Relocation: Good Cause?

I currently live in Massachusetts and work in Boston. I started working for my company in Summer 2008. The company I work for has a rotation system where I would be expected to work in Boston for 1 or 2 rotations (a rotation is supposed to last 1.5 years) and then move to Hartford for more rotations.

Because of the financial crisis, my company decided to close the position I currently held in Boston and asked me to move to Hartford, CT (around 100 miles away from my current job) a month or two ago. However, since I had not planned on moving for at least another year, I was not prepared to move, both for personal and financial reasons. I currently commute by public transportation, but will need to purchase a car for work in CT. I asked the company and they are unwilling to assist me with those costs. I have spent the last month trying to work out with the company a way for me to work remotely from Boston until I am able to move later in the year, but we have been unable to work it out.

I was wondering if I qualify for unemployment benefits in MA. I’m not sure if refusing to move is considered quitting my job or being fired. If it is considered quitting, is this considered “good cause”?

I'll give you a tentative maybe on that. But only the DUA can say for certain.

Thanks for the response!

Does anyone else have an opinion, or experience with something like this?

I have both an opinion and experience with this. That's why I answered the first time.

My opinion, which is NOT binding on the DUA, is that you will qualify. My experience, when I had the exact same situation (different only in the place to which they relocated) is that they will not give you a definite answer until you file a claim and they investigate.

Thanks again cbg.

I forgot to mention one detail, not sure if it changes anything. I was told that I would be eligible for a severance package, but I haven't heard the exact details yet.

I know some severance packages require you to agree not to apply for unemployment. In that case, I would rather have the unemployment since it will probably end up being more money given the state of the economy right now and the difficulty in finding a job.

Whether or not you accept the severance package is completely your decision. My personal opinion is that you can't really decide whether or not to accept it until you see how much it's for.

However, a clause in any severance agreement that prohibits you from filing for UI benefits would be unenforceable anyway.

pattytx said:

However, a clause in any severance agreement that prohibits you from filing for UI benefits would be unenforceable anyway.

Click to expand...

Is this really true?

It is true.

I was just speaking to some higher ups in the company, because they are calling my situation a resignation versus a firing. They are saying that they will contest my unemployment claim on the basis that part of the program that I am in involves moving to Hartford at some point.

However, at all points during my hiring it was said the move would be somewhere between 1.5 years and 3 years in the future, not 4 months.

Do I have a case? Or do you think I am out of luck?

Any guess I would make would be just that. Sorry, there's just no way for us to tell.

I think they are blowing smoke. They can't stop you from filing for UC and the severance could only MAYBE prevent you from collecting for the number of weeks of pay that you receive (at most). They can always contest but I think ultimately you would win, and it's not legal for them to make severence contingent on you promising not to file.

It is true that an agreement not to apply for UI in order to receive severance would be invalid.

However, it is also true that depending on how the severance was paid out and what you had to sign to get it, the severance may or may not impact the start date of your benefits. NOT whether you get them or not, just the day they start.

In the circumstances you are discussing, under MA law you would NOT have to wait till the severance expired to begin collecting.