Many of our readers realize the reason for leaving their job will affect their eligibility for unemployment compensation. Our previous article, discussed some of the most “popular” reasons for leaving a job and how they would affect your chances of receiving unemployment compensation by the Pennsylvania Unemployment Office. Below are two of the many questions and comments we have received on this subject.

I don’t just want to exist anymore working in a job that does not care about me.I was working at XXXXX foods inc as a fork lift operator 2yrs. I went to work one day and was forced to resign. Anonymous.

I am requesting some help. I am being verbally abused by my supervisor at work. I do a good job and am a good employee. She stated if I do not like it to quit. I can not quit I need the job. If I quit I can not get unemployed. She screams and yells in front of other employees and the owner of the practice lets her get away with it. When I come home in the evenings I am an emotional wreck. Yesterday it was so bad I could not go into work today. She is always threatening to fire me for little things that have no relevance. Please tell me what our my options? I have other employees that have witnessed this. Please assist. Thank-you. Signed, Bebe.

These comments are typical to some of the problems many workers have to deal with. What should you do if you are unhappy with your job, you are pressured to resign or feel you have been mistreated?

Of course, every circumstance is different and we would always recommend you got counsel from a lawyer with experience in the subject who can assess your specific situation.

However, you should never allow an employer to pressure you into resigning. If you are having problems with fellow employees or managers deal with the issues by talking to your employer. If you have witnesses, use their statements to back your complaint. If you leave your job out of your own choice you may not qualify for unemployment compensation. Do not allow an employer to pressure you into resigning. By doing so you may forfeit severance pay and other benefits available to workers who have been laid off out of no fault of their own.

Other reasons for leaving a job that may disqualify you from receiving unemployment benefits are mentioned below. Click on them for more details provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

Could you please answer me a question. Can a person receive unemployment after he has been fired from a job and if so is there a waiting period to receive them? Robert A. South.

Eligibility for unemployment compensation is based on two main factors: financial eligibility and benefit eligibility. Financial eligibility is determined by how long you worked and how much you earned in your previous job. Financial eligibility is determined by the information you provide to the PA Unemployment Office in FORM UC-44F. You will find more information on financial eligibility in our article: How To Determine Financial Eligibility.

Benefit eligibility, on the other hand, is determined by the circumstances before you lost your job. You will qualify for benefits if you lost your job through no fault of your own. If on the other hand you left your job voluntarily or you were sacked due to misconduct, you are unlikely to qualify for unemployment compensation.

The reason for leaving a job is provided by your employer when processing your discharge. It is a good idea to talk to your employer before leaving your job to make sure you know what reason she gives to avoid surprises. Some employers might accept some negotiation when describing the reason you are leaving.

Let us analyze some of the most used reasons for leaving a job and assess eligibility for Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation for each circumstance.

Health Reasons.

If you leave work for health reasons and do not inform your boss, so she can find other suitable work for you, you will probably not qualify for UC. However, if you inform your boss and make yourself available for other work and she can’t find alternative work for you, you may qualify for unemployment compensation.

Job Not As Anticipated.

If you are disappointed about the job you accepted you will only qualify for unemployment benefits if you can show that the monetary expectations of employment were not fulfilled through no fault of your own. For instance, if you were promised you could earn $40,000 a year on commissions selling washing machines, but fail to make a sale in the first month and cannot cover your basic expenses, you may qualify for UC.

However, if compensation expectations have been met and you do not have solid reasons to quit the job, you will most likely not qualify for unemployment.

Absenteeism/Late to Work.

If you are fired because you are regularly late to work or miss work repeatedly you may not apply for unemployment compensation. However, if your employer did not give you sufficient warning or you had a good reason to be late or absent are valid, you could still qualify for unemployment compensation.

See more disqualifying provisions for benefit eligibility in our next article of this series.

Understanding how unemployment benefits work in Pennsylvania can be challenging. One question we get a lot is how can you find out how many weeks of unemployment you have left. Todd Foringer posted this query:

I needed to know when my unemployment is phased out…? I don’t know where I find this out since I fill out the unemployment and then I don’t have any documents with it to tell me for how long I have it. It was extended on the last extension that is all I know.

This question illustrates well some of the complications of the unemployment benefit system. Is Todd referring to the basic unemployment benefits of Pennsylvania or to the extended benefits granted by the Federal government. Is he asking if congress has passed a further extension to unemployment benefits? Let us answer those questions in turn.

This article will help you find out how many unemployment benefits checks you have left.

GET THE INFORMATION YOU NEED

To request information on your claim status you will need to provide personal information to prove your identity. This may include your full name, date of birth and your Social Security number. It is worth mentioning that under no circumstance should you provide this information unless you are sure you contacted (or have been contacted) by the Department of Labor and Industry. In other words do not reply to phone calls from people who claim to work for the PA Unemployment Office and ask for your full social security number.

Click here to visit PA’s Unemployment Office Claim Status Login page. You will need to provide your Social Security number and the pin provided by the system when you registered.

If you do not have the pin number you can visit your local unemployment office. Click here for an article on how to find the contact details of your nearest PA Career Link office.

You can also work out how many weeks you have left by counting back from your first check. The State of Pennsylvania provides 26 weeks of basic unemployment benefits. Grab a calendar and count 26 weeks from the first week you claimed for benefits. From this date you can count the weeks you have been under Federal extended benefits. In PA you could be eligible for up to 13 weeks of extended benefits. Count 13 weeks from your last week of regular unemployment benefits and you will know how many weeks you have left.

For more information on Extended Benefits you can visit our sister site Extended Unemployment Benefits.com for more information on the Federal extended benefits program.

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