I accepted a job and then quit. Now the state says I have to repay the unemployment benefits I received.

by Collin

(Maryland)

I was laid of by employer. I took the first job that was offered to me after that since Maryland state requires that that i do so. The job turned out to be a 1099 commission-only based position. For all intensive purposes I was self employed. Before I could produce enough busy to generate income I ran out of money to continue working. No money for gas. No money for supplies needed deal with potential clients. I was not prepared for a job like this an had no real experience in a self generating sales position. I contacted unemployment and explained the situation and was told that there is no problem and they reactivated my claim and began to pay me once again. They payed me benefits until unemployment ran out since I was unable to find a job after that. No that benefits has stopped I being told i have repay it in its entirety because i voluntarily quick the 1099 position. I didn’t want to not work, i just had no funds to do so. Do i have a case here?

Hi Collin,

You need to prove you quit because the job was unsuitable to you. Contrary to what you said about accepting the first job offered in Maryland, all states require you to first look for suitable work relative to your prior experience and training.

So I think you should first read the information on this page of the Maryland Decision Digest just to understand what may be good cause for refusing a job.

Then you should read this page on Voluntary Quitting to find a valid reason for quitting and to understand what in your situation may be good cause.

If the job was misrepresented to you, there may something in that for you to use. In order to avoid paying back the benefits, you need to show you had good cause to quit the job.

It’s doubtful and employer will make an appearance at this hearing .. and certainly not the employer you quit if you were a 1099’d. That would probably not be “covered employment”.

If you took the job because the employer misrepresented what the job actually was .. that’s a good thing.

Let me know if you have any more questions.