can a full-time college student...

[JackHofstra]

collect unemployment when quitting the job due to unfair employee benefits? 2+ years of job time, income of just under 50k in 2010. The reason I'm quitting is b/c I have worked at a dealership for more than 2 years while I put myself through college and even though I make as much money as many of the other employees, they don't give me any benefits such as paid vacation or healthcare b/c they say my 40 hrs/wk during the school year doesn't constitute "full-time" in their eyes. So the reason I am quitting is due to unfair employee benefits. And to be honest, I just want to be a normal college kid again.

 

[cbg]

You are unlikely to receive unemployment if you quit for that reason regardless of whether you are going to college or not.

 

[ecmst12]

However, it may not be legal for them to deny you benefits if you meet the definition of an eligible employee according to the plan document. At least as far as healthcare goes, paid vacation may be another matter.

 

[cbg]

Just to clarify, in most (not quite all, but most) states, an employer can have a definition of full time that exceeds 40 hours for benefits purposes. The only magic that happens at 40 hours is that this is where overtime kicks in. But for benefits purposes, if the employer wants to have that happen at 45 hours, or 50, or 55, there is nothing in the law of at least 46 states that would prohibit it.

 

[commentator]

if you quit your job, to be approved for unemployment, you'd have to show you have a valid job related reason for doing so. If you quit at this point, they're going to ask why in the heck you took this job, knowing what the benefit structure was, and worked at it for two years, knowing how you were being treated, and then suddenly, right now, you've decided to quit the job because it just isn't fair the way they're treating you. Frankly, I think your reason for wanting to quit has much more to do with the phrase "I just want to be a college student again" and I think they'd pick up on this very quickly.

Your chances of being approved for unemployment in this situation is slim to none, in my opinion. And then even if you were approved for benefits, there would be the availability issues, and you probably would not be able to draw the benefits anyway, because I strongly suspect you would have to limit your availability due to when you have to take your classes, since you are an upperclassman and probably have very specific classes you have to take to graduate that are just not offered many times and with much flexibility.

In other words, you can quit your job, but don't expect unemployment benefits. They are not a help while you are out of work because of health issues, but they are not also to help you finish college, either, except under very specific departmentally sanctioned kinds of school such as Trade Act or NAFTA re-training programs.

 

[Beth3]

collect unemployment when quitting the job due to unfair employee benefits? 2+ years of job time, income of just under 50k in 2010. The reason I'm quitting is b/c I have worked at a dealership for more than 2 years while I put myself through college and even though I make as much money as many of the other employees, they don't give me any benefits such as paid vacation or healthcare b/c they say my 40 hrs/wk during the school year doesn't constitute "full-time" in their eyes. So the reason I am quitting is due to unfair employee benefits. And to be honest, I just want to be a normal college kid again.

No, you won't be eligible for unemployment benefits. You will have voluntarily quit your job. For UC purposes, the fact that you don't receive benefits is irrelevant. Those were the terms under which you accepted their offer of employment.

 

[ecmst12]

Though for the kind of scratch you're making WHILE being able to maintain full time school schedules, you should be able to afford the occasional unpaid vacation and health insurance (pretty cheap for the young and healthy)!

 

[JackHofstra]

Thanks to everyone for the input, I really appreciate it.