(PA Unemployment)
My husband had become extremely ill and eventually required a heart transplant. After his transplant, I got a new job to help pay for the medical bills piling up. Unfortunately, I missed a ton of work driving him to appointments out of town. I quit and took a part time third shift job at a homeless shelter b/c I would not have to miss work. Most of my hours were over the weekend and not on appointment days. After several months at the shelter, the area in which it was located had a dramatic spike in violent crimes (14 shootings in 2009, 52 in 2011). One night I witnessed a shooting on the front lawn. I called the police and made a report. I started having terrible nightmares after that. I was afraid they would get the information that I was a witness and come after me. Several months later, a resident of the shelter, whom I believed to be schizophrenic and informed my supervisor of it, got into a violent fight with his girlfriend. I got caught in the middle. I called the police, who came, but he had fled. He continued to call the shelter all night long, making threats that “when I am done, the whole building will be empty, staff, residents, everyone.” He had told me he was related to someone who was involved in another shooting about two weeks prior, so I am certain he has access to guns and is capable of violence. I quit that night and never returned.
My financial determination came back against the school since thats where I worked in my “base year”. Just waiting to hear whether the employer will appeal. Do I have a case against either employer?
Response For: Quit after witnessing a shooting and being attacked by a resident.
Possibly. Both the quits sound like they have potential for good cause.
But still, what I don’t know is if you will be able to fulfill the burden of proof that a person quitting a job has to meet.
It doesn’t really matter that the base period is charging the older employer .. that’s how unemployment works, but to get benefits the most recent separation from work must also be for qualifying good cause to access those benefits .. if the most recent separation is found to be with good cause, but the prior job isn’t, then the amount of wages earned in the most recent work must also equal six times the weekly benefit amount the base period wages established in PA
I’m sorry to hear about the troubles you’re going through, I know how tough this is on the family as well as the transplant recipient. I know you’re exhausted.
But, if I knew more about what you did to try to preserve the first job I might be able to add more.
I also think you should take a look at footnote 13 under table 5/2 in regards to the most recent quit.
Just because Pennsylvania UI law says that good cause can be found for personal compelling and necessitous reasons and doesn’t require a quit be attributable to the employment .. It doesn’t mean either of those words lack the need to try to preserve the employment to prove a quit was compelled out of necessity because of the employer.