Getting Fired after Quitting

[truckstar]

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

On Sept 30, 2009 I put in my two weeks notice with my employer letting him know that my last day would be Oct 14, 2009. When I got to work yesterday, Oct 5, 2009 he called me on the phone and let me know that the previous Friday would be my last day and that I could leave right away. Can he legally let me go after I've already quit? Does he have to pay me for the final two weeks?

I immediately filed an umemployment claim, since I worked in Minnesota through April 2009 I filed in MN. I will also be moving back to MN in the next two weeks (the reason for me quitting) I talked with people at both the Georgia and Minnesota Department of Labor and they both thought I would be able to collect unemployment based on the insidence.

Then about 8 hours after our initial conversation my boss called me and said that if I would like I could come back through 10/14/09 and work part-time and be paid hourly. I was in a salaried position before. I told him the only way I would come back to work is if I would be making my full paycheck, I would not be accepting any less. Do I have to accept any work? He is calling me back this morning to let me know if he can afford to financially have me come back for the final 6 days. If I want to collect unemployment do I have accept my job back for the final 6 days? This has been an awful stiuation and I do not want to have to work for this man again. However, I want to be able to collect ummployment so if I have to go back to this job if I am offered it I will.

Thank you in advance.

 

[commentator]

Okay, you had given the guy notice, and he called and told you not to come back before you had worked out the notice, right? This means you have still quit, he just didn't want you to work out your notice. This does NOT mean he fired you, because you had already resigned.

However, drawing unemployment in any state will be based on whether you have the wages in the quarters to set up a claim, which it appears that you WILL in MN. But then it also is based on the reason you left your last job. If you resigned, it is much harder to get unemployment benefits. If he had fired you before you gave your notice, he would have had to prove he had a good misconduct reason to terminate you to keep you from being approved. If he did not, then you would have been approved for unemployment. However, when you quit the job, you took on the responsibility for proving to the unemployment office that you had a GOOD job related reason to quit the job. Being vigorously harrassed or abused on the job, paychecks bouncing, danger to yourself because of unsafe working conditions...this is considered good reason. "He was stressing me out and I didn't like what I was doing..." is NOT a good job related reason. In some cases, quitting to move with a spouse to another part of the country or to care for an ill family member is good cause. It depends on the state. Good in MN, bad in GA, glad you are filing a MN claim.

What the Georgia employer is about to do is try to bring you back, at least offer you the job back, and then get you fired for a good misconduct reason, at which time he is thinking he will not have to pay you unemployment. If you have already resigned, and filed a claim, DO NOT go back to work for this turkey for less money. This would be giving him all the power. Because if you quit again, you don't have a prayer of getting unemployment. If he fires you for cause, same thing.

A former employer who has lost the unemployment question, or who THINKS he is about to lose the unemployment question may not call you back and force you to lose your unemployment benefits, because you have already severed the relationship between yourself and this employer. You are not obligated to accept this job again or lose your benefits.

In other words, refusing to go back to him, especially for less hours and less money, would not stop you from receiving benefits, though you may or may not get them approved anyway. It depends, and the decision situation is/or should be already in process. I would go ahead and report to the unemployment office, if I had already filed and was certifying for each week, that I had been offered the call back to part time and less money. It will be investigated, but should not affect your claim.

 

[pattytx]

He could legally "let you go" any time. What the company did was decide to accept your resignation effective Friday, October 2. The only thing you could possibly get from unemployment would be 10/5 through 10/14, and there is a one-week waiting period.

It appears I disagree with Commentator here (which is dangerous when we're talking UI issues) but****************************You have been offered work; turning down available work normally is a disqualifier for receipt of benefits and, if I were the employer, when I got the notice you had filed a claim, I would immediately protest. And I'd probably win. I don't see the evil in what the employer is doing. You've already turned in your resignation. You would only be eligible for one week of benefits anyway, following the one week waiting period.

I think both DOL's are not understanding the exact situation here. You have been offered part-time work through your original notice period. I suggest you suck it up and take it.

 

[commentator]

Well, I am influenced by the fact that I have seen the "evil" intent here too many times. I assure you that in most cases, calling a person back after they have filed for unemployment against you is NOT done so you can help them out! Incidentally, I suspect that the time period between the call that said, "Don't come back" and the call that said, "Come back part time and hourly" was the time when he was first contacted by the unemployment office doing their initial inquiries.

And when you have resigned, severed yourself, and/or they told you not to come back, and a claim has been filed, it's sort of like getting back together with the husband after you've filed the divorce papers. It's the advice his attorney may give him to try to do, but it certainly isn't in your best interest, and usually makes the prior proceeding null and void.

Yes, report that you have been offered the call back to the interstate adjudicator who is working on your claim, but I do not feel good AT ALL about this person going back to work for this employer, since she gave him her resignation with notice, and then he called and said she was terminated. What, he's suddenly had a change of heart and decided to let her come back and work some more before she moves? Uuuuh?

Also, because he was the original separating employer, that puts him in a special category, in other words, it's different than if ANOTHER employer had offered her work. So he isn't going to guarantee he wins simply by offering her something less good, for less hours. Particularly after he made that next call telling her not to come back and work out the notice. What he could've done is pay her less money and no benefits for the duration of the notice, and could've gotten by with that. But trying to pull it out after the unemployment claim is filed doesn't work as well.

Incidentally, just because you gave him notice, he doesn't owe you anything for the two weeks you were not allowed to finish working. Notice is a courtesy, not a law. The only thing, as patty said, is that you could file for benefits a couple of weeks early. Remember to keep doing your weekly certifications until you get your decision on the claim.

 

[truckstar]

Thank you both for the response. I have not been able to contact the DOL in GA or MN about being offered work for the remaining 6 days because this happened after 6:00 pm central time yesterday. I am impatiently waiting for the offices to open so I can call. I really do not want to work for the jerk again, however I do not want to screw myself because I didn't accept available work. This is the first time anything like this has ever happened so I feel completely lost. Thanks again!

 

[ecmst12]

You will NOT qualify for UI after your original quit date of 10/14 no matter what, in either state.

 

[commentator]

If elects to do so, she will get to begin the filing this week, which is the week of 10/04 through 10/10. This will count as her waiting week on her Minnesota claim. If she is approved, the week of the 11th through the 17th would be her first paying week. She does not have a Georgia claim to file, regardless of where she files it. Minnesota is a waiting week state, so if the claim is approved, this week will count as her waiting week. You cannot serve a waiting week until after the claim has been filed, but since she did not work any or very little this week, she can certainly file any day this week.

The employer calling her back to work at part time and less wages is theoretically no different from being offered another job at part time and smaller wages for this two weeks. She is not expected to take just ANY job. And it was offered after he had already terminated the working relationship.

And I am very suspicious of his motives in doing this. It sounds as though the OP would be willing to miss the experience of working for this employer, whom she has not characterized as a real pleasure to work for, and know that he is going to pay her less and such, and may try to mess up her unemployment benefits by finding some reason to fire her during that last week and a half. I think I would go on and file if it were me.