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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    1

    Default "Contract Worker" Wants to End Contract & Get UI Benefits

    My question involves unemployment benefits for the state of: California

    The background:
    1. I became unemployed on 9/1/08 and qualified for a UI claim. I received benefits until 10/15/08
    2. On 10/15/08 I accepted a "contract" position.
    3. I am paid by the contracting agency to work at another company. My contracting agency & I are paying the UI taxes through my paychecks. My paychecks come from the contracting agency. I report my hours online via a tool, my manager where I'm actually working approves and the check is generated by my contracting agency.
    4. My contact was initially for 3 months, to end in December, 2008. They notified me that they were extending the contract for another quarter, which I didn't dispute as I was happy to be working.
    5. My contract has again been renewed, this time for 2 quarters, taking me to September, 2009.
    6. I was not asked if I wanted to extend my contract; rather I was notified that my manager had gotten it approved.
    7. There is a clause in my contract with my contracting agency that states "Independent Contractor Status: It is the express intent of the parties that Contractor is an independent contractor and not an agent, joint venturer, or partner of [the company where I actually do work]. Nothing in this Statement shall be interpreted or construed as creating or establishing the relationship of employer and employee between [the company where I actually do work] and Contractor."
    8. The work I was originally hired to do has fizzled out and I'm now working on a variety of miscellaneous tasks. I am not fulfilling the role for which I was hired (specifically project management).
    9. The work I am doing is not moving me toward career progression, nor using and further developing the skillset I've worked long and hard to develop. When I took the position it held promise for me to grow in these areas. At this point I feel like an Admin, which is a good job for someone else, but not for me. I feel that the time I'm spending not adding successes to my resume will be detrimental in the long run.

    Question:
    1. Do I have the right to end my contract and qualify for UI benefits again?

    My logic:
    1. I was hired to fulfill my specialty role, and I am no longer being given that opportunity.
    2. I am not enjoying the lack of direction, focus and projects.
    3. If I were receiving UI benefits now, and this contract was offered to me with the type of work I'm tasked to do, I would not accept it as it's not in my field.

    I just want to pull out of this position and look for something in my field and receive UI benefits while I'm doing this search. I am fully aware of the financial impact this will have.

    Thanks in advance!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: "Contract Worker" Wants to End Contract & Get UI Benefits

    Turning down available work is a good way to get disqualified for UI. Unemployment is not available until you can find the job you want; it is available until work is offered to you. If you were to end this contract you would almost certainly not qualify for benefits. If you were collecting UI, this job were offered to you, and you turned it down, you would almost certainly lose your benefits. The UI office looks at a lot of factors but your willingness to work, not just at your job, but at any job, is a big one. Being willing to take jobs below your skill level can improve your overall claim. Being picky about your job does not look good to the UI office and can hurt you.

    Let me give you a specific example. Several years ago I was working as the HR director for a small biotech company. The company suffered financial difficulties and I, along with most of the rest of the staff, was laid off (the company closed altogether a few months later). Four months later I took a six week long contract position that was at least in my field, but was an Admin type position. When that contract ended I reopened my claim and collected UI for several more months, while applying for just about everything I could find in and out of my field. When my UI claim was about to expire, knowing that I was in financial difficulties, a friend offered me the only help she could - a job in the Housekeeping department of the small hotel she owned. She apologized for the low level position and promised (and she kept her promise) that when a job more in line with my experience and abilities came along she would promote me but right now that was the only thing she had.

    Had I turned down that job, I would have lost my benefits despite the wide gap between what I had been doing and the job I was offered. By taking it (and I'm not just guessing - this is what my claims adjuster told me) I proved to the UI office that I really was trying to find work. They not only did not cancel my benefits, they allowed me to file a new claim for partial benefits to make up some of the difference in income.

    I am not in your state. You can certainly talk to the EDD but my state is almost as employee friendly as yours is and I would not hold my breath that they will be willing to pay you to quit this contract.

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