Can I get unemployment if I quit?
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Can I get unemployment if I quit?
I was living in IL and was losing my house to foreclosure so I started looking for a job in KY to be with family and survive. My work found out that I was looking for a job and immediately ask me to resign. I told them I wasn’t sure it could be weeks, months or days before I had to move. But they still asked me to resign. I was called by the Regional Manager every day to see if I had filed my resignation yet. So I did and moved to KY. Can I still get unemployment?
Asked on April 27, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Illinois
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
No, you probably cannot receiving unemployment. Whether or not the company asked you to resign or wanted you to resign, the fact is that you made the choice to resign--you could have stuck it out and forced them to fire you. If you voluntarily leave a job, even for what seems a good reason, you are typically not eligible for unemployment compensation. Similarly, quitting a job to move to live with or be close to family may make sense and may be the right decision to make, but even so, if you do this, you won't be eligible for unemployment compensation since you voluntarily quit or resigned. You can try applying for unemployment--as long as you are honest in your application, you should not face any liability, even if turned down--but there is a very good chance that from what you write, that you will not be eligible.
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