If furloughed, can employees legally request to be on lay-off instead?

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If furloughed, can employees legally request to be on lay-off instead?

Current job funding ended. No jobs available. Asked for the furlough policy could not produce one. When asked if I could be on lay-off instead, was told that was not an option.

Asked on September 17, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Virginia

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 11 years ago | Contributor

You can ask, but your employer does not need to do this--or alternately, it could treat your request as resignation; if you are deemed to have resigned or quit, you would be ineligible for unemployment.

If you are furloughed indefinitely, if there is no end date given for the furlough, at some point, that is considered to be "constructive"--or effective--termination; i.e., at some point, you will be eligible to apply for unemployment benefits. There is, unfortunately, no hard-and-fast rule of when that point is reached.


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