If I give notice and quit my job due to a bad work environment, am I still eligible for unemployment?
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If I give notice and quit my job due to a bad work environment, am I still eligible for unemployment?
I currently work salary at my job and put in between 50-80 hours a week. I
recently had to take 3 days off for medical leave with a doctor’s note and
my boss threatened to fire me and told me to not expect to have my job when I
came back. He backed down from firing me but I have continually been
bringing to him concerns for the safety and well being of the staff and he
ignores it. My staff have had to kill and drown rats because they refused to
call an exterminator until the rats were literally crawling on people’s feet. There are no records of lunches or breaks. I continually have to deal with violent customers and employees that make my ptsd very hard to deal with. The last straw came when I took a week of vacation and had to come back early and ended up working over 40 hours on it and my boss told me that one of the days I worked from home doesn’t mean I didn’t have an off day. I’ve been trying to leave the job but I can’t dedicate time to find similar pay because of how demanding it is and the only job I have been able to find is 15 hours a week. Would I be eligible for unemployment? I would like to give notice and try to stay on good terms despite the environment as a courtesy to my staff.
Asked on March 4, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Unfortunately, jobs are allowed to be unpleasant, even awful, and you can be required to work excessive hours in a thankless position. The reasons you give for leaving are reasonable and understandable, but do not constitute legal grounds to leave employment and receive unemployment; if you give notice and leave, you will most likely not be eligiblw for unemployment benefits.
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