In California, if an employee does not call in or show up for work for three days in a row, does that meet the legal definition of job abandonment?

While this is a very common misconception, neither California nor federal law has a legal definition for "job abandonment." It is up to each employer to set a policy of how many days an employee may miss work without approval before the employer will consider that the employee has abandoned his job. This sometimes is called a “no-call, no-show policy.”

Establishing Policy

Sample language for a voluntary termination policy, including a definition of job abandonment, might be: “Voluntary termination results when an employee voluntarily resigns his or