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  1. #1

    Default Can I Get Unemployment if I Refuse a Job Transfer

    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Washington

    Hi, I wanted to know if my situation is a example of a resignation or a laid off.

    At work my manager inform me that they will be relocating me to a different location. They will no longer have employee's work in the location I am in.

    They would like me to work in either one of the two location that they offered me but both location is 20 miles away from my house.

    When my manager inform me about this, she told me that I have a few week to let her know what decision I make but if I don't take the position in either one location then I am resigning because the position is open for me to take and she want me to sign some paper of resignation.

    I apply for the job I am in because it was only 2 mile away from my house and they are now moving me to a different location which is further and the amount I make is a bit low that my gas expense will go up if I take either one location.

    I am interested in applying for unemployment because the position is too far from me. But if I sign the paper for resignation then I will not get it.

    Can someone explain to me if this is really a resignation situation and if it is do I really need to sign those papers?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    OH10
    Posts
    17,019

    Default Re: Work Relocate: Resignation or Laid Off

    That would be a decision for UI. 20 miles is not that far. My spouse used to commute 43 miles each way. My commute is 60 each way. If you quit, they will consider that you were offered employment, your wage and the distance you would have needed to travel.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    1,360

    Default Re: Can I Get Unemployment if I Refuse a Job Transfer

    You don't have to sign anything.

    To me it looks like a discharge. The problem is the 20 miles. I'm just not so sure that is far enough to be turning it down. However, if you only work like 3 hours a day at minimum wage, then it wouldn't be the distance that gives you good cause to refuse it, but rather the remuneration vs your commuting expenses.

    Negotiate. Assgin a dollar value to your extra commute time and mileage, and tell your employer that you want to be compensated accordingly. Sounds like you've already made up your mind to let this job go, so if they pay you the extra money to offset things, you've just made yourself whole without having to deal with the uncertainties of whether you'll get benefits or not.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Can I Get Unemployment if I Refuse a Job Transfer

    Agree with chyvan. You are not required to sign anything. However, in many parts of my state 20 miles would not be considered a long enough commute to turn down the job and expect to get unemployment. Don't know about your state but my commute is close to 40 miles, and I don't even have the longest commute in my department.

    However, one thing I have learned from a friend who worked inside the UI offices for 30 some years is that if you don't want the job, to have any expectation of unemployment do not work it for a single day. You may or may not qualify for UI if you turn the job down, but if you work it at all, you are considered to have found the conditions acceptable and therefore quitting it would be a quit for personal reasons which is NOT compensable.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    1,991

    Default Re: Can I Get Unemployment if I Refuse a Job Transfer

    FRom the office of administrative hearings:

    http://www.oah.wa.gov/Unemployment.shtml#establishgoodc

    Quote Quoting How do I establish “good cause” to quit?

    To show good cause, the claimant must show that the job separation was for one or more of the following reasons:

    (1) The claimant received a bona fide job offer elsewhere;

    (2) The claimant or an “immediate family member” suffered an illness or disability inconsistent with continuing work;

    (3) The claimant accompanied a spouse or registered domestic partner when he/she moved for a job and remained employed as long as reasonable prior to the move;

    (4) The claimant needed to protect him or herself or an “immediate family member” from stalking or domestic violence;

    (5) The employer reduced the claimant’s usual pay by 25% or more;

    (6) The employer reduced the claimant’s usual hours by 25% or more;

    (7) The worksite was changed by the employer to a location more difficult to reach than the ordinary commute for workers in similar jobs in the labor market ;

    (8) Worksite safety deteriorated, claimant reported the deterioration to the employer who failed to correct in a reasonable amount of time after notification;

    (9) Illegal activities occurred in the workplace, claimant notified the employer but the illegal activities continued after a reasonable time after notification;

    (10) The employer changed the claimant’s work to work that violates the claimant’s sincerely held moral beliefs;

    (11) The claimant quit to enter an apprenticeship program approved by the Washington State Apprenticeship Council;

    (12) The claimant worked at the same time a full time job and a part time job. The claimant quit the part time job and later loses the full time job.

    I do not think it is at all likely that L&I will consider 20 miles to be more difficult to reach than the ordinary commute.



    and the actual regulatory citation governing voluntary quits

    http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=50.20.050

    Quote Quoting RCW 50.20.050(2)(b)(vii)
    The individual's worksite changed, such change caused a material increase in distance or difficulty of travel, and, after the change, the commute was greater than is customary for workers in the individual's job classification and labor market;

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    6,808

    Default Re: Can I Get Unemployment if I Refuse a Job Transfer

    Don't know about your state, but in Michigan it is 50 miles.

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