Getting unemployment?

[Aralis]

I quit my job last week. I was an assistant retail manager. I was constantly stressing out and hated being at work due to my manager who decided she didnt like me in the past 3 months and was making my life at work hell. I complained to the District manager and she said and did nothing. I told her it was almost to the point of harrassment. The final straw was when i told her I really needed labor day weekend off and also requested it off on the calendar like 2 months ago and she scheduled all 3 of us managers to work.

So I have been interviewing and applying for numerous jobs but I decided I would file for unemployment. I filed online so it was easy. I just have to verify my registration in person.

So anyways I got my claim info in the mail the other day and a survey for more info about quitting and the circumstances. I wrote additional info on there about adverse work conditions and my manager actively creating a hostile environment for me. I also mentioned I had informed the DM and nothing was done. The manager also didnt even let me work the days I said i would work. The day I mentioned to the assistant that I was gonna have to quit the manager had a guy in there that night filling out new hire paperwork!

So do you guys think I will get unemployement? Will my former employer deny the claim? Whats your input on this matter?

[The_Dark]

It's very hard to get unemployment benifits if you quit. Most of the time they will require you to get another job first... and earn a certain amount before benefits will start. Even then, you only get the benefits if you earn less than you did before and it's only a small amount then to balance your pay out.

No offense, but this is something you should have looked into before you quit. Don't be surprised if you get denied. Unemployment is after all meant for people who loose thier job by means out of thier control.

[Aralis]

I have earned benefits thru that job and my job before that to get money. I have enough earned benefits....its just a matter if I am approved or not.

And at the time I did not really care. I had to quit...I could not take it any longer there and it was an unhealthy work environment for my well being. I was constantly stressed and having stomach issues cuz of it. I was getting bad performance reviews due to her not liking me and I was afraid she was gonna try to get me fired.

[Onyx]

You can try, but it's true that they will not usually allow you to collect if you have quit a job.

[The_Dark]

I think you missunderstood me. The amount you have to earn if you quit is a penalty. It doesn't matter how much you have earned already... that just qualifys you for benefits in general. You still have to get past the fact that you walked off the job and now want the government to pay you. They don't do that without penalty unless you can prove you quit with good reason. If you claim you quit because it was a unhealthy work enviroment and was causing undue stress... your going to have to prove your claim to have the penalty waived. You would have been better off if you had been fired.

[Aralis]

Thanks for the info. I know a few people that have quit and got it. We shall see what happens.

[Daevion]

There is a reason some employers try and use other means to get an employee to quit rather than fire them outright. Its less liability in the legal arena and in workplace violence potential...it really sucks because the company I work for has this technique mastered.

[Aralis]

Well I have done some research and you can get unemployment if you quit for things such a hostile work environment, harrassment and other similiar issues. They want to know that you tried to correct the situation though. Which in my case I told my District Manager and nothing was done or said. There could be a good chance I could get it.

I told the exact situation on my form with all the details and that I was not even allowed to work the days I said I would work due to the manager hiring someone the day I mentioned to the other assistant that I was gonna have to quit.

We shall see.

[The Void]

As a manager who deals with hiring and firing, I would say this is one tough case to win. It is possible, as you say, but the odds are most definately against you.

I am not sure of the laws of your state, but here, you would most likely NOT get anything in my state. I also agree with someone else's statement that employers often let employees quit to aleviate their liability. If more employees realized this and put things in writing to supervisors, kept diaries and journals of goings-on and protected themselves more by documentation, they might have an advantage or protection.

Good luck though.

[Aralis]

Thanks! I wish I had a copy of that letter I sent to my DM.

[Darque Knight]

The final straw was when i told her I really needed labor day weekend off and also requested it off on the calendar like 2 months ago and she scheduled all 3 of us managers to work.

I think you should note the key word is requested. Requests can and often are denied. I know. I've left two jobs in the past because requested time off was denied. Unemployment was denied both times.

I was not even allowed to work the days I said I would work due to the manager hiring someone the day I mentioned to the other assistant that I was gonna have to quit.

That is a pretty standard practice when a member of management puts in a notice. At one of those above mentioned jobs, when I put in my two week notice on a Wednesday, my boss told me 'let's not be hasty. I'll be in on Saturday to talk about this.' What he was really saying is 'I'll be in on saturday to get your keys and hire your replacement.' Funny thing about that is that I was really looking forward to talking about what the problems I was having were and trying to come to a mutual agreement. And in the 3 days in-between my notice and termination I HAD decided it was not worth leaving my job for the reasons I had chosen. That really blew because there was no discussion.

As far as your manager being borderline harrassing and creating a 'hostile' work environment? How exactly was this done and do you have proof? Being able to prove it will be an important thing because more likely than not your former employer will contest your unemployment claim.

I wish you best of luck. It is not an easy road you travel. If you have any questions for a former retail manager who has gone through some unemployment battles feel free to drop me a pm.

~DK

[Aralis]

By hostile I mean yelling at me...swearing....not communicating to me important things...writing me up for raising my voice at her when she raised hers first....intentionally scheduling me days to work that I couldnt and when I wasnt needed and basically treating me and talking to me like I was an idiot...treating me unfairly and not editing my time for bank drops at night among many other things!

I also found a performance review she had started on me recently and everything was negative and I had low scores on about everything. She did not like me and only talked to me when she absolutely had to. She was also blaming things on me around the store that weren't my doing. There was alot of tension and it was visible to our coworkers that she did not like me.