My friend has been working for the same atty for about 7 years. The first year she worked there, she worked thru her lunch and no breaks. When she brought this to her bosses attention, the boss agreed to shut the phones off for 1 hour. Last year, the boss decided she can't afford to pay for her benefits anymore so had my friend (she is the sec'y) call and cancel her own medical benefits. My friend called the insurance company, they told her it was illegal for her boss to do this and she should report her. She didnt want to report it for fear of loosing her job. So for the last year, she has had no medical benefits and her salary didnt get adjusted to reflect this. She is a full time employee and the other girl in the office does have benefits. She thinks if she reports it, the boss will then put her down to a part time employee so she doesnt have to pay for her benefits. My friend also would not be able to pay her bills with a part time job.
The last thing was my friend was out for two weeks because she had surgery. When she came back, one of the bosses friends was in the office. The bosses friend made some comment about my friends surgery. My friend said, my surgery is confidential and Im upset that "the boss" told you about it. The woman then said, oh, i didnt know you didnt want anyone to know, so and so had the same surgery and she is very open about it.
She also said that her boss makes nasty comments all the time that are degrading and insulting. She believes her boss wants her to quit so she won't have to pay unemployment benefits.
Is there justification for resigning in NYS and getting unemployment benefits. Does it sound as though my friend would be eligible to resign and collect unemployment while she searches for another job?
I would appreciate anyone insight who is familiar with NYS labor law.

