Need Unemployment Advice.. Forced relocation/Salary Reduction

[thetrekdiva]

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

I'll try to explain the entire situation. I am going to file for unemployment benefits and I'm looking for advice on winning, basically. Is it possible? If so, how would you approach it?

I was working as a General Manager for an Arbys. I was driving 125 miles a day round trip to and from work. I rented an apartment in a town closer to my job and moved in August 2013. I was making $40,000 per year salary with full benefits.

In October 2013, I was offered a position as a General Manager for a competing Arbys franchise. They offered a 10% pay increase or 44,000 per year. The location was 110 miles round trip and offered no benefits. I was told by the owners representative (the one who offered me the job) the 10% was supposed to help cover the additional expense of driving. During the interview, I said I would be willing to move closer to the store but until I did I would drive. There was no agreement as to a time table. I also explained that I had just signed a lease AND was scheduled for major surgery (hysterectomy) on November 5th that would take 30-60 days to fully heal.

In Jan of this year we got hit with a big snow storm that dropped 2ft of snow, all day long. I do not have a 4 wheel drive and I am an hour from the store. Virginia DOT had a warning out and was turning people back and not allowing them to go north on 29. I told my boss, who demanded I go to work, that I was unable to make it in.

A few days after this, we had a meeting and he asked me, "What will it take to get you up to Culpeper?" I told him that it would take time and money AND I had a lease and a $1000 deposit. He offered me no help at all and told me that when he offered me my salary that it was contingent upon me moving to Culpeper quickly. (News to me) He then told me I had 30-45 days to move.

My Landlord put an ad up for my place and showed it to a few people, Feburary came and no one was interested in the apartment, so I paid Feb's rent. My landlord was unable to find anyone in Feb and March. On March 29th, I paid April's rent and told my boss that I was not going to be able to move. He called me to another meeting on Wednesday, April 2nd and told me "It was not working out for him..." I told him it was working out fine for me and I was willing to make the drive until either we found a new tenant or my lease was over in August. His answer was "Well its not working out with me, you told me you would move in 45 days." Every time I tried to speak in order to defend myself, he talked over me, so I just sat there. I had not said I would move in 45 days, that was what he wanted. I cannot control whether or not someone rents my apartment.

He then started to say my work was a "fraud" and that I was doing a bad job. He also said he was recruiting for my position. All of this was news to me, I had never even been so much as written up. This was ALL new stuff.

He then told me I made more than my supervisor by $10,000 per year and that he was going to adjust that and reduce my salary. I protested and told him that if he did that I would no longer be able to afford the commute to work. I told him that was unfair for him to punish me for not moving when doing so would be irresponsible and cause me to get sued by my landlord.

He then shook my hand and told me that he would fire me when he found a replacement and then said he would "Warn me first.."

As far as I am concerned, he fired me in that meeting... am I wrong? Do I have a decent case for unemployment? My landlord is willing to write a letter stating that we tried to find a tenant for the apartment and I have my lease to show there is no clause for moving unless your in the military.

 

[eerelations]

You will probably get UI benefits if you apply after he's actually let you go. He hasn't actually let you go now, he has just advised you that he will let you go at some point in the future. If you stop going to work now, that will be considered a quit, and no, you won't get UI benefits if you quit. So wait until he's told you specifically "your last day is X" and then after you've worked on X, apply for UI benefits.

 

[commentator]

Exactly right. No, your employer has NOT fired you until he specifically tells you that you are fired, that you are to leave, or you are not to come back. That he is looking for your replacement isn't really firing, it's trying to encourage you to quit so he won't have to pay higher unemployment taxes because of you. They are at his level, discouraged from having people draw. So DO NOT take any advice or information from him. Just do your work quietly and quickly and efficiently until the day when he tells you, "This is it, go home, do not come back, you're fired." And then at that point you leave and then file for unemployment benefits.

Okay, FORGET the letter from your landlord. Forget about how far you were driving on Job A as opposed to Job B. Forget he didn't treat you fairly, that he said one thing would be all right, and then changed it, or didnt accept that you had to change it. Unemployment is given when you are out of work for a WORK RELATED reason through no fault of your own. If you quit, regardless of reason, it will be much less likely for you to be approved. If you quit because your land lord didn't release you from your lease, so you couldn't move yet, that's a personal reason.

Your boss gave you 45 days to move, you have made a good faith effort to move, and you are still trying to work the move out, right? However, if he decides to fire you because of your failure to move he has to show that this was a genuine job related MISCONDUCT reason to fire you. You will show you have been making a good faith effort to arrange the move, you show that you have been showing up for work each day, (except for extenuating situations such as snow storms) and that you are still willing to do that. DO NOT QUIT. DO NOT OFFER TO QUIT.
If you quit your job for a personal reason, regardless of how worthy a personal reason, such as a dying child, you stll can be denied unemployment because they look only at the work situation, not your personal hardships or arrangements.

Now, forget all about what he said about your work.That was another effort to insult you bad enough you would just quit and get out of his hair. He can claim your performance was bad till the cows come home. Don't bother to be insulted or to argue with him. because you know you were doing a good job, personally, and you also know that his opininon is subject to change, so it doesn't matter. If he were to fire you, and tell the unemployment system it was for poor performance, all you have to do is show that you worked there for xxx number of months, that you received no corrections, no letters of reprimand, had no indication your peroformance was poor, until he decided to fire you, and then you hear you were performing poorly. You were given no opportunity to improve your performance.

 

[thetrekdiva]

Salary Reduction

I thank you all for your responses.

What about this problem? He has made it where I cannot afford the drive to work anymore. How can that possibly be my fault?

 

[commentator]

What do you mean, "how could that possibly be my fault?" Okay, this is not about fault. It is about whether you quit your job, or you were terminated from your job. His goal is to get you to quit the job, so you will be much more unlikely to be approved for unemployment benefits.

First of all, he has NOT reduced your salary. You have not gotten any checks at the reduced salary. He has just threatened to reduce your salary. He was hoping you'd say, "I quit! when he told you that. Okay, over the long term, maybe you can't afford to drive, but for a couple more days, until he fires you officially, it would really really be a good idea for you to show up. If he tells you to go home, you're fired you are home free. Go home, you're fired.

But unemployment insurance works like this. To be approved, you must be out of work after working for a covered employer, through no fault of your own. See how this makes a problem for quitting a job? If you quit the job, you must show that you had a very very good excellent job related reason to quit. Examples would be if you are in physical danger, or your paychecks are bouncing. But if your employer tells you that you aren't doing a good job, or threatens to fire you or tells you he's going to cut your salary, or that you have to move right away or be fired, then let them fire you. DO NOT QUIT!

Because when the employer fires you, to keep you from receiving unemployment benefits, he has to prove that he had a valid misconduct reason to terminate you. That you had been warned, and given a chance to improve or change your behavior that he did not like and you chose not to, even after warnings. Trying to relocate to fill a new position is what you agreed to do. You are doing your best. Okay, not being able to move as soon as he thought you were going to does not misconduct make, especially as you have been trying to do it.

Under the circumstances, you have been making a good faith effort to bring that agreed on move about. You have been commuting, and you have not had any absences except once in extreme weather. Your employer has told you he is going to fire you if you do not move. He has told you he is going to cut your salary. He has told you he does not think you are doing good work any more. Now, does this sound like he is trying to get you to quit, or what? He is threatening and berating you, but there is nothing illegal about his doing this, and it won't be considered a good reason to quit the job if you do that.

Work until he fires you. Do the best you can to arrange the move, but be cool about it, as in, "I'm sorry. I have explained to you that I am doing everything I can to make this happen." Be pleasant. If he says, "Then you're fired," at that point, you leave and file for unemployment benefits. But if he just continues to talk ugly to you, he's not fired you, and if you quit, you're not going to be likely at all to be approved for benefits. It's not a matter of saying whose "Fault" it is, but what you'll be asked is, "Why did you leave your job?" and if you quit, they'll say, "What did you do to try to solve the problem before quitting?"

 

[eerelations]

We're not saying this is your fault. We're saying that if you stop working and apply for UI benefits now, you won't get them. At all. Period.

But if you wait until he actually fires you, and apply for UI benefits at that time, the likelihood you will get them is very high.

 

[Pinkie39]

We're not saying this is your fault. We're saying that if you stop working and apply for UI benefits now, you won't get them. At all. Period.

But if you wait until he actually fires you, and apply for UI benefits at that time, the likelihood you will get them is very high.

I agree with this. I was once fired from a job, because I was unable to drive to offsite locations. My supervisor never informed me at any time during the two interviews I had, that I would need to drive. She knew I was catching a bus to work, and didn't mention the need to drive until several weeks after I was hired. She gave me the option of quitting or getting fired.

She told me if I quit, I would be eligible for rehire in a different position/department with the organization. I didn't believe that, so.I didn't agree to quit, and she fired me.

I applied for unemployment, she fought it, I appealed, and won. The unemployment agency ruled that I lost my job through no fault of my own, so I was able to collect unemployment.

 

[commentator]

Yep, as some of us sort of know, this is how it all works.