Forced To Resign

[tracyjbrown1985]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? I live in New jersey, this happened n Texas



I was forced to resign from my job back in 2007. My manager claimed it was due to me being late. Although I had been late a few times it was not consistent and I was a top performer in my job. At the time I was forced to resign I did not know my unemployment rights because I was fairly young and this was my first REAL job. So I believed everything my manager told me. That if I resign it would look better on my resume in the future. And that its better that way. Its like he was convincing me to resign. Little did I know I could not recieve unemployment benefits because of this. I had no money to take care of my new apartment and new car and all the bills associted with it. Because of this I now have horrible credit due to repo and broken lease. Ive been working hard to maintain now that I have a job but I feel that my previous employer caused me so much grief and financial stress that I have become depressed. I cant even get a bank account anymore. And forget about buying a house or getting a credit card. Can I sue them for my financial stress ???

 

[pattytx]

HOW were you forced to resign?

 

[commentator]

In a word, NO. The fact that you accepted their invitation to resign instead of being terminated did not keep you from signing up for your unemployment benefits. The information was out there on public websites, and in posters on the walls of your employer, probably, on how to file and under what circumstances you can file.

Your employer may have misled you about the futility of signing up under the circumstances, but you could have verified this information easily yourself. It was not their legal responsibility to encourage you to sign up for benefits, certainly not their responsibility to tell you it would be easier to draw if you were fired for tardiness than if you resigned. Which is not strictly true anyway.

You could have filed at that time, appealed the decision if denied, maybe been approved. If you had significant documented tardiness, the chances are not great that you would have been approved anyway, as persistent absenteeism after warnings and in violation of company policy is considered misconduct (unless you have a very good medical excuse for the last occasion) and you are not allowed to draw benefits. It does not matter at all if you were a top performer otherwise. Just the fact that you resigned did not keep you from being approved for benefits. If you were given an ultimatum of "quit or be fired" they would still have gone into the reason you were about to be fired. But your resignation, whether it was wise or not, is always a personal choice.

Unemployment insurance is not a right, it is not something you are given based on your income or needs. It is based on the reason you left your last job and the covered wages you have in the previous immediate quarters at the time of your separation. Now that three years have passed, it really doesn't matter what happened, you couldn't sue them ten minutes after you left (though you could've filed for benefits) and you certainly can't now.

 

[Beth3]

Unless the boss held a gun to your head, you were not forced to resign. If you were given the option of resign or be fired and you chose to resign, for unemployment purposes that is an involuntary termination and you would have been eligible for benefits.

Can I sue them for my financial stress ?? No. You chose to resign. It's not your employer's fault you didn't apply for unemployment benefits.