Is vague requirement for unemployment allegibility constitutes denial of due process

[jgenchik]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NJ
The original question was to determine if an employee could collect unemployment if he resigns because the company is relocating within the state. The answer seem to be: file the claim and the Government will decide whether you are eligible or not. There doesn't appear to be any "hard" rules regarding the distance of the move or time of travel. Of course, by the time application for insurance is made, the job is already lost.
Do these vague requirements deny applicants due process under the law? Isn't it like saying that speeding is against the law but not posting speed limit, and let an officer decide if car was going too fast, after it was puled over?

[racer72]

Do these vague requirements deny applicants due process under the law?

You need to learn the definition of due process.

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Due process (more fully due process of law) is the principle that the government must respect all of the legal rights that are owed to a person according to the law of the land, instead of respecting merely some or most of those legal rights. As developed through a large body of case law in the United States, this principle gives individuals a varying ability to enforce their rights against alleged violations by governments and their agents (that is, state actors), but normally not against other private citizens.

There is no legal right to receive unemployment, due process does not apply. Also, you speed limit anology doesn't work, every state has what are called statutory speed limits, every road has a speed limit regardless of a posted speed limit.

[jgenchik]

Originally Posted by racer72

There is no legal right to receive unemployment, due process does not apply.

In my opinion, there is indeed a right to collect unemployment, under certain circumstances. You pay into the insurance with the promise to collect under certain conditions, but those conditions are not spelled out.
The 14th amendment protects contracts and guarantees the due process.

I also stand by my speeding example... If municipality decides that speed limit on a local street is 35, they must post a sign in order to charge someone with speeding.

[las365]

For pete's sake, just call your local unempolyment office and ask what the standard is that they use to determine whether quitting under the circumstances you describe would make you ineligible for unemployment.

Often in the law, there is a standard of reasonableness. It is subjective. A 30 mile commute may or may not be reasonable. It is subjective. I know people who live close enough to walk to work, and people who drive amost 100 miles round trip. Those are the choices they have made on where to live and where to work, and to them, their choices are reasonable.

I don't know why you think it would be better for you to be on unemployment than to have a job while you look for work closer to home. I can tell you that as an employer, I would look more favorably on someone who chose to work instead of quitting.

[CourtClerk]

Originally Posted by jgenchik

You pay into the insurance with the promise to collect under certain conditions,

Unemployment benefits are EMPLOYER FUNDED which means you don't pay into it at all.

Therefore, there goes that argument.

[jgenchik]

Originally Posted by CourtClerk

Unemployment benefits are EMPLOYER FUNDED which means you don't pay into it at all.

In NJ both employer and employee contribute to unemployment insurance. The name of the withholding is SUI/SDI.

[jgenchik]

Originally Posted by las365

For pete's sake, just call your local unempolyment office and ask what the standard is that they use [...]

Thank you for the advice. I did call the unemployment office and what they told me was that they would review and make determination after application is made. By then, it may be too late because the job is already lost. Also, in my original post I referred to 30 miles (60 miles round trip) increase in commuting distance. This, in addition to 35 miles original round trip would bring a daily commute to almost 100 miles.
But my real question was about constitutionality of the process that the State uses. There are not appear to be any guidelines available to the public regarding the increase of commute or decreases of salary or any other changes of employment conditions. Would that violate due process?

[>Charlotte<]

You're not getting a definite yes or no answer because it depends on too many variables, even among workers in the same state. Another reason your analogy doesn't work is because the United States Constitution applies to all American citizens, with the exception of those who have forfeited those rights. Not all Americans are entitled to unemployment benefits. Our constitutional rights are inalienable. Our eligibility for unemployment benefits is not.

The NJDOLWD makes determinations based on the facts and conditions of your termination. They cannot make a determination on something that hasn't happened yet. A large part of the process is your (ex) employer's response to your application for employment, and they have no idea what that response is going to be. If you quit, the DOL will review your specific case and at that time determine whether you are eligible.

You also need to consider that even if you are approved for benefits, it's only temporary in any case. You need to consider how long it will take you to find a job that's up to your standards.

[pattytx]

Originally Posted by CourtClerk

Unemployment benefits are EMPLOYER FUNDED which means you don't pay into it at all.

Therefore, there goes that argument.

Actually, NJ has a .5% employee contribution also.