Can I Get Unemployment Benefits if I Quit to Find a Higher Paying Job?
Full Question:
Answer:
It will likely be a matter of subjective determination for the board, based on all the facts and circumstances involved, whether the conditions amounted to a constructive discharge.
A constructive discharge is a claim made when working conditions are so intolerable that no reasonable person could be expected to continue employment there. Generally, it requires proof of conditions that would prevent someone from taking the position in the first place.
To prove a constructive discharge, most courts require proof that:
-the terms and conditions of employment were so difficult or unpleasant that a reasonable person would have felt compelled to quit;
-the employer was the cause of the difficult or unpleasant conditions; and
-the possibility of the employee quitting was a foreseeable result of the difficult or unpleasant conditions.
Some courts also require proof that the employer intended for the employee to quit. To prove that your reasons for leaving are compelling, you may need something like a medical or psychological recommendation that supports the claim that the workplace stress is too severe for you to stay. Generally, an employer may change a policy as long as it's not in violation of a union or employment contract and not based on discrimination against age, race, religion, nationality handicap, etc. If the change in commissions was across the board and not contrary to an employment contract with conflicting terms, it will be a matter of personal judgment whether to continue employment.