by James
(Jacksonville, FL)
I was laid off in March, 2009 and applied for Veterans Vocational Rehabilitaion. I was approved for training and am scheduled to start in early August. I have been recieving unemployment since being laid off. Now 3 weeks prior to starting my training, I get a call to come back to work. If I refuse, will I lose the benefits. Also I was told by my counselor that I could still recieve benefits while attending training, but it seems now that this is not true.
I am hoping that my employer could work with me on the days I would be training, however I am looking for any other options if that does not happen.
Hi James,
Glad you asked the question .. because I not sure of the answer .. so I had to dig a little. I found this NELP publication on the subject and it tends to make one believe that federal law prohibits a denial of benefits for “refusal of work” if one has been approved for training.
I also found this publication which I believe is located somewhere at the United States Department of Labor.
I think the important phrase was ..
Section 3304(a)(8), FUTA, requires that compensation not be denied to an individual for any week that the individual is in training with the approval of the state agency, or because of the application, to any week in approved training, of state law provisions related to availability for work, active search for work, or refusal to accept work.
There are further discussions within the links in the latter publication.
Sorry I can’t be more helpful, but I would definitely appreciate it if you can report back anything you learn about this subject.
Chris