| Topic Name: |
Help! work and school and unemployment |
| Message Name: |
State laws vary, but not that much... |
| Date Posted: |
05/14/2004 |
| In Reply To: |
I am in the clinical research industry, and have been for 10 years. I am currently a contractor, employed by an agency since 8/26/03. The contract is in 3-month increments and this round expires 5/26/04. The money is unreal, and the benefits are decent. There has been no word from management in the client company about any more extensions--not just for me, but all contractors in this department (3 of us).
Recently a permanent, fulltime position opened with the client company. I was very excited to return to a permanent situation: more stability (more or less) and better benefits (supposedly)....Oh yeah, and I guess more reponsibility *sigh*....However, the pay really sucks. Not to mention the well-known higher-up micro-manager who is intimidating to work for; he would not hesitate to scold you in front of everyone. I had been warned about him in 1998! And the employees there! They are so unfriendly: letting the door shut on you, ignoring your smiles and hellos, snotty attitudes, and of course, the one "woman" who literally stepped over my colleague without saying one word after she had fallen down the stairs! Needless to say, despite the red flags, I was prepared to take this position out of desperation for self-suffiency and to pay off my bankruptcy without my husband Bill's help.
So I spoke to Bill about my fantasy of ditching this career path. I've been burnt out for at least 2 years. I wanted to do some more behind-the-scenes-database-administration-programming-type thing. Bill has offered to support me while I go to school. He is a self-employed programmer and software engineer and he suggested the classes that would interest me most and be relevant in my pursuit of this new career path.
Here's the dilemma: My contract ends 5/26, technically. At the same time, the company plans to hire for that perm position, for which I applied. I would like to withdraw my application for this permanent position. Five reasons: 1) I dislike the people; 2) For the little time I have left to work, the money would be great; 3) After my contract is fulfilled, I would be basically laid off. The industry is so dried up right now that my agency has found nothing in the region for the past few months....and if that happens, I am qualified for Unemployment. I would receive $410 a week before taxes, which is better than a paycheck from a low-paying part-time job; and finally, 4) I go to school fulltime to learn database administration.
My questions are: Is withdrawing my application wise a couple weeks before my contract ends? Or is that considered "refusing work" in the eyes of the employment office, resulting in my receiving no benefit checks? Would they even know? It's not "refusing work", right? I just remain employed with the agency for as long as it takes, and I just happen to know that's not gonna be long. This client company and I are the only entities knowledgeable of my applying for The Position. My agency knows of the opening but does not know I applied for it. I would love getting out of this place, getting laid off from the agency, and collecting unemployment while going to school fulltime. (Most of the classes I want to take are offered online, too!) Please help!
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| Message: |
pintobean,
CAVU is right. UI eligibility is governed mostly by state laws, which can vary significantly.
However, common sense says that you can withdraw from consideration for "The Position" before being laid off, without sacrificing UI benefits. Although each state may define "Refusal of Work" differently, no state can apply UI eligibility laws until after you start collecting. If this were not the case, a person could forfeit UI benefits just for having the bad luck to refuse a job offer right before a surprise layoff - which is obviously unrealistic.
Since you know you don't want The Position, I think you should withdraw your application now. This gives your client the earliest possible notice of your withdrawal and lets you avoid being forced to accept a post-layoff job offer.
Unfortunately, while I think your choice is clear regarding The Position, the decisions you need to make about your education are more complex, as your options are affected by the state UI laws governing both your eligibility and your maximum benefit period.
Luckily, while state UI eligibility laws vary, most states have the same maximum UI benefit period - 26 weeks - and your max. benefit period will affect your education plans much more than your eligibility.
To see why this is true, let's assume you live in MA, where I recently collected UI while attending B-school PT. In MA, the max. benefit period is 26 weeks, and the state eligibility laws say:
1. You cannot go to school FT while collecting UI. However, you can enroll half time, and that qualifies you for fed. student loans.
2. You can work PT while collecting UI, though the state reduces your benefit if weekly earnings exceed 1/3 the weekly UI claim amount. You can also stop collecting, get a FT temp job, and then resume collection when your contract ends.
If your state laws are similar to mine, you have the following choices:
1. Collect UI for 26 weeks while attending school PT. Enroll FT in the Spring 2005 semester, after you exhaust your UI benefits.
2. Collect UI for 15 weeks while attending summer classes PT. Enroll FT in the Fall 2004 semester, thereby forfeiting 11 UI checks.
3. DO NOT collect UI at all. Enroll in school FT as soon as possible after your employment contract ends.
So to plan your education in MA, you must decide which of the following is more important to you:
1. Collecting as many UI checks as possible.
2. Graduating from school as early as possible.
Then, plan your school enrollment accordingly.
I personally consider maximizing income and minimizing career transition time to be of equal value, so I would pick choice #2 out of the three education options above.
In summer, I'd use my UI checks to support myself, and work PT to pay down my BK debt. Starting in fall, I'd still work PT to pay down the BK debt, but I'd also accept my husband's offer to pay room/board while I'm in school FT.
But that is just my preference.
My point is that MA law creates the worst-case scenario; citizens must choose between FT college attendance and continued UI eligibility. But even if your state, like mine, does not allow you to simultaneously collect UI benefits and attend school FT, you can still do both those things sequentially. You can delay FT enrollment in school until fall or until your UI benefits are exhausted. Or you can attend school FT right now, sacrificing all UI benefits to get the earliest possible graduation date. The choice is yours.
In any case, before making your decision, you need to know your state's UI laws. To find this info, just go to the following URL and click on your state to visit its Dept. of Unemployment web site:
http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/map.asp
Then use your own values and priorities to decide what education plan is right for you.
My really long-winded 2 cents.
choosebutchoosewisely
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