Temp Agency Employee Unemployment (insurance, employment, income)

[fancypants3000]

Hello,

I began a temporary disability leave which is going to run out in February. At the time I was working a graveyard shift at a call center. I had been a temp there at the same job for close to a year. The position was ending this year and everyone is being laid off. I am hoping to go straight from disability to unemployment.

Can anyone advise me on what I need to do?

I understand that I need to contact the temp agency and let them know that I am available for work. However, I don't want to accept any positions that earn less than what I was making or that are significantly different work. Also, I am only available to work a graveyard shift. Since these were the hours I was working before being laid off, is it considered refusing reasonable work if I say no to regular hours?

Thanks

[echo42]

So, are you asking for help on how to game the system?

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Have you called CA unemployment (EDD) to see what they say your real eligibility is?

[moved]

This needs to be moved to the unemployment forum.

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by echo42

So, are you asking for help on how to game the system?

Actually, this sounds quite reasonable to me. A person was working these particular circumstances, and is being laid off. Possibly this is a parent who has a spouse working the day shift, and so can only work the graveyard shift.

If someone was working day shift, and couldn't accept employment for swing or graveyard shift, would that disqualify the person for unemployment? I don't think so.

But, I'm far from the official word on it. The OP really needs to inquire at an unemployment office (or possibly on-line if questions are answered there).

[moved]

There is no such thing as an unemployment office anymore. If this is moved to the unemployment forum, all the OP's questions will be answered.

[TJjohn]

Do you mind if i ask what temp agency you use?

[echo42]

Originally Posted by oddstray

Actually, this sounds quite reasonable to me. A person was working these particular circumstances, and is being laid off. Possibly this is a parent who has a spouse working the day shift, and so can only work the graveyard shift.

If someone was working day shift, and couldn't accept employment for swing or graveyard shift, would that disqualify the person for unemployment? I don't think so.

But, I'm far from the official word on it. The OP really needs to inquire at an unemployment office (or possibly on-line if questions are answered there).

The OP is saying, verbatim: I don't want to accept any employment with a lower wage or different hours. To me it sounds like manipulation of the system. The scope of this persons job availability is limited and narrow and does not seem to represent a good faith effort to go back to work but merely an easy way out to collect unemployment for a time period.

I believe unemployment is set up as a safety net and should act as a bridge between the job lost and the next job gained. To avoid a potential job offer, just to collect unemployment, seems to me fraudulent. There could be more involved in this, but I am just taking the words and intent at face value.

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by echo42

The OP is saying, verbatim: I don't want to accept any employment with a lower wage or different hours. To me it sounds like manipulation of the system. The scope of this persons job availability is limited and narrow and does not seem to represent a good faith effort to go back to work but merely an easy way out to collect unemployment for a time period.

I believe unemployment is set up as a safety net and should act as a bridge between the job lost and the next job gained. To avoid a potential job offer, just to collect unemployment, seems to me fraudulent. There could be more involved in this, but I am just taking the words and intent at face value.

Unemployment was never based on whether you would accept a job that wasnt reasonably close to the job you lost. If you accept a lower-paying job, even temporarily, you're losing the opportunity to search for a replacement for the job you lost. You lose more than dollars when you accept a lower-paying job, because if you get laid off from that lower-paying job then you get lower unemployment while looking for the next job. Unemployment is insurance, not welfare - you paid in, so you deserve reasonable payment when you need it.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by oddstray

Unemployment was never based on whether you would accept a job that wasnt reasonably close to the job you lost. If you accept a lower-paying job, even temporarily, you're losing the opportunity to search for a replacement for the job you lost. You lose more than dollars when you accept a lower-paying job, because if you get laid off from that lower-paying job then you get lower unemployment while looking for the next job. Unemployment is insurance, not welfare - you paid in, so you deserve reasonable payment when you need it.

^This. But beware of some agencies. A friend of mine is having issues with collecting unemployment because they offered her a position she was quite simply not capable of getting to as she has no car and no bus runs there. When she filed, the agency told her that she refused work. I am currently with two agencies.

As oddstray mentioned, taking a lower paying job puts you in a situation where you've just lowered your income bracket. I know this from personal experience. I just took a job paying much less than I have always made as my last extension ended. However if I had known that a new claim was going to be approved based on a job I had at Google, I would have waited as that unemployment would have paid twice what I'm making now Lesson here is be careful and find out what your options are.