by LaShonda
(MS Unemployment Appeals )
I resigned from my collection position on 02/15/12 and I was denied unemployment due to no good reason to resign. I resigned because I stated my employer was affecting my mental and physical health. I included several reasons why I resigned in my appeal letter. I faxed over a copy of daily medication I am required to take for anxiety, tension, and migraine headaches since October 2011. My appeal stated my medical conditions, duties added with no compensation, Time being changed from over 40 hours to 40 to prevent pay of overtime. I also included I reported my employer to OSHA because the stalls were out of commission with feces and blood on toilet seats. I stated all of this in my appeal letter. I stated my benefits were taken because I failed to work 40 hours by thirty minutes one week, and I missed a week for anxiety with migraines. I provided a doctor excuse upon returning. I did not have insurance with my employer so I was informed my 3 week vacation I was going to receive at the end of February would be taken. My employer states during the appeal I would receive benefits back after 60 days of missing no time. I explained to the judge I am on my spouse insurance, and the 60 rule is for insurance. I would be eligible for vacation after one year of service and that will include one week of vacation. I was employed from October 2004 to April 2012. I explained I was the oldest paid collector at the company, and people I out collected monthly, and employed less time were paid more. I do not think the judge took any of the information in my letter in consideration. The employer stated I resigned because I did not like new owners. There were no new owners, and the members of management had been there well over a year. My appeal hearing was by phone 4/6 and I received notification 4/9 I was denied unemployment. The judge stated my physician did not advise me to leave employment. I never requested a leave of absence prior to leaving employment. Continuing work was available and I was not under treat of discharge for any reason. The judge stated I voluntarily without good cause. Mississippi Department of Employment Security Regulation 309 provides that if the employment conditions or circumstances leading to voluntary separation from employment such that an ordinary prudent employee would leave their employment. Additionally, claimant must show after exploring alternatives to quitting, and after making reasonable efforts to preserve their employment, and ordinary prudent person would be compelled to voluntarily quit their employment. The letter stated I provided no evidence to establish my health problems were caused by or directly related to my employment. I did do an appeal, and I received an email my appeal will be forwarded to the Board of Review. I did inform the judge I made several complaints, and members of management knew about my medical conditions. The manager online stated she can only remember bad migraines. I also informed the judge I was only offered a leave of absence for the week prior to my returning, and no other time. I am not sure what will happen from this point, but I would like to hear another person opinion.
Hi LaShonda,
I think the board of review will dismiss your appeal as you did not meet the burden of quitting with good cause.
Although you focused on your health as being the reason, quitting must be proven to be attributable to the work or the employment. If you had quit on the advice of a physician, it would of then had the possibility to of turned out differently.
However, what struck me in your list (unfocused) of reasons why you did quit, was that the employer stopped the OT. That is never going to be good cause to quit a job.
In fact, I might even propose that you included that as a reason for quitting as being directly in opposition for your other, possibly good reasons for quitting.
Focusing on your efforts to correct intolerable conditions of employment which the employer refuses to accommodate or correct .. is the burden.
So the question is whether that imaginary reasonable person (the prudent one) which is only a standard of law, surmised by the hearing officer, would of quit their job too .. because the employer, given a reasonable amount of time .. still refused to correct or accommodate the person choosing to quit their job.
You should of gotten the advice of your physician before you quit ..to quit, if you really wanted to stand a fighting chance of getting unemployment benefits.
Chris ..