by Anonymous
(Florida)
I work as a security officer in the state of Florida. My company just lost the contract at the location I was working at. The company informed me that due to my availability they are unable to find a new location for me to work at (I was hired as a full time overnight employee, and i do this because i have a handicapped 19 year old living with me so i am not available to work a normal say 7a to 3p shift). The company wants to make me a part time employee until they are able to find a post for me to work at. I am a 45 yr old single mother of 3 and I cant afford to sit at home and wait for them to call me for work, anything less than a 40 hour work week will not be survivable. I know asking them to lay me off in lieu of making me a part time employee would not be something they would agree to.
Now that being said, I did open up my availability to include working the 3p to 11p shift and yet i sit here on my first day with no work and already an 8 hr loss in pay and wondering what is a reasonable time to just wait to hear from them regarding available work assignments. Since my son is disabled and this is the reason for me not being able to work 7a to 3p do i have a valid reason in the state of Florida to quit the job and still collect unemployment benefits. I am originally from New Jersey where employees actually had rights, here in Florida that is not the same case. I have been in Florida for 3 years and been with this particular company for 2 years without a raise or even a COLA.
I hope this is enough information and i didnt go haywire because the fear for me and my children is starting to set in.
Hi Anonymous,
If what you say is true .. why don’t you consider this. It makes no sense to quit and start looking for another job when you could file for partial unemployment now. If you happen to find another full-time job before they find you another post, then you won’t be without any type of money coming in.
Florida’s partial unemployment benefits are computed to find the amount you would be entitled to if totally unemployed. Then 8 x the federal minimum wage will be deducted from what you earn in wages each week before they start reducing your weekly benefit amount.
So what’s the effect of this oh so simple formula? You would conceivably receive whatever your weekly benefit amount would be on total unemployment and still be employed.
It seems like the perfect scenario to me… Well, as perfect as can be expected anyway, without having to be bothered with trying to prove you had good cause for quitting in Florida … which might be a problem because you are limiting your availability to work, which could be a problem.
Let me know if you have anymore questions.
Chris
PS, You’re not alone in the haywire department. Things will get better!! By the way, if you ever wondered what those unemployment grants websites can do…here’s where you really do get free information I’m not kidding. I clicked a link at the US Dept of Labor and this is where it took me:)