According to MarketWatch, unemployment increased in August 2022, and more than 260,000 people applied for unemployment benefitsat the end of July.
Many people believe that only laid-off employees are the only people who can apply for unemployment benefits. The information is incorrect.
Can I collect unemployment benefits if I quit my job?
Unemployment insurance is mostly available to people who do “their job through no fault of their own,” as the US government describes. Layoffs or company downsizing is a free pass to unemployment benefits.
Nevertheless, according to National Employment Law Project staff attorney Jenna Gerry, you can get unemployment benefits if you quit, but not everyone can apply.
“The key to collecting unemployment insurance, and whether you’re eligible to quit, is whether you had a good cause to quit that job,” Jenna Gerry mentioned to USA Today. “A lot of states will (ask), ‘Would a reasonable person in your situation have stayed at the job?'”
What is a good cause to quit your job?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics states 4.2 million Americans quit their jobs in June 2022.
If you give a “good cause quit”, you probably would apply for unemployment insurance. However, the reasons vary depending on the state.
- Accepted a new job
- Illness or disability of yourself or a family member
- Relocation with spouse as part of a mandatory military transfer
- Protection from domestic violence or stalking situation
- Pay cut
- Hours cut
- Worksite or commuting changes
- Worksite safety concerns
- Illegal activities in the workplace
- Change in work that violates religious convictions or moral beliefs
“If there are health and safety-related violations at work and you reported them, and your employer has done nothing about them, then in most places you are entitled to unemployment insurance for that reason,” National Employment Law Project staff attorney Jenna Gerry told USA Today.
