Unemployment if you quit or were fired in Idaho
The state's rules for quitting and for being fired are different. This page gives the state's own words.
All about unemployment in Idaho
Checked against official sources: October 31, 2026.
Quit, fired or refused work
If you quit
If you quit, you must show good cause connected with your job: reasons that come from the working conditions, job tasks or employment agreement and that a reasonable person would find real, substantial and compelling. Personal reasons unrelated to the job do not count, except for the cases listed in the law.
Examples the state names:
- Leaving to protect yourself or your minor child from domestic violence, after reasonable efforts to keep the job
- A military spouse leaving to move with a spouse under permanent change of station orders, after trying to work out an accommodation with the employer
- Quitting a temporary job for a permanent job, or a part-time job for one with more hours
If you were fired
If you were fired, the employer has the burden of proving the discharge was for workplace misconduct. Idaho rules define misconduct as a willful disregard of the employer's interests, a deliberate violation of its rules, or a failure to meet its reasonable expectations.
If benefits are denied for the separation
If you are disqualified for quitting without good cause, misconduct, or refusing suitable work, you must get bona fide work and earn at least 14 times your weekly benefit amount before you can get benefits again.
Refusing work
Failing without good cause to apply for or accept suitable work makes you ineligible until you earn 14 times your weekly benefit amount in bona fide work.
Law: Idaho Code 72-1366(1), (5), (6), (14); IDAPA 09.01.30.275
Official source: Source page
You usually must be unemployed through no fault of your own. In most states this means you lost your job because there was not enough work.
Able, available and looking for work
Job contacts per week: 5
Each week you claim, you must do at least five work search actions while looking for full-time work, unless IDOL tells you otherwise (for example, if you are job-attached and returning to your employer within 16 weeks, or in a union that refers you to work). Report them on each weekly certification; IDOL checks them with employers.
Records to keep
Save your correspondence with employers and screenshots showing dates, interview invitations and workshop attendance as proof. IDOL has a work search log you can use.
Law: Idaho Code 72-1366(4)(a)(iii)
Official source: Source page
To be paid for a week, you must be able to work, available to work and actively seeking work.
Law: 42 U.S.C. 503(a)(12)
Common reasons for a denial and what federal law says →
Free help
Call 208-332-8942. Legal aid and other free help in Idaho → Official sources →
More questions about unemployment in Idaho
Can I get unemployment in Idaho if I quit?
If you quit, you must show good cause connected with your job: reasons that come from the working conditions, job tasks or employment agreement and that a reasonable person would find real, substantial and compelling. Personal reasons unrelated to the job do not count, except for the cases listed in the law.
Can I get unemployment in Idaho if I was fired?
If you were fired, the employer has the burden of proving the discharge was for workplace misconduct. Idaho rules define misconduct as a willful disregard of the employer's interests, a deliberate violation of its rules, or a failure to meet its reasonable expectations.