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I want out of my job, how should I do it?

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NotSure2

Junior Member
This one is sort of complicated. The restaurant I have worked for almost a full year is rumored to be closing for not paying payroll tax. It is a very small business, I am one of about 8 people who work the front of the house.

Last year almost no one got paid for 9 nonconsecutive weeks, a condition that nearly everyone suffered, except for the managers, here and there. I have since been paid back nearly all of what I am owed. Currently I am still owed about 3 weeks of pay for weeks this month that I wasn't issued a check.

The GM has many personal problems, including alcoholism and a streak of compulsive or pathological lying. He has made numerous innappropriate sexual comments about the females who work there, including my current girlfriend and a girl I dated last year. The working conditions due to his activity, coupled with the lack of pay, are forcing me to end my employment there. I want to be eligible for unemployment, so I do not know if I should quit or 'make' them fire me.

There are many, many more examples of bad conditions there, including lying, suspected stealing, substance abuse while working, etc. I do not trust any of the people in charge and I have a somewhat paranoid but certainly justified suspicion that NOTHING is as it seems with these people.

I know that, through talking to a manager who on Monday will be in jail to serve a 6mo sentence for a DUI, the restaurant assumes I quit. I haven't indicated to anyone what my intentions are. They assume this base on the actions of my girlfriend. (Also a manager but she is a good one, honest)

I will be seeking legal advice early next week, and will explore the possibilities of a lawsuit, if there is enough to justify one.

Right now I'm only interested at my eligibility to collect unemployment, as I would like to be able to concentrate on finishing my (ironically) Labor Studies BA degree at Rutgers.

All of this is occurring in Mercer County, NJ
 


commentator

Senior Member
Quitting your job because you were not being paid is a dandy reason to quit your job, and could very well be considered a good job related reason to quit, which would result in your being approved for unemployment benefits. BUT-- it was a dandy reason nine months ago,when it happened, but you chose to keep working there. You didn't quit THEN for that reason. And now you've got less of a problem, because he's got you almost completely caught up on the money he owes you. Quit now for that reason, and they'll say, "What did you try to do to resolve the issue before quitting?" and you say, "Well, I worked on, and eventually he has paid me the money, or most of the money, but I have now decided to quit anyway because of it having happened to me." You won't have a prayer of being approved for benefits. Likewise he said something sexually harrassing to your girlfriend, earlier, and then has a pattern of doing this sort of thing? Phooey. That's not a valid job related reason for YOU to quit your job at this particular time. Her maybe, but not you. It sounds as though you've cooked up all these reasons, including the totally irrelevant things like him being a liar and not being of good character and you not generally liking the way things are done there and are trying to claim you've got a good job related reason to quit the job. Well, maybe so, but I would suspect it is not a good enough reason to get you approved for unemployment benefits.

If this business owner has to go to jail or is sanctioned for the payroll taxes issue, and the business closes for this reason, if his financial situation is so severe he cannot pay his help, even if it's only temporarily, or if he again fails to pay you for a scheduled week of work that you've worked, you can file a claim for unemployment benefits at this time. This will be your reason to quit. Because your employer did not pay you. Or because the business closed.

But if you "do something to make them fire you" chances are pretty good that you will do something that would be a good misconduct reason for firing you, such as failing to call in or being insubordinate. That means you are fired, and you DON'T get unemployment when you're fired if the employer did have a valid reason to fire you.

If as you said, you have been assumed to have "already quit" (I suspect maybe by not showing up for scheduled work perhaps?) I'd suggest you go back in and continue to work until you either have a valid reason to quit ( like not being paid) or until you are fired arbitrarily, or until you have another job. Else there's very little chance you'll be able to parlay all this into a valid reason to quit and be approved for unemployment benefits.

People can only draw unemployment benefits and go to school under very specific situations.Usually being a full time post secondary school student will make you ineligible to draw benefits as you are not able and available for equivalent work. It's not a convenient income support program for college students. You're wise to check all this before you begin any such process.

But based on what you are telling us, the incidents you're trying to claim resulted in your quitting are not going to reach the level of being considered good cause to quit.
 
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commentator

Senior Member
I re-read, it was nine non-consecutive weeks last year that the OP says he wasn't paid for, and I do agree that it's a dandy reason to quit your job at the time that it happened.

The thing is, even if your boss slapped you in the face, you can't go back to work, continue working, and then several months later come in to file for unemployment benefits and say I quit my job because my boss slapped me. At least in unemployment insurance circles that wouldn't be a good job related reason to quit. Because as soon as you said it happened last November, then obviously it wasn't something so bad you had to quit your job right then, you didn't quit then, you kept on working. Same with not being paid. The boss has over the last few months almost completely caught up the employee pay wise, the business may be closing soon anyway, and there is not much chance of the person being unemployment eligible otherwise. So I'd keep working and let myself be laid off when the business closes, or wait to quit the next time I didn't get paid.
 
I re-read, it was nine non-consecutive weeks last year that the OP says he wasn't paid for, and I do agree that it's a dandy reason to quit your job at the time that it happened.

The thing is, even if your boss slapped you in the face, you can't go back to work, continue working, and then several months later come in to file for unemployment benefits and say I quit my job because my boss slapped me.
I agree ...
 

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