In some cases, courts will apply the doctrine of constructive discharge when your job conditions were so bad that you had no choice but to quit. In appropriate cases, a court will apply employment laws as though you were discharged from employment.
As set forth in McGanty v. Staudenraus, 321 Or 535, 557 (1995), there are four (4) elements a former employee must establish to prove that s/he was constructively discharged:
- The employer intentionally created or maintained specified working conditions;
- The working conditions were so intolerable that a reasonable person would have resigned;
- The employer desired to cause the employee to leave or was certain s/he would leave;
- The employee left as a result of the working conditions.
In many cases, the question is whether the working conditions were “so intolerable” that a reasonable person would have resigned. Courts have interpreted these elements numerous times and I will try to cover some of these decisions in later blog posts.
