment already obtained is suitable. Employment shall not be deemed suitable if the wages or working conditions or other circumstances present a danger of exploitation or of interference in a labor dispute in the establishment in which the inmate would be employed.