by Anonymous
I work at a hospital as a security supervisor making 21 dollars an hour, with good medical benefits. The hospital is about to out-source the department to an outside company. If the new company offers to keep me as a security supervisor, but at less money and crummy benefits, and I refuse, will I still qualify for unemployment compensation. I have been at the hospital for 7 years.
Great question! Shows a lot of forethought.
If the hospital decides to outsource security to a company, this is a lack of work as far as unemployment and the hospital go, BUT if the company that takes over security decides to offer you a position, you’ll need to know what constitutes good cause for refusing suitable work entails.
To understand, begin by reading the statute, which says:
2. Refusal of employment. No days of total unemployment shall be
deemed to occur beginning with the day on which a claimant, without good
cause, refuses to accept an offer of employment for which he is
reasonably fitted by training and experience, including employment not
subject to this article, until he has subsequently worked in employment
and earned remuneration at least equal to five times his or her weekly
benefit rate. Except that claimants who are not subject to a recall date
or who do not obtain employment through a union hiring hall and who are
still unemployed after receiving thirteen weeks of benefits shall be
required to accept any employment proffered that such claimants are
capable of performing, provided that such employment would result in a
wage not less than eighty percent of such claimant’s high calendar
quarter wages received in the base period and not substantially less
than the prevailing wage for similar work in the locality as provided
for in paragraph (d) of this subdivision. No refusal to accept
employment shall be deemed without good cause nor shall it disqualify
any claimant otherwise eligible to receive benefits if:
(a) a refusal to accept employment which would interfere with a
claimant’s right to join or retain membership in any labor organization
or otherwise interfere with or violate the terms of a collective
bargaining agreement shall be with good cause;
(b) there is a strike, lockout, or other industrial controversy in the
establishment in which the employment is offered; or
(c) the employment is at an unreasonable distance from his residence,
or travel to and from the place of employment involves expense
substantially greater than that required in his former employment unless
the expense be provided for; or
(d) the wages or compensation or hours or conditions offered are
substantially less favorable to the claimant than those prevailing for
similar work in the locality, or are such as tend to depress wages or
working conditions.
And then see the precedent decision index to see how they interpret the statute. It’s a very long list of reasons not considered good cause. You should jump down to 1240 and start reading.