I was forced to turn in a resignation letter or be fired. Can I still collect unemployment

An employer cannot insist you resign (quit your job).

But, I know why employers, even those who work for the federal government in an agency somewhere, or even a contractor with the the government, would try that tactic. It works too often, not to try it.

It’s all to do with the burden, for not just unemployment, but in the event that if you do quit, any official complaint you might make also lack merit, or any proof the employer was behaving inappropriately, or illegally.

The only way an employer might force an individual into quitting their job is via an ultimatum .. Quit, or we will fire you immediately.

In this event, my suggestion is the same as always. Think of your resignation letter as a document for an unemployment appeal hearing, in that it explains in concise, direct terms that you are being forced into resigning to avoid being terminated .. and any relevant events that may not bode well for the employer at an unemployment hearing where they are still expected to carry the burden and prove they made the ultimatum because of work related misconduct.

If you need help, I’m not too bad at evaluating the circumstances that brought you to this website .. so you know what if anything stands out to be beneficial to you once you apply for benefits and have to start answering questions about the cause and separation.

Whatever you do, do not ever quit in “anticipation” of being fired. Most states view this as not exhausting all reasonable alternatives to quitting, and therefore, without good cause.

It’s the tactic of making you feel like you have no choice, when what you must prove is the quit was in “lieu” of being terminated.

That’s what takes the decision, and burden out of your hands.

Now .. if I only knew the content of that email you sent as it sounds like that would be the only place the employer could turn for evidence of work misconduct.

Last Sept i accepted a job in another state with the federal govt. I was under a one year probationary period. I sent an email to a group of people that was deemed unprofessional. I did not use foul language; however I did tell them how I felt about them comparing me to others in the agency and demeaning me in the presence of others.

My supervisor told me I needed to resign. She didn’t say or be terminated but that is the vibe I’m getting. She also said she would provide me a letter of recommendation which I feel would be useless to me. I don’t think I’m going to resign; just take a “wait and see” attitude. I feel I’m being forced to write the resignation letter since my supervisor keeps coming to ask me if I’ve written the letter and she tells me that things “look bad”.

I also feel if I resign and move back home to my family I will be unable to collect unemployment which would almost leave us homeless.

I am a security officer in a hospital and therefore when I was hired I was told only the Head officers will have access to the morgue so why was I told to go down there with you and then when I come you shut the door and have me wait out in the hallway before letting me come in knowing I had a fear of the morgue when you hire for me.. So I went up stairs and the cheif was waiting for me with a resign notice to fill out I started it maybe put five words on the line and then said no I’m not quitting how is it a legit saying I resign but I have not put my signature on it.

You were a security officer in a hospital.

That thing about only Head officer having access to the morgue .. is it a written rule anywhere?

And by the way .. they probably didn’t care you have a fear of morgues .. or maybe .. that was the point of whatever sort of exercise this was.

An employer can say, or tell, the unemployment department whatever they want as their own story.

They can fire you with good cause, or without any cause whatsoever, or they can even trick people into quitting and not fess up when responding to the department that it was a quit in lieu of discharge.

But here’s the thing, no one has a right to any job, it’s an at will relationship .. and when it comes to unemployment .. you work with facts that you can hopefully prove to be true.

You just explained to me that you were discharged (despite what they told you on the phone about having quit) after you refused to sign a resignation letter you began to write, but thought better of.

Now, you’ll just have to apply, or wait and see if the unemployment department think your reason for not going to the morgue was a reasonable refusal and therefore, not misconduct, considering of course whatever your employer might say your job duties included, or your refusal to go to the morgue was insubordinate and of such a degree as to evince willful work related misconduct.

I was told to go the morgue when I said I didn’t feel comfortable right now going who called the cheif and told the chef to fire me when I got up stairs the chef told me it was in my best to resign I started the filling out the form but then I though about it I didn’t want to quit so I didn’t sign it so is it legit?because they called me today and said no need to come back because I resign how did I resign when I didn’t sign anything.

Okay, now tell me what your job was .. because although I might feel uncomfortable having to go to a morgue too, doing so may be a reasonable and even expected part of doing your job.

And there’s the little fact that whether someone quits, or whether they are told not to come back, because they refused to obey a reasonable directive from a superior, that for purposes of unemployment benefits were talking about a discharge for misconduct that must be proven.

So why .. the refusal to do as you were instructed by the employer? And reasonably, I suppose I should ask what you were supposed to do, once you got to the morgue?

And this will be the last question I ask ..even if you hold back what you know is relevant information I need to reasonably answer your first question, which for clarity sake, I assume is if I think you were forced to quit, in lieu of being fired and therefore .. does it matter that you didn’t sign the resignation letter you began to write, but must of left for the employer nearly completed ..minus your signature.

Chris

Because I was told since I didn’t want to do something that was a sign to Me he ask me to resign and add I was writing I decide not to finish and asked you speak to someone over him because I didn’t want to quit.

What were you told to do that you refused to do?
That is sort of relevant .. don’t you think, since you posted your question under a question about being forced to resigned, or be fired.

Why you don’t tell me why you were beginning to write a resignation letter, then I’ll tell you whether the unemployment department should adjudicate your claim as a quit, or a discharge, provided you’ve left no holes in the events which led to the employer calling you and saying not to return .. because you quit.

I was to resign due to something I didn’t agree I started to fill out the resignation letter but I stop my self and ask to speak to someone over my boss I never sign the resignation letter but they called me today and said don’t come back you resign I told her I only started filling the paper out because I was so upset and crying and stop writing when I knew I didn’t want to quit is the paper work legit even though I didn’t sign it or do I have a right to still work there

Listen, I am not naive to the fact there are employers who can make you feel like you’re being forced to quit nor are you the first or last person to feel that way ..

But if we’re to consider there might be some amount of personal power in knowing how unemployment insurance benefits can be made to work in relationship to getting benefits, the real question is why, if a person does not think they are guilty of misconduct and sees the end of their employment as being imminent, why not learn a new trick or two yourself for purposes of unemployment.

I’m just trying to say those who fall prey to feeling forced via intimidation tactics and also believe they aren’t guilty of misconduct, or have good cause to quit which is attributable to an employer, have more choices than laying flat like a rug to walk on if they know as an employee, a resignation letter is a document and can literally be used by either themselves, or the employer to explain the final incident.

They can only try to force an individual (unless you work for a secret spy organization on Scandal) to tell the story that benefits the employer.

All I’m trying to get across to employees is you can write a resignation that tells a different story and not the one the employer wants for all those other potential neutral third parties who will try to perceive AFTER the quit is done and over what happened in that tiny little room with the interrogation lights.

You can choose to write your letter, or not sign one they put together. But if you do write the resignation letter do it in such a way as to benefit yourself and not be the only document in the unemployment appeal file which goes to benefiting an employer’s rebuttal argument that you quit without good cause.

Now all you need to ask yourself going forward is whether you will be the victim of your own unemployment ignorance, or not when you should now be in control of a situation where you feel the employer is trying to force you to quit.

You’re going to have to trust me on something .. The victim card only plays well once for me because going forward from a mistake, I always try to take a lesson with me .. not the bitter regret from not knowing the first time.

My employer forced and intimidate me to resign.

The reason I asked is because quitting to move to follow a spouse (see table 5-6 at the 2014 non monetary chartbook found at the State UI law comparison charts .. varies.

In many states quitting to follow a spouse is allowed, but restricted to the spouses of military members and often even states allowing for a voluntary quit with good cause under this condition can be tight and restricting.

Connecticut of course doesn’t have such a restriction, however, even CT may explore the reasons for the need to transition to NC to find out if the spouse had a reasonable reason to move to NC and if your reason for quitting also became compelling and necessitous by exhausting alternatives prior to quitting.

This of course should logically lead to discussing the transfer request.

But proving communications with an employer were ongoing and eventually futile, can be a matter of also being able to prove verbal conversations with an employer about transferring ever took place.

Conversations can be just as easily documented to of happened when you’re an employee as they are when an employer documents a verbal warning.

Rule of thumb .. if it isn’t written down, it didn’t happen. While you’re on the unemployment law page above, you might also scroll down to where I keep the links to state specific laws and even more important, interpretive resources.

Because Connecticut does. Hope it helps answers the questions I not able to.

Hi Chris The state is CT.

You failed to mention the name of the state you are currently employed in.

Sort of important when someone mentions they will voluntarily quit due to moving, or transitioning to a different state .. as well as the reason for the move, or transition.

Not to mention documenting your efforts to preserve a job by following an employer policy regarding transfers.

On Dec 29 2014 my previous manager told my area director that I would like a transfer to nc.. Because my family was transitioning to nc.. By the end of February.. I stated I want to transfer within the company but as it stands now I will be leaving by the end of February with or without my company however if things change I will let you know we’ll in advance.. My AD stated that he will help me with my transfer and do what they have to so on their end.. In the conversation no one mentioned resign or is this resignation? If so can you put it in writing.. So unforeseen circumstances happened and the move was off..Before this my employer hired the part timers to my position which would be a promotion and he was only with the company for three months.. So when I told them I was no longer leaving my AD took our convo as my resignation! I told him that I was letting him know of my future plans and wanted to know if he could help me with a transfer and nothing was set in stone that’s why I Sao however if thing change I will let you know.. So now they have said either you take a part time position or your out of a job come the end of Feb.. Did I really give a resignation?? I did not a thing on paper nor did he ask me too my precious manager was said that was not a resignation at all of course HR says it was but other hr people has said it’s not.. Any who my question is if i leave would I be able to get unemployment. Since i did not hand in a resignation letter nor will i without outlining every detail or should I wait till the end of the month to see if they let me go..??

Just wanted to drop a quick tip.

When I hear someone either has to relocate, or become unemployed, the first thing I wonder about is if the terms and condition of hire said anything that might imply you were made aware relocation might be necessary, or if the relocation is necessary because the employer closed down the location you worked at and you have to move to continue working for them.

That is what seems to me central to your issue.

What is happening to you seems to be for the employer a way around having to respond it was a lay off and thus to any claim filed that you refused continuing suitable work without also making mention that the continuing work was so far away, the employee would have to move to make going to work possible.

It’s a low ball tactic none would be proud to admit to for fear of hurting their “brand” nowadays.

Not to mention that you’re right, $500 isn’t squat to make moving possible, but amounts to something I would call placing a financial burden on the employee that could take months to recoup from at minimum wage.

All I can say is I hope your resignation letter explained the specifics of why you were tendering it because the employer can ask, but they can’t tell you what to write in it, so it only becomes a valuable document for them to submit at a hearing.

Good Luck!! And check your state statutes to see if there’s also any precedent about a situation when it’s the employer who moves where the work is located .. not the other way around.

I was amazed to come by this page and see the exact same thing happened to me.

The organization downsized and gave me an ultimatum that either I relocate or not have a job. They knew they only paid me minimum wage, I’d just had a Ch.7 bankruptcy and didn’t have any $$ or any way to meet the relocation demand. They only were willing to give $500.00 for relocation and in this day and age that won’t get you the first month’s rent much less 1st/last/deposit, gas and electric, water and trash, etc.

My UI phone interview is this week, but I have sent in all the evidence I have showing that this was a forced resignation, not a voluntary quit and am only crossing my fingers as I will lose everything since I have no way of paying my bills.

I have so far in the month since being forced to resign put out 60 resumes and have been called back to only 4 for interviews, but I remain hopeful despite the situation as family has been helping a little and we’re able to scrape by so far.

I’m hoping the judge will see that I made every effort to compromise to remain in my position but that my employers had probably hired someone already in the other location and so kept making it harder and harder to comply with the mandatory relocation.

I’m glad that I save emails and have a good memory about dates / calls as my superiors are notorious for not putting things in writing, but boy did they make me put that resignation in black and white! 🙁

I was recently as to resign from a position but I will still be working for the company but through an agency (per the company’s request). I’m a bit confused as to why they need a letter of resignation since I will still be working at the facility.

Maybe you should ask why. And you should definitely explain why you are tendering the resignation at the employer’s request so they can turn you into a temp employee through the temp agency, that will then become your employer.

My guess is .. it’s to reduce costs and risk of liabilities that go along with being an employer.

Worked at a job for a little over 1 yr. I’ve never been late, never called out, never called into the office for
Any misconduct. In fact when an employee left I was given her responsibility’s on top of my own. However I was called into the office and while the owner and manager verbally attacked me for 1hr 15 mins about a social media post I had. That stated “I used to love my job and no longer do”. Someone within the practice showed them and this resulted in the verbal bashing. I was told “I would fire you now but I’m not paying you unemployment, and still haven’t made up my mind what to do”, “I have 64 resumes of people who want your job you can be replaced” and so on. I brought up the fact that he is confrontational. He said “if you think it won’t happen agin you might as well leave now, I’m a confrontation person. It’s a personality flaw”. The next day I gave my 2 week notice and they told me they had come to the same decision and asked I leave now. I’ve filed for umployment. After they received the paper work they called and text me stating I needed to come on and fill out final paperwork for my claim. I never responded until they said they would hold my final check until I met with them to sign paper work. I refused due to the hostile situation and attitudes. Finally they have mailed my check and are now requesting I sign my 2 week notice paper. My question is I feel as though I was forced out. I was scared to work for them due to the confrontation also after threats to sue me for defamation, and bad work references. What are my options? Should I sign this letter? I’ve never filed for unemployment. My work history is great and have never had a bad review.

I’ll make this sweet and short.

No, but only because I don’t know what’s in the paper, or form they asked you to sign and whether it would help, or harm you.

Hello,

I been working with the company for three years and six months now. Last year, I made a few mistake and was warned verbally not to mess up again. Last week, there was this one customer that needs replacement right away and it got to my manager attention. She told me why am I not taking of them and I told her that I am but it will take sometime bc we dont have the item in stock.. She was rushing me saying go to another branch and get it. I went to another branch to ask if they have the item in stock which they do. The branch send us the sales order confirmation to make sure everything is right. I showed it to her and she signed. Right when she was done signing it, she told me to fax the sales order AND bill of lading. Now, the thing is when she says fax it over, I need to fill out the bill of lading form first before I fax it. I have to schedule trucking company to get the merchandise for our customer. I need a pick up number to from the trucking company to fill out the bill of lading. I done all that and fax it over to the branch. A few hours later, she asked if I had checked how much it was to ship from the branch to the customer. I did not. She got really upset, gave me long lecture, and sent me HOME. Before I went home, I beg our trucking sales rep to lower the freight cost but he never got back to .me that day when my manager sent me home. Next day, I went to work, I was told not to come back and get my check. The day when I got my check, I found out that the trucking sales rep fix the freight cost and the customer got the replacement in one peace. I was told by my manager that she don’t want me. She says one, I sign the resignation paper and if other company calls, she would give me good reference or two get fire and she will not give good recommendation. I was really hurt bc I been with the company for three years and six months and worked really hard. She told me that she can’t laid me off bc she won’t be able to hire another person. So either I sign the resignation paper or get fire…….deep down inside me, I honestly know I did the right thing for the customer. I told her I am not going to sign anything. My manager says ok, I’ll put you on file. I want to know will I be able to file unemployment?

hi, I wanted to ask if I’m eligible for unemployment, because I’m not sure what happened on my former job, here’s what happened.

I work as a nurse assistant, I was in charge of fixing medication for the residents according to a physician prescription. I had done it many times and had been working there for 10 months.

Three weeks ago I made a mistake in the medications and got them mixed up.

I know it could have been very bad if any of the residents took the wrong medication but fortunately a coworker noticed the mistake, but it came to my supervisors attention. She wanted to see me next monday. She told me my mistake was unacceptable and that I was gonna be taken out of the schedule for good.

I never signed anything and I didn’t give a two week notice, so I don’t know if I’m eligible, any help will be appreciated.

Hi Allen,

Sounds like you were fired for being neglectful in the performance of your job to me when you were told you were being taken off the schedule for good. However, I’m wondering why this isn’t obvious to you? Did they offer you a different kind of position?

Whether that one incident amounts to misconduct or not per the unemployment department is yet to be seen. It’s a futile practice for me to tell people they are eligible .. because that is often based upon details of an argument I don’t know ..

Anything in the employee handbook rules and policies that made you aware of the possible repercussions?

Here’s the thing Allen. The employer really can’t have someone mixing up meds. The potential to cause harm to the employer’s interest is obvious ..

But, the unemployment department’s definition or interpretation of “willful work related misconduct” often requires an employee to be warned so they know that any further carelessness could result in termination of employment.

It’s like one occurrence can be chalked up to a one time good faith error, but a repeat episode is what nails down your attitude about performing your job as being the cause of negligence or carelessness.

It is not a sure thing, but I know for a fact it is a possibility that you could be found eligible for benefits.

But, I know that this is the type of case that usually ends up at an appeal hearing for a final ruling .. whatever way it goes initially.

I have recently been given an employee counseling report to complete at my place of employment. It is an interactive report which asks the employee to provide, from their perspective, information regarding what occurred, how it could have been avoided and what measures in the future will be taken to avoid this situation occurring again. After completing the report (signing and dating) and giving it to my supervisor, I was informed that I did not take “ownership” of the incident and it will not be accepted until I change my statement to reflect that. After explaining that I was uncomfortable with changing my statement, as it is from my perspective, I was informed that I can not return to work until that is changed and if it isn’t changed by my next scheduled shift they will consider that my resignation. I have repeatedly informed them that I have no intention of resigning or changing my statement. I even offered them to include an addendum that states they view my statements as incorrect and I will sign that I have seen it and allow it to be a part of the report. They declined the offer. My question is am I eligible for UCB seeing as I have no desire to resign or quit but they are reporting it as a voluntary separation?

It should be clear, that you did not provide the information which would help anyone determine whether you will be eligible for UCB’s, but you have basically defined what I would call a discharge .. for not being willing to change your perspective.

What is not clear is whether your refusal to alter your interactive reply to the employer per their procedures is sufficient to be called insubordinate .. but since they will not allow you to return to work until at which time you alter your response to satisfy them .. I’d call it a lack of work for refusing to sign a forced confession of wrongdoing until at which time one party or the other moves to end the employment .. formally.

So I leave it to you .. will you be found guilty of misconduct or will you stand up for yourself and fight for unemployment benefits based upon the facts in light of the unemployment laws?

What does the employee handbook for this “interactive discipline measure” say are your rights in the situation?

I made a comment in front of another employee out of stress and frustration. I have a workmans comp case pending and have been having trouble due to the injury. The management and other employees were giving me a hard time. The employee then hotlined me and I was talked to by loss prevention. He wouldn’t let me leave the room until I had admitted what was said. He told me I was suspended pending investigation. Four days later he called and said employee relations agreed to pay my remaining vacation days, pay me for the hours I missed during that week, and would not fight my unemployment. The loss prevention keeps saying he is not trying to deceive me and he made the comment out of the blue. He’s the one calling me a liar. I never called him one. The say if I don’t send my resignation then he doesn’t know what to tell me since I broke the hostile workplace and harassment policy. I am not sure what to do. If I broke the policy why not fire me instead of giving me this supposedly sweet deal? What should I do?

It would be better if you told me what the “comment” was.

As far as the resignation .. I’ve addressed before what the purpose of a resignation letter is .. when it is demanded by the employer.

If I were you .. I’d contact an employment attorney .. because it all sounds a little fishy ..

If they had a case of misconduct .. they would fire you .. but that worker comp claim .. is probably making them leery of a retaliation claim.

That is why you should at least talk to a lawyer .. you might have some “negotiating room” as far as the terms of resignation .. and possibly an actual severance.

I think I’d go with one that specializes in worker compensation

Thanks for the answer ? It now makes sense why current Employer B is fighting extension even though I have no intentions of filing on them.

To answer your question – Yes they pay time and a half for over 8 hours per day. (but at $7.00 per hour straight time, I can’t stretch it far enough! God help me if I get sick. No insurance and I was told by HR when I hired in “if you miss a day of work, it’s automatic termination no matter what”.)

Below is what I received, in part, from employment office.
————————————————–
ADDRESSED TO: Claimant name & address
RE TO: Employer B name & address

ISSUE INVOLVED: Employment Status

CIRCUMSTANCES OF CASE: Claimant is employed.

CONCLUSION OF CASE: In accordance with *IC-22-4-3-2, the claimant is not unemployed. The claimant is not entitled to benefits. Benefits are suspended as shown below.

LEGAL RESULT OF CASE:

CLAIMANT, YOUR BENEFITS ARE SUSPENDED EFFECTIVE WEEK ENDING 05/27/2011

?..this determination will become final if not appealed by 06/06/2011.
————————————————–
(*Asterisk inserted by me for state Code cited)

*IC 22-4-3
Chapter 3. Unemployment Defined

IC 22-4-3-1
“Totally unemployed” defined
Sec. 1. An individual shall be deemed “totally unemployed” in any week with respect to which no remuneration was payable to him for personal services. (Formerly: Acts 1947, c.208, s.301; Acts 1953, c.177, s.9.)

IC 22-4-3-2
“Partially unemployed” defined
Sec. 2. An individual is “partially unemployed” when, because of lack of available work, he is working less than his normal customary full-time hours for his regular employer and his remuneration is less than his weekly benefit amount in any calendar week, but no individual shall be deemed totally, part-totally, or partially unemployed in any week which he is regularly and customarily employed full-time on a straight commission

Just one more thing .. 7.00 ph isn’t even the federal minimum wage.

I was forced to resign or be fired. With that employers (Employer A) promise, in writing, not to contest unemployment benefits I chose resignation. 2 months afterward I found a job (Employer B) that works 7 days on (80+ hours per week) and then 7 days off. The state did allow unemployment every other week since I continue to look for a full time job on my off weeks.

Things were fine until my initial benefits were exhausted and I filed for the automatic 26 week extension.

For whatever reason, both Employers A & B were notified of my request for an extension and Employer B challenged the extension even though the claim is on Employer A and is not even charged to Employer B’s account.

Employer A has not and will not challenge the extension, as promised.

Employer B challenged because they say that I’m a full time employee because I work 80+ hours every other week. HR person told me I was being greedy and would not agree to allow extension in any manner.

My question is:
1)Why would Employer B even care since the unemployment benefits aren’t being drawn from or charged to his company’s account?
2)Why is Employer B allowed to even have a say since the unemployment benefits aren’t being drawn from or charged to his company’s account?

Should I appeal?

By the way – my current 80+ hr job and unemployment together does not equal half the pay of my previous job. No health insurance or benefits of any kind either.

Hi,

I’ll start with .. the question of whether you should appeal.

Damn right you should, but then again .. You told me the employer is challenging .. If you have a determination saying you are denied .. I’d like to know what it says exactly to identify the issue you would be appealing on.

Ignore the HR person. Unemployment is based on earnings in a single week you file a claim for .. they do not consider 80 hours in one week to transcend to the week you do not work .. just because you worked two full time jobs in one week.

You are employed full time only every other week and the other week you work less than 32 hours and don’t earn squat. You are partially unemployed.

They are fighting now .. because when the extension benefits run out .. you will have sufficient wages in a new base period for a new claim .. and they will be charged then for your “partial unemployment benefits”.

I sure hope you are being paid ‘overtime’ .. or would that be too greedy to expect as well.

Trust an HR person to accuse someone of being greedy in an effort to lead them astray with false information about how unemployment benefits work.

I am being forced to quit. The employer requested that I write a letter of resignation in which I did. I have particated in no misconduct nor was I forwarned that there was a serious problem with my performance or ability. This company is privately traded and I was 6 months shy of being 100% vested in private ownership of the stock options given to me at the beginning of my employment 3.5 years ago. Fortunately, I have documentation written prior to my forced written resignation proving that I was coersed into writing a voluntary resignation letter. Can you give me any advice on how my stock options benefit could be adversly affected with a voluntary resignation prior to being 100% vested? All and any advice is welcome.

Sorry,

I’m clueless about stock options .. but it might stand out as being a strong motivator for the employer extracting a quit in lieu of discharge (which is adjudicated as a discharge by the unemployment department .. or at least it is supposed to be.

Maybe someone else will add a comment to let us know if the employer’s choice of preventing you from becoming vested equates to a wrongful termination, which would be a different civil venue to pursue.

Or maybe you could just ask a lawyer if that is possible.

Hello yesterday at 4:50 pm my boss asked me to resign by May 1st. He said he did not want to fire me but that it is time for us to part ways. I have worked for him for 10 yrs 10 mos. and his reason is b/c I am not performing 100% of my day to day tasks. Although he said he would write me a recommendation letter. I honestly believe it a personality conflict between the office manager and myself

My question is, if I accept the resignation will I be disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits. Also, I was thinking of writng in my resignation letter, as per your request, I am resiging. Do I need him to sign the resignation letter or is that okay. I’m in Texas.

thank you.

Being asked to submit a resignation letter .. because the employer does not want to fire you .. is a strategy.

If it were me .. I would try to get the promised letter of recommendation before I turned over my resignation letter which would “detail” the circumstances under which you are tendering it.

What this does is make your resignation letter useless as a document to prove you voluntarily quit, but were forced to quit because the employer gave you no choice. In other words .. you either quit .. or you will be fired.

This is normally adjudicated as far as unemployment goes .. as a discharge .. and therefore .. they would then have to decide whether your “performance issue” amounted to misconduct .. as that is the employer’s burden to prove.

So, regardless .. whether you quit or let him fire you that would be the issue.

Did your job performance rise to a level that is considered work related misconduct?

I am working while going to law school and the field I am working in now is related to my future career. I started the job Mid-November. The problem is that my supervisor has told me that I am not improving in my work performance at an acceptable pace. We have had conversations and I have improved but she told me on Friday at 230p that it was my last day and took my keys. She told me I had until Monday to resign or she would terminate me. I am concerned that if I resign I will be unable to collect unemployment but if I am terminated it will reflect poorly on me in the future. Please help me with this. I am considering a resignation letter that states I am resigning per my supervisors request, so that the letter reflects it is her decision not mine to quit.

This is a quit in lieu of discharge. This situation is adjudicated as a discharge.

Although you’ve mentioned some other elements .. including the fact that you are a student .. that trouble me .. I’ll let those go.

If it was my resignation letter it would stand as my statement about why the employer is discharging me, but graciously allowing me to quit in lieu of being fired for .. not misconduct, but because of your “inability” to perform.

You may bristle, but inability is an operative buzz word for unemployment.

I was forced to give my 30 day notice yesterday for lack of agreement. I went back to my desk to work and within 5 mins was asked to pack my things I was going to be escorted out. The employer agreed to pay me the 30 days of pay with my letter of resignation. I want to be able to collect unemployment if I am unable to find a job in 30 days. How do I word the letter so I am able to accomplish this? I am in Florida.
Thanks!

Well, this one isn’t too hard to figure out ..

You gave a thirty day notice, but the employer decided to pay you to the end of your notice yet escorted you out immediately.

Therefore .. whether you can collect or during that time you aren’t working will be beside the point .. because you were paid wages.

So if you hope to collect any benefits at all it would be after the 30 days and entirely dependent on why you quit your job and whether it was with or without good cause attributable to the employer.

In most states .. you would only be eligible for benefits for the time you weren’t allowed to work if the employer didn’t pay you to the end of your notice and any benefits after that .. would be dependent on whether you quit with or without good cause.

Chris

For unemployment determination my employer stated that they offered me another position (that did not happened). My paper work stated that I was terminated. I was denied unemployment after working 20 years with this company. I see people that work for 2 years and collect unemployment for 2 years. I went from 55,000.00 a year to 0 and no assistance. Something is wrong with this system.

Hi,

Did you appeal the determination? Length of employment doesn’t have a whole lot to do with a non-monetary or “merit” determination or entitlement to benefits, but the determination can be appealed and benefits can be won at a hearing.

Did you do that .. since the employer supposedly gave the state information that you “refused continuing work”? At a hearing they would have to prove the offer of work and it would have to work considered “suitable” to you.

My company threatens to with hold your final check until you sign their preprinted resignation letter. I think this is illeagle in the state of VA.
I will refuse to sign this and will send my lawyer can pick up my check

i’m sorry, the last two anonymous posts were from me. the one today was a continuation & response to the post on 2/15.

thanks.

Ya, I know .. it’s hard to keep all the posts by “anonymous” straight, but I wasn’t confused about the fact that it was you following up.

I just can’t tell you whether you have a shot at collecting unemployment because all you’re giving me is vague details and I would have to make assumption .. or ask you questions to clarify things.

.. I don’t even know for sure if you have resigned although your last post made me think you might have because a “co-worker” called you.

The concern is whether the state will think you quit in “anticipation of discharge” .. or if the interaction between you and the employer implied you were forced to resign i.e., quit in “lieu of discharge”.

Read the TX precedent manual and apply what you learn to the details only you have.

I was not told I would be terminated, however, what was said was “do you really think you’ll be able to continue working here after all this?” I responded by saying “Yes, because I think conflict should be resolved, it should be talked out.” I am concerned as to how this will look to future employers…as I do not feel I did anything against company policy, was insubordinate or anything. I tried contacting my supervisor once to try to resolve this but have not heard back. However, a co-worker called me yesterday to ask a question with regards to a project I was working on prior to this, she is now finishing it…
TX

Hi,

You’re just not giving me anything to work with here anonymous .. so I suggest you check out these Texas resouces.

Texas Unemployment precedent manual

TWCCRD

I have told I have to resign by my employer. The circumstances leading up to this are as follows…several co-workers had talked to me about problems occurring in the office, I talked to my spouse about what was going on and was encouraged to go to the President of the company. I emailed the President, not mentioning other employee’s names, this email was forwarded to my supervisor who then demanded I give up the names of the employees complaining. I did not. The President then contacted me, accusing me of many things, including bad job performance & being an employee never wanted in the company. The next day, I was told I was my loyalty is in question & I can no longer work there but need to resign. None of this was brought to my attention prior and my job performance & work submitted have always been excellent (per my supervisor).

Hi Anonymous,

All I’ve got to say is if you submit a resignation letter .. make sure that letter is very clear about the reasons you are giving it and mention the details of email which motivated the entire thing. If there was workplace harassment involved as a complaint in that email .. contact a lawyer now because this forced resignation may have potential to be seen as “retaliatory”.

Although you didn’t tell me what state you are in .. I would also feel better for you if you had told me the employer said if you don’t quit you will be terminated. Some states may say you quit in anticipation of discharge .. if the employer were to respond that you quit for personal reasons .. so try to cover yourself with a very detailed resignation letter.

I also think the email to the President of the company would be significant as to the contents.

And I hope you have printed all the emails to support yourself.

My employer has given me the choice of termination or resignation. I feel I don’t have the need to resign. I was given 2 informal verbal warnings for being late, never a written warning. They hired a new employee who sent an email where he slandered me, to my supervisor with personal irrelevant to my job information, which started the whole thing. I was never asked to sit with my co-worker to confront the issue, instead they said I was late and I was to not longer work for the corporation. I decided to finish my term at work until I found out about the email, and them decided to not return to work because of the hostile environment. My supervisor then said to me if I didn’t return to work she wasn’t going to be very happy that she’d have to find a sub and threaten me to give me a bad work review. The situation has progressed into choosing between being terminated or resign, she also mentioned that they’d fight until the ‘limit’ so that I wouldn’t get unemployment benefits.
PLEASE, HELP! what can I do???

Hi Anonymous,

Your question only leaves me with more questions to ask you to even begin to assess what’s “really going on.

I would be happy to discuss it with you, but if that doesn’t interest you, I suggest you get your ass back to work otherwise. the employer won’t have to fight very hard to prove you quit without good cause by job abandonment. It’s never a good idea to try to lord it over an employer.

Personally I think the employer is making a mistake to even continue the conversation with you, but if they are .. go back to work and start documenting the hostile work environment

Or quit now and see how far you get with trying to collect unemployment with what you’ve got now for voluntarily quitting due to a hostile work environment.

No prior warnings? Just a bunch of little things that all totaled, made them decide to ask for your resignation instead of firing you?

If an employer told me that…I’d tell them, “better hope she doesn’t appeal”, or “why on earth did you appeal”?

States are looking for a proximate cause for the separation. They want to know the employee was warned per the procedures the employer laid out at the time of hire (handbook). They want to know the employee was progressively warned and when it came down to the final warning, they want to know the employee was made aware that if it happened again, his/her job would be in jeopardy.

I wasn’t given many reason’s for discharge, my employer said that it wasn’t anything big but rather little things. All of which had occurred within the last two weeks. For example, I had been taken off phones, I thought, to focus on another aspect of the project. The organization had hired temps to answer phones and I had not been regularly logged into the phone and email system. It was not busy and as far as I understood I did not have to be logged in during this time since I was suppose to be working on something else. My boss said that this showed I “wasn’t a team player”. However, I would have gladly logged in if my supervisor or someone had asked me to. Mostly, I feel the reasons they gave were reasons, for the sake of giving reasons.

I do have a “conspiracy” theory which my employer confirmed, at least in part, that it had to do with my discharge.

Another position in the company which better matched my skills and interest opened up. I applied to this position and my coworkers convinced me it be a good idea to try and push for the job, since I worked there and I could. Push, here just means, trying to meet with the head of the department and talk to him/her more about the position and myself. I then eventually realized that they wanted to hire someone with more education and experience. I never found out about the position because I was let go before then, but I feel like I was mostly let go because they didn’t want to hire me in a new position and I probably made it seem like I would be very upset or disgruntled if they didn’t. I don’t know if this is grounds for misconduct or being fired and now I really wish I never had applied.

I am more or less fresh out of school and new to the job world, so I am looking at all of this as a learning experience.

I appreciate your help.