7 Reasons You Can Quit Your Job and Still Get Unemployment Benefits
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You’ve probably heard that you CANNOT quit your job and collect unemployment benefits, right? Well, here’s the thing, you CAN. There are a few good reasons why Unemployment might compensate you with benefits even if you quit your job. Notice I said “good”. You can’t just up and quit your job because you felt like it and expect them to compensate you. Nope, it doesn’t work like that.
Before we get into he reasons, I wanted to show you what I pulled from Section 402(b) of the Pennsylvania UC Law. Now, this from Pennsylvania, where I currently live, so you’d have to get the exact law from your state, but from what I was looking into, they pretty much all work like this. (Again, check with your state to confirm). It reads, “a claimant shall be ineligible for benefits for any week in which his/her unemployment is due to voluntarily leaving work without cause of a necessitous and compelling nature. A claimant who voluntarily quits continuing work has the burden of proof in establishing good cause for quitting; and, that such cause was real and substantial, leaving the claimant no other alternative.”
Basically what that means is you better have a good excuse as to why you quit, and it is on you to state your case and provide the necessary evidence to prove it. So here’s some of the reasons you can quit your job and still get collect benefits:
*Disclaimer: Laws for each state may vary, before quitting your job, please check your state unemployment agency’s website or contact them by phone to see if your reason for quitting will qualify you for unemployment.
1. Health Issues
If you have issues with your health that prevent you from working, you could possibly still receive unemployment benefits if you quit. However, you must make your employer aware of your health limitations before you quit. Be sure to keep the date and any correspondence that you used to notify them; such as emails or letters. You may need this if you are asked to attend an unemployment hearing. The employer can make any necessary accommodations to your work schedule or work requirements to make it suitable for you to work within your limitations. If they make these suitable accommodations, you should continue your employment and not quit. If the employer fails to make the changes or refuses to make the changes, you may be eligible for unemployment compensation.
2. Loss of Transportation
If something happened that caused you to lose your car, you may be eligible for unemployment compensation if you quit. The loss of transportation must not be of any fault of your own and must be something that is so big that it is nearly impossible to overcome. Great examples of this could be, theft of your vehicle or a car accident.
This is something I wish I knew when I applied for unemployment. Some years back, I got into a really bad car accident. A stolen car hit my car from behind, while I was parked, and totaled my car. I was sitting in the car at the time with my daughter, who wasn’t even 1 years old at the time. She was severely hurt and I was pretty banged up myself.
Traveling to work consisted of me walking 5 blocks to the bus stop, getting on 2 buses, 1 train, and walking again for 45 minutes on the highway, IN PAIN.
There was no way I could continue doing that with back and leg pain. I was going to the chiropractor, still going to school, taking my daughter to daycare, and still going to work. I couldn’t do it. I talked to my employer, put in my notice, and I quit. I thought exactly what you did, that you couldn’t collect unemployment benefits when you quit your job. So I didn’t apply for them. Someone then told me I should try, and I did. They denied my claim because I did not apply within the window the time required after I quit. I lost thousands of dollars of benefits that were rightfully mine. I was broke, unemployed, and devastated.
3. Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is a pattern of threats and/or physical abuse by one person against an intimate partner or other family member to establish and maintain power and control. This abuse can be physical, psychological, sexual, emotional, or financial.
Many states allow you to collect unemployment benefits if you quit your job due to reasons of domestic violence, especially if that domestic violence impacts your job. If you truly feel that continuing employment at your job threatens you, your co-workers, or your immediate family member (children, parents, grand parents, brothers, or sisters) you can quit and still collect unemployment.
Here are some things to look out for when it comes to domestic violence and your employment:
Your partner followed you to physically or or emotionally abuse you
Your partner called and harassed or threatened you at work
Your partner has threatened you about your job or kept you from going to work
Your partner has made contact with co-workers or your boss in an inappropriate manner
Your partner did inappropriate things that may get you fired
You might feel compelled to leave your place of employment if you’ve suffered any of this behavior.
4. Another Job Offer
If you are currently employed and find other employment, some states do not disqualify you for leaving your job for another. However, it must be certain that you have been offered and accepted the job. If for any reason, the job offer falls through and you have already quit your previous job, you may be able to receive benefits.
For example, I had a friend who had a current job at a call center, but she applied to work at a bank. She passed two interviews, testing, and drug testing and was offered the position. She received her offer letter and accepted the job. The offer was also contingent on passing a background check. Now my friend got into some trouble, no fault of her own, she got a ride from a friend and the car they were driving in was stolen. She was charged with receiving stolen property. When her background check came back, the bank snatched the offer away. In this case, she was able to receive unemployment until she was able to secure another job.
5. Caring for Another Family Member
If you have a parent of close family member who is extremely ill, you may need to devote more time home to take care of them. If this causes you to quit your job, you may be able to receive unemployment benefits. Please check with your state unemployment agency to see which family members would be covered.
6. Forced to Quit
Employers don’t always do things above board. If a company doesn’t have probable cause to fire you, they may create a hostile work environment that will force you to quit. This type of resignation is called a constructive discharge.
A constructive discharge, also known as constructive termination or constructive dismissal, is when an employer creates working conditions that are so intolerable that it forces an employee to quit. If this happens to you and you quit, this could still be viewed as termination and you can still be eligible for unemployment benefits.
7. The Work is Unsuitable
This is a bit different than force to quit because the employer may not be actively creating the unsuitable working conditions intentionally. If your health, safety, or morals are at risk you may be qualified to quit and still receive unemployment benefits. If your employer is requiring you to do a job that you do not have the proper training and experience, this can cause risk as well.
There are always specific parameters to this rule, so you must follow your state’s unemployment agency to determine if your reasons will be covered.
Final Thoughts
Everything isn’t always what it seems. It’s important to read the fine print when it comes to employment benefits to ensure you are following the rules and your claims are accepted. There is nothing worse than needing to collect unemployment, and not receiving it due to a minor mistake. That’s exactly what happened to me and I was so disappointed. I was able to do a ton of research to know what to do next time, but by the grace of God I never needed to use it. I wanted to take this time to teach all of you this information because I know if I didn’t know about it, someone else may not have known. Be sure to share this blog post with others so they are aware as well.
