is undue hardship a qualifier for unemployment in NE

[denibeans63]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NE
Hello Group: Hope someone can help. We live in Buffalo NY. 18 months ago, husband was terminated du to co. buyuout, and took a position in Nebraska with hopes that we could sell home here and join him. we didn't sell home, and he wound up renting and furnishing an apartment there, paying utlitilies and paying out of pocket to come home every 5 weeks or so. THis has gone on for 18 months. It has realy creasted a financial and emotional hardship on the family and now he has decidded to quit his job and return home to focus 100% on job search. Questions:
1) does he file in Nebraska?
2) How will Unemployment in Nebraska look upon his quitting? Will they take into account the hardship?
3) if we wind up being denied benefits and want to appeal, we live in NU,. how will that work? Will he have to appeal in person>?
4) wil l how he words his resignation letter have any impact? He likes the employer, does a great job and they like him .this was nt an easy decision.
any advice will be appreciated. THanks

 

[pattytx]

Didn't I answer this on another forum?

Yep.

 

[denibeans63]

yesa, you did and I thank you. No offense, but I think it is always best to get more than one opinion on an isue, and you were the only response I received...so I am casting the net wide, so to speak.

 

[pattytx]

OK, then, for the benefit of others who may want to respond (someone on the other forum would have responded if they disagreed with me), here's my answer.

1. Nebraska.
2. We would have no idea. Every state have different guidelines as to what is considered "good cause" for quitting. Problem his, he would not find out unless he actually quit. The state will (almost certainly) not give him an opinion before the fact.
3. Pretty much what you told us, except shortened. However, expect the employer to protest. It's not the employer's fault that he took a job in another state and then the economy went in the tank and he cannot sell his home.
4. See a tax advisor. This is going to depend on the laws in Nebraska, but since his intent was to move his residence there permanently and he did live there for over a year, it's likely he would have had a filing requirement in Nebraska.

 

[commentator]

commentator

No disagreements here, pattytx, you rule. Just a tad more to add.

As in most states, since unemployment is paid by the employer, and the personal situation of the employee is generally unrelated to benefit eligibility, Nebraska has some very specific rules about situations where you can quit your job and still be approved for benefits. These are available on the Employment Security website for Nebraska. Personal financial hardships aren't going to be considered a very good reason to quit your job by their rules, but of course, he can always file.

Remember, unemployment insurance is not a needs based or entitlement program. It is not there just because you need it, only because you meet the criteria to qualify for it.

No matter what state he is in when he files, he will be filing a Nebraska claim, since his wages for the last 18 months have all been earned in Nebraska. He can file from New York state using their unemployment system.
If the claim is denied, any appeals will be handled by the New York Interstate Appeals unit. He will do this by telephone from NY.

Wording of a resignation letter has nothing to do with it, as quitting the job was his personal choice, not instigated by the employer.

Quitting a job is a big decision. No one who does it should count on receiving unemployment benefits. Anyone can file, but it may or may not be approved.

 

[Beth3]

As in most states, since unemployment is paid by the employer Just to clarify, unemployment is not paid by the employer. Unemployment benefits are paid by the State with employers funding the State's unemployment fund via a payroll tax.

denibeans63, it is unlikely your husband will be eligible for unemployment benefits if he quits his job having discovered that that taking a job in another State just didn't work out. There's no reason for him not to apply though, even though the odds of his receiving benefits are slim.

 

[xylene]

ALSO

Not being able to sell your house, and not being able to sell your house for a profit / not at a loss...

VERY different.

I know the buffalo NY market. Either you were not willing to drop the price and/or the home had serious problems you didn't want to fix - otherwise there is no reason house should have been 4 sale for 18 months.

 

[ecmst12]

Also note that OP said they DIDN'T sell the house, not that they COULDN'T sell the house. Interesting choice of words.

 

[commentator]

commentator

Oops, sorry, semantics. Unemployment is not paid by the employer to the employee, it is paid in through taxes to the employers, which are taken in by the states and used to pay unemployment to eligible former employees. But so many people have the misconception that they have paid in unemployment taxes from their paychecks, and that when they "need" it, it should be there and available to them. This isn't necessarily so.

Employers are taxed partly based on their "experience rating" which means that they are not eager for everyone who leaves employment with them to receive benefits as this will cause their tax rate to increase. If they have to let people go, due to the economy or if they fire an employee without a good work related reason, it's not a choice, but if the employee voluntairly quits the job for a personal reason, the system does not automatically declare them eligible and charge this separation to the employer when tax time comes.

 

[denibeans63]

unemployment in NE - quitting?

Thanks group for your input. You are correct. We didn't want to sell the home and take a huge loss..we were not going to give it away. Things are looking up though now. homes are actually selling closer in the 260k range that we are hoping for. In addition, husband DID resign, but co offfered him a leave of absence or extended time off to work through things,,,they like him...who knows. But knowing that unemployment wont' eb an option (most likely) will factor into the decision int he long run. for now he is staying in NE....thanks again