Cut back on hours and hostile environment - reopen unemployment benefits?

[jobjob8]

CA

Thank you very much for your kind replies.

About a few weeks into my Extended unemployment benefits, I got hired and started work. This was around 3 months ago. My boss/company owner is unable to control his unreasonable temper and yells to everyone more often than not everyday, sometimes throws things and very often bangs the phone. Really loud and obnoxious. And because he's a nervous wreck and needs to get 12 things done in a minute, he bothers us with questions and more tasks every second. He's just a mess of a boss. There's 5 of us including the boss working IN THE SAME ROOM. I am very stressed with this situation and just recently got sick (fever) from this. I work as a graphic artist and this type of environment is not for me, or for anyone! The elderly and his sons would constantly beg him to stop yelling because he bothers and humiliates all, but he never stops.

Anyway, he recently cut back our hours because of no work. My 40 hours have just been cut to 16 hours. I really actually was going to quit, make hostility as reason and try to fight to reopen my unemployment, but with this recent development of a cut-back, he beat me to it. I feel that my situation is even more complicated now. I know this hell of a situation is not as strong as what constitutes a hostile environment but I just know I'm not going back. I'm so pissed and disgusted with my moronic, heartless yeller of a boss.

I need your help. Please share me your inputs.
Thank you very much.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

he beat me to it

So where you fired? If so, for what?

 

[cbg]

FYI, the term, hostile work environment, has a very specific meaning in employment law, and what you have described isn't it. Not even close.

So, what is your legal question?

 

[Proserpina]

I hope to high heck OP's boss hasn't accessed this website.

 

[jobjob8]

Thank you for your replies. He didn't fire me but just cut my hours from 40 to 16 hours each week.

 

[swalsh411]

You can certainly file for partial benefits because your hours got cut. The formulate is a little different in each State. Can't hurt to try though as long as you tell the truth. If you say you were fired and the employer eventually reports otherwise you will be looking at a fraud overpayment situation. You can't just quit because the boss is a jerk and expect to get benefits. If he acts illegally then that is another things. (For example, leaving a job because the boss wouldn't stop asking you to have sex with him, and his superiors would do nothing about it, would be considered good cause)

 

[commentator]

File immediately for partial unemployment benefits. As long as the amount of gross wages you make in one Sunday through Saturday week (regardless of how you get paid or when you get paid) is less than your weekly basic allotment in unemployment benefits, which you already know what it is, exactly, you are entitled to partial weeks pay in unemployment, in addition to the wages you made working, you are able to file a claim for the week. It is figured immediately after the week is worked, you figure it, don't worry about its being correct to the cent, like 16 hrs x $20 per hour = $320 for the week. If that's less than your weekly unemployment check would be, then you are entitled to file for the week.

No other reason is necessary to file a partial claim than that your hours have been reduced and it was not by your choice. You don't need to tell them that your boss is mad at you, or that you are being harrassed at work. Skip all the garbage about hostile work environments, as someone has explained, that is not what you have here. You just took a job working for a jerk. It happens, and is not illegal. He does not have any legal obligation to provide you with a happy and productive work environment, or to speak nicely to you. But only working in this environment a few hours a week is going to be much less stressful than working full time, anyhow. You can do it.

But if you quit the job totally and try to get reinstated in full unemployment benefits, then you will most likely be denied. I see almost no chance you'd be reinstated. It has to be something more serious than the boss hollers at me or treats me poorly or isn't nice or there are too many people in the room or the stress of the job is making me sick. That's not going to be considered a serious enough reason to quit your job.

But when he's cut your hours back to 16 or 10 in order to try to get you to quit, or just because the work is slow, in any case he's given you a wonderful opportunity.DO NOT QUIT! whatever you do, don't quit. And do stress when you file your unemployment claim that you are working all the hours the employer has available for you. In other words, the reduction in hours was his decision, not yours.

Now, if he flies into a rage and terminates you because you have filed for unemployment, that's cool, because that will mean your unemployment benefits will very likely be continued. The employer has to show that they had a genuine work related misconduct reason to terminate you to stop you from receiving benefits. Once again, you won't ever need to dawdle over into the "he wasn't nice to me" business. That will have no bearing on your claim.

If the employer calls you back to full time after you file for partial unemployment, go back, and work to the best of your abilities, and do not let him goad you into quitting. Make him be the one, if he wants to get rid of you, who actually fires you. If he threatens to fire you, smile. That's what you want. If he yells at you, so what? What else can he do but stand there and look stupid yelling? If he hits you or shoves you or attacks you physically, call the police and press charges. Otherwise, you are the one who is in control if you are not intimidated.

If you voluntarily quit, you have to show a very good work related reason to quit, like being asked to work in really unsafe conditions, being asked to do something illegal, not being paid, something really bad, and nothing you experienced that you described here is going to meet that standard in most states and experiences I've seen.

Try to keep working here until you can replace this job with another one that you are looking for while you are still employed. Because if you are on an extension, you are getting very close to the time when no matter what your situation there is no more unemployment insurance for you, regardless or what happens. Working will give you what is called "re earnings" which gives you a remote possibility that when your benefit year ends, you will be able to sign up on another claim if you have not found another job, but that's still not much money, and it will end.

 

[jobjob8]

ahhhhhh, beautiful advice Commentator....thank you so much!