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Can I Receive Unemployment Benefits If I Quit My Job?

Can I Receive Unemployment Benefits If I Quit My Job

If you need to quit your job, you may ask yourself, “Can I receive unemployment benefits if I quit my job?” Unemployment eligibility depends on your having lost your position through none of your own faults. People who are laid off are eligible as are most employees who are terminated because of reasons other than serious misconduct.

Still, the answer to “can I receive unemployment benefits if I quit my job?” may still be yes in certain cases, depending on your reason for doing so. If you quit without having good cause to do so, you will be ineligible to collect unemployment benefits. The attorneys at Swartz Swidler, LLC can explain what is considered to be good cause in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Examples Of What Is Not A Good Cause

Good cause as it is meant under the law is different than your simply believing that you had good reasons to quit. For instance, you may have quit because your job didn’t offer you meaningful opportunities for advancement. Quitting for that reason doesn’t qualify as good cause. Other reasons that you might quit that would not be good cause would include quitting an unfulfilling job or wanting to change careers.

Schedule an appointment today. Call (856) 685-7420 or

Schedule an appointment today.
Call (856) 685-7420 or

In New Jersey and Pennsylvania, there are some exceptions to this rule. For instance, if your reason for quitting was because of domestic violence, you may still be eligible to collect unemployment benefits. Whether or not you are deemed eligible will depend on your reason for quitting and the evidence you have to support it.

Reasons for quitting that may entitle you to collect unemployment

1. Constructive discharge

When your employer makes your work environment so unbearable that you are forced to quit, it may have been a constructive discharge, which is a form of wrongful termination. This might include hostile work environments caused by ongoing sexual harassment, dangerous conditions that your employer won’t fix or your employer demanding that you commit actions that are illegal. If a reasonable person would not have been able to continue working in such an environment, you may be able to secure unemployment benefits. Your attorney at Swartz Swidler, LLC can help you to prove that the environment at your job forced you to quit.

2. Medical reasons

If you quit your job because of a disability, injury or illness, you may still be eligible for unemployment benefits.

3. Another job

If you quit your job for a different one, you won’t be considered to be ineligible for unemployment. This does not include quitting a job in order to search for a new one, however. Instead, if you left for a new position that didn’t work out, you may be eligible.

4. In order to care for a seriously ill family member

If the reason you quit is because you had to do so in order to provide care for a family member who is seriously ill, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits.

If you had to quit your job for one of the listed reasons, you may want to get legal help. Contact the employment law attorneys at Swartz Swidler, LLC today for your free consultation.

Most Frequently Asked Question: Do I Have A Case?

While it is true that every case is different, The law is pretty clear in most cases. The best way to determine if you have a case is to contact one of our attorneys. For more information check out the FAQ below or visit our FAQ Page

Most Frequently Asked Question:
Do I Have A Case?

While it is true that every case is different, The law is pretty clear in most cases. The best way to determine if you have a case is contact one of our attorneys. For more information on a just a few scenarios checkout the flip box FAQ below or visit our FAQ Page.

Our Locations

Haddonfield Headquarters

9 Tanner Street, Ste. 101
Haddonfield, NJ 08033

Phone: (856) 685-7420
Fax: (856) 685-7417

Philadelphia Satellite Office

123 South 22nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Phone: (215) 995-2733

Our Locations

Haddonfield Headquarters

9 Tanner Street, Ste. 101
Haddonfield, NJ 08033

Phone: (856) 685-7420
Fax: (856) 685-7417

 

Philadelphia Satellite Office

123 South 22nd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Phone: (215) 995-2733