Am I eligible for unemployment?

[KellyDanielle]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

As of this past Tuesday, I have been store manager at a retail store for the past three and a half years. Sales at my store have been down siginificantly this year, so I was called into a meeting two days ago.
I am being taken out of the management position, but was offered a sales position at a lower rate of pay to stay. Would I be eligible for unemployment if I refused the lower paying position? Essentially, I would be voluntarily leaving, but was technically "terminated" from the management position.

 

[commentator]

sYou have been a store manager for three and a half years. You are being taken out of this position and told you can have a lesser job as a sales clerk. I actually think your chances for unemployment are pretty fair in this circumstance. There is very likely a situation that would be classified as 'lack of work' here, where they are eliminating the manager's position you have occupied for a significant amount of time

As soon as you file, saying that your position has been eliminated, the store will come back and say you were offered another job. You must document that this job paid less. If there was a significant loss of benefits or a big change in the hours worked, this also comes into consideration. The term is "a suitable or equivalent" job.

Unemployment insurance is probably much less than you could make working, even as a sales clerk. You have to take that into consideration. If you feel that you will be significantly less well paid, you do not want to work at the store as a sales clerk after being its manager, and it is worth taking a chance that you might be denied, and if you understand that you will have to wait quite a while for your unemployment benefits to start, even if they are approved, if you decide to go for unemployment, you must not work a minute at the new position. Just go on and tell them that you consider you have been terminated, since your position has been eliminated, and that you do not want to work as a salesclerk.

Then, the first Sunday through Saturday week you do not work, file your unemployment claim. Can I receive benefits? Maybe.

 

[Country Living]

Another thing to consider is if you have health insurance through your employment, you may come out better accepting the lower position and retaining that benefit. Otherwise, you would be getting unemployment and paying for your health insurance through COBRA.

This would buy you time to look for anothe position. Just a thought.