Please note that this article applies to Unemployment Compensation in Pennsylvania. Other states may have different rules. Generally the state in which you work is the state in which you should apply for unemployment compensation benefits. The six things:
1. You don’t get unemployment compensation if you quit your job, unless you can prove that you quit because of a “necessitous and compelling” reason. Proving a “necessitous and compelling” reason is tough, but not impossible.
2. You don’t get unemployment compensation if you are fired for “willful misconduct”. There are hundreds of pages of court cases about what “willful misconduct” means. Basically, an employee engages in “willful” misconduct” when he or she intentionally breaks a work rule that (1) he or she knew or should have known about and (2) the employer actually enforced.
3. You don’t get unemployment compensation if you refuse comparable, suitable work. If the boss wants you to transfer to another department in his factory and you say “no,” you won’t get unemployment compensation . If the boss wants you to transfer to his factory in Kazakhstan and you say “no,” you will probably get unemployment compensation.
4. If you are denied unemployment compensation, you should appeal. There is no fee for filing an appeal, so you have nothing to lose.
5. Your employer doesn’t decide whether or not you get unemployment compensation – the Unemployment Compensation Bureau does. The employer will be contacted and will tell the UC bureau its version of why you are unemployed, but the final decision rests with the UC bureau. If your employer fires you and says, “we won’t fight your unemployment claim if you sign this separation agreement,” call a good employment lawyer IMMEDIATELY. This is a sleazy, underhanded way to try to trick you into giving up your legal rights, and it almost always means that the employer thinks it has broken the law.
6. If your employment ends for reasons that you think have to do with your boss breaking the law, you should apply for unemployment compensation and contact a lawyer. The unemployment compensation hearing can be a good time to get sworn testimony from the employer long before any lawsuit is filed, and can really make a difference in an eventual lawsuit.
If you have questions, call my office at (570) 824-3088 or send an email to: grb(at)georgebarronlaw.com. Or, get my free Secret Employee Handbook.