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Can I quit a part time job while on unemployment in California?

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jpatrick

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

Hello,
I am not sure if this is the right forum as I could not find an unemployment forum. Could someone move me please if I am in the wrong place.

Situation:
I was laid off from my job on 9/30/2009
I began claiming unemployment. In late november I accepted a Part time/ Piece work job with a company. The pay was 30$ per call. Several things I was informed about the job during the hiring process were incorrect. After I accepted the position I worked for them for 2 days. I did 4 jobs in that time frame making a grand total of 116$. I was woefully underskilled for the job and the supervisor told me if I couldnt pick it up I would be fired. Additionally and more importantly the times required changed after hiring and what was supposed to be local work turned into out of town work which conflicted with my ability to care for my daughter. So long story short...I quit. Today when I checked the mailbox for my unemployment check I instead received a letter from the UE saying that a phone interview had been scheduled for 2/12/10. Thats two weeks from now. That means rent doesnt get paid, I go 4 weeks with no income.

Questions:
1- are my reasons valid for quitting the job?
2- Does the fact that I was getting paid for piece work versus hourly affect anything?
3-Will I continue to get unemployment or did I kill it by accepting and quitting this job?
4- Do I have any way to get the previous claim I made so I can at least make my rent? is there an emergency request I can make to UE?

Your help and answers are appreciated
 


commentator

Senior Member
The news from here isn't terribly good. If you were working, even part time, and you quit the job, of course you reported it. That's good, because you did not commit fraud. If you had failed to report that you quit the job, and then the department found out about it, you might be penalized for the false information and they could ask that you pay back the unemployment you've drawn since you quit the job.

However they found out about the quitting, whether you reported it or the employer did, your benefits will stop now until a decision is made about the voluntary quit. There is no way you can speed up this process or appeal this.

Unemployment is not a welfare program. It is not designed to provide assistance because you are poor or needy. Therefore, you cannot sue them for not paying timely, or file for special dispensation because you are poor.

You may be able to file for emergency food stamps or some other types of assistance through the social services department. But when you signed up for unemployment, they did not ask you any income related questions. You could be a millionaire with a husband working for one of those bonus banks and still draw benefits if you qualify based on work history and reason for leaving your previous employers.

Do continue to certify for each week, though, because maybe when this issue is cleared up, you'll be able to draw again, and if so, you'll be back paid for any weeks you have certified for.

It is never a good idea to quit a job because they are threatening to fire you for not being able to do good enough. Because usually the way unemployment looks at it, if you had been working, and you weren't able to do what they asked and weren't making much, and the employer fired you, you'd be home free on continuing your claim. It was not misconduct on your part.

Voluntarily quitting the job because they were threatening to fire you is not so good for getting re-approved. But the fact that it was a job where what you were able to do made a difference in what you made and that the business was just not there to make the money they promised on hired is in your favor.

Since the job changed very dramaticlly from the job you thought you were taking when hired, this is a good thing in your favor. Tell the ajudicator in your phone hearing concisely what was said when you were hired, and what the job was like when you accepted it. Tell them how much you were able to make, how it changed, how this was an economic decision you had to make.

If I were you, I'd emphasize that I quit not because of the threats to fire me, but because their performance expectations were too high, had been over-represented to you when you accepted the job, you were not able to make any money, and then they were going to ask that you work somewhere different, and you were not able to do so due to your circumstances.

Good luck, maybe this will work out. But in the meantime, keep certifying. Remember, you will not be backpaid for any week you didn't certify.
 
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swalsh411

Senior Member
1. Quitting a job because it turned out to be significantly different than what you were told to expect can be non-disqualifying depending on the circumstances. If you were told that all work would be local and then after you started it became out of town and this caused major problems for your family commitments this might be considered a good reason to quit. There are a few posters here with a lot of UI experience who might be able to give you a more certain answer.

2. No. You need to report all income earned for each certification though.

3. See #1. You won't know until after the hearing when a determination is made. You will be able to appeal if it does not go in your favor.

4. Continue to file each week. If you win at the hearing you will be paid for those weeks. If you don't file each week you won't get paid for them. You won't be paid anything until a determination is made based on the information provided at the hearing.

edit: If you can truthfully say that you were not making enough money to cover your travel expenses that will also help your case.
 
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Hot Topic

Senior Member
The unemployment system in California is a mess, so if you do file an appeal, you can expect to wait for weeks before you get a response.

When I was at the unemployment office, a woman was on the 'phone about not having received an unemployment check since August. She said she was fortunate she was getting child support because that was all she was going to have to live on (until the problem was resolved).

Good luck. I have a telephone interview Monday after receiving a letter stating that my unemployment claim had been approved. I was also told I had to prove I was a U.S. citizen, though I'm in the computer as one.
 

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