Have multiple "Good causes" to choose from for quitting. But which should I use? (file, receive)

[mich_trav]

Several reasons of "Good Cause" in Texas...

I've been at my current job for 8 months. From the get go I experienced problems from management, from being promised my school schedule would be accommodated (I'm a Grad student) during my interview (which, I was hired on the spot), to being told a few weeks into training it would not be (I needed to work during the day since my classes were at night) to being told they would only accommodate if I had a medical reason (I have a spine condition called degenerative disk disease) so obtained a general letter from my doctor stating I needed day shift due to medical reasons (the letter did not state what those reasons, were, however, since my Dr. said they don't need to know that). Management went behind my back to ask my sister what that medical condition was since it wasn't included in the letter, which was already the first "against policy" thing in my book.

I finally get the day shift I was promised during my interview/hire, but I had to go through HR to get it. I find out after training, that several people were just offered day without having to provide any documentation and without even requesting it, while I was forced to jump through hoops to get what I was promised.

Occurrences:
*After going to HR about that, my sister and I noticed we were being treated differently than the others we work with (call center environment), who are of another race.
*We were assigned heavier and more difficult tasks than our peers (everyone performs the same task/ has the same job title) and were scrutinized/ picked on for things we didn't even know were mistakes, as the training at the company was terrible. We complained to management about the favoritism and unfair work conditions, and saw nothing change.
* Soon after my sister and I would overhear people making comments such as "*******" and "****" (we're Mexican). We decided to go straight to HR, as management had now shown they didn't care.
*Afterwards, management began writing us up for any and everything. From being in the bathroom too long, to mistakes we still didn't know were mistakes (or in their words "mishandling of the work") to "unprofessionalism" when one day I was asked to train 2 new employees without any prior notice (and only having been on the job a little over a month myself). That same manager said during the write up that I gave the new hires false training/ trained them incorrectly and tried to set them up for failure, which was not the case, I was only training them based on how I was trained myself and understood the job to be. I found out later that that manager forced these 2 employees to write a statement to HR on this..
*A guy (same race as the majority of my coworkers) put gum in my chair after I went to HR as a witness of him threatening another Mexican coworker on the call center floor. He had gotten in my sisters face a few weeks before threatening her, too. My sister went to management and HR, and nothing happened. After I reported this guy to management and wrote a statement, management never gave the statement to HR, so I emailed him. He confirmed he never received that statement and was never told about either threat (when he threatened my sister and the other guy.) A coworker witnessed him dropping gum in my chair after all this, I sat on it, was so embarrassed and upset that I left work for the day. When I told HR about that situation, again, nothing happened to him.
*I asked another supervisor to please not touch me anymore after she would rub my shoulders. The next day, she did it again, I told her I had just asked her the day before not to touch me, she was embarrassed so had me suspended for a couple days. I got with HR who said that supervisor suspended me because I made HER feel threatened. She lied. Since then, she gave me a heavier/ more difficult workload, too.
*My sister and I filed a claim with the EEOC, who took our claim based on these things. Management spilled the beans to the call center floor, and people treated us badly from there after. One even asked us why are we trying to get all the (other race) fired. We were shocked.

These are only a few of the things that I've endured and gone to HR about. I actually have more instances, but you guys get the gist. I actually have documentation and screenshots/emails of literally everything (including showing how I had a heavier/ more difficult case load than anyone),including witnesses. I have about 100 pages worth of proof backing up every situation I could file "quitting with good cause" for.

Last week, an announcement was made that our entire contract would change. I currently work 7a.m. - 3:30 because I'm in night school (a schedule that management approved of after I provided documentation). I'm also a single mom of 2. The new contract would force me to change (as well as everyone else) my schedule to 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. I go to school Mon-Wed, 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. (I'm a full time student. Yes, work full time, full time Grad student, and single mom. It's tough but I manage.)

I was given options if this 11-8 schedule didn't fit that include:
1. Moving to another dept that pays $4/hr less. (I'm a single mom who doesn't receive child support, making less is not an option)

2. Staying in this dept, same wage, changing from full time to part time to accommodate school schedule (this would also result in lower wages just like option 1.) OR

3. and this is still up in the air they say, but working from home BUT making less, and I would have to already have my own high speed internet, desktop, keyboard, and headset, all wired. Money is tight and I don't even have my own computer (I borrow a laptop from my University's library every week for assignments).

I asked what would my next option be since neither of these things work for me? I was told I would have to resign.

**I'm wondering what route should I choose in quitting that will allow me to win Unemployment benefits.**

1. Quitting due to racial discrimination/ harrassment/ retaliation? I have documentation, witnesses, and a pending EEOC case proving this.

2. Quitting due to medical reasons? I provided documentation from the get-go stating I needed 1st shift, day hours. Also I've notified management/ HR about the stress/anxiety all the things I've endured at the job has given me, leading me to be on anxiety medication (I have a Dr.'s note for this, too) and worsening the affects of my spine condition (I have another Dr.'s note for this as well) and them disregarding all those emails.

3. Quitting due to changes in the terms of my hire? The company is completely changing the terms and conditions of which I was hired, and told me if they don't work, I'd have to resign.

I'm needing help determining which of these should be my "Reason for quitting" that would allow me to win my Unemployment case?

[Chyvan]

#3, but don't say you have to resign. When your 7 am to 3:30 pm job no longer exists, that is you being FIRED. You apply for UI as a fired person which puts the burden on your employer to prove that you committed misconduct.

You could have refused to train the new people, that is another change. You can refuse to do the heavier work because that's not what you were hired for. When your employer changes something, that is you being fired from the job that you had and probably being offered something that is unsuitable.

If you want out, learn to tell your story right so that you get UI. Actually, you don't have to quit. Just throw your weight around, and then you can either keep the job, or they'll show you the door. Grow a pair.

[mich_trav]

Originally Posted by Chyvan

#3, but don't say you have to resign. When your 7 am to 3:30 pm job no longer exists, that is you being FIRED. You apply for UI as a fired person which puts the burden on your employer to prove that you committed misconduct.

I was considering this, as well, but was initially worried having "job abandonment" as my reason for being fired would be difficult to win considering just up and leaving at 3:30 and leaving my work there for others to pick up is misconduct?

Originally Posted by Chyvan

You could have refused to train the new people, that is another change. You can refuse to do the heavier work because that's not what you were hired for. When your employer changes something, that is you being fired from the job that you had and probably being offered something that is unsuitable.

Anytime I did say "no" when asked to do more work, I was written up for "refusal to do job/ refusal to follow management instruction/ insubordination."

Originally Posted by Chyvan

If you want out, learn to tell your story right so that you get UI. Actually, you don't have to quit. Just throw your weight around, and then you can either keep the job, or they'll show you the door. Grow a pair.

My pair is what's made my already hostile work environment even more stressful. Telling my story right isn't the problem, again, I have documentation on everything I've mentioned. I'm miserable at my job and and now only a week before the project completely changes am forced to choose between the options mentioned above, and this is why I'm now looking at finally quitting. Which route I should take in doing so, however, was my dilemma.

My last question would come back to your first point, continuing to leave at 3:30 even after the project hours change (and my end-shift hours changing to 8pm).. Would I have to let anyone know ahead of time that this is what I plan on doing? I already wrote management an email telling them these changes are completely altering the terms I was hired upon, and their alternatives/ options would not suffice either. She did not respond to the email, however told me in person about my next option being to resign. I told her in person that would not suffice either.

Should I now follow up on my first email (saying the changes/ options to the changes wont work) saying I will not resign so that's documented? And not mention leaving at 3:30 after the project hours change (which occur on 8/1/16) but just go ahead and continue doing so until I'm fired?

[Chyvan]

Originally Posted by traviesa_michelle

I was considering this, as well, but was initially worried having "job abandonment" as my reason for being fired would be difficult to win considering just up and leaving at 3:30 and leaving my work there for others to pick up is misconduct?

You're not getting it. When hired for a job, you discuss your duties, hours, rate of pay and schedule at a bare minimum. Based on that, you either accept the job or reject. If employers got to promise you the world and renege on a deal, then they could get highly skilled, well paid employees to take jobs and quit perfectly good ones in the process, and then when they started working, they could throw them on the 3rd shift jobs that no one wants and pay them minimum wage. You are entitled to the benefits of the bargain that you make, and when it's taken away from you, then you can get UI. However, not all the UI people understand the concept, so you tell them that you were fired as in fired from the job that you HAD.

Originally Posted by traviesa_michelle

Anytime I did say "no" when asked to do more work, I was written up for "refusal to do job/ refusal to follow management instruction/ insubordination."

Great, and then they will fire you for it. Refusing to do work for which you were not hired, is just like in the example above. The employer is trying to get you to do work that they can't find anyone else to do and they are preying on your desire to do a good job and be a team player to get a better bargain than what they are paying for. If you are required to do heavy lifting, then you should be being paid like a man in a warehouse job, and I'm betting you're not.

Insubordination is NOT always misconduct. Do you understand? You can't ask the executive secretary in her nice skirt and heels to do the janitor's job and then threaten were with insubordination and expect that they won't get UI when they say, "up yours."

The guy that says, "that's not my job," gets UI. The team player gets denied after getting sick of the abuse because, well, you accepted the job changes or you wouldn't have done.

Your situation is easy. You hate your job, and you want UI. Push their buttons. You'll get what you want, out, and UI. You don't have to turn this into some good cause quit. The burden of proof is a pain. Let them prove that you committed misconduct.

Originally Posted by traviesa_michelle

until I'm fired?

Correct, until you are "fired."

[mich_trav]

Nice. Thank you for the clarification, I appreciate your help.

[Chyvan]

http://www.twc.state.tx.us/files/job...eaving-twc.pdf

Read the section under 315 to feel more comfortable about what I'm telling you, and that's assuming that you are forced to go down the quit path. If the employer fires you because you're just a pain, well, then that makes your job at getting UI a lot easier.

[mich_trav]

State: Texas
Late July I posted about having several good causes to quit and documentation (that includes emails, screenshots, dr.'s notes, and written statements) to support each. The reasons I have and provided my employer in my resignation letter and also when filing my UI claim were:
-Discrimination based on ethnicity (I even successfully filed a claim with the EEOC on this)
-Retaliation (same with the EEOC)
-Harassment
-The Company changed the terms and conditions of my employment contract when they changed the hours (I was hired to work day time, and was promised my night school schedule would be accommodated with documentation, which it was. Later the company changed the hours for the project I was in and my 7-3:30 schedule would have to be 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. I was told that if that did not work for me, and it did not because I had already spent thousands on tuition and was in school at night, I could either remain in the same position with the same pay but part-time, which would have disqualified me from losing my benefits from the company, be moved to another department with the same morning schedule, but paid $4/hr less and was a demoted job title, work from home in another project, same schedule, but also paid $4/ hr less and would require me to have my own operating equipment, which I did not have, or, lastly, resign.
-Medical reasons. I provided the examiner with a Dr.'s note stating she had been treating me for anxiety caused by my job and placed me on medication to treat this, and also advised me to attend back-to-work rehabilitation services to pretty much help me get better enough to deal with my job.

All of these things, in this order, were included in my resignation letter and my application for UI benefits when I resigned. I stated I quit due to medical reasons that arose from the harassment, discrimination, stress, and breach of my employment contract.

Since the last thing that happened while employed there was the company changing the terms and conditions of my employment (I even provided the examiner with my new-hire letter that stated I was a Full-time, Tier 3 Customer Service Representative, earning $16/ hr), that was the meat of my initial conversation with the examiner. Also, someone on this forum advised me to lead with that, too.

A few days later, the examiner calls me back with the employers response to the information I had provided the examiner. Most of what the person who was representing the company, my former operations manager and harasser/ person discrimination against me based on my ethnicity, were lies, and I told the examiner that I had documentation that would discredit the information she provided. The examiner said "no, that's okay, I have enough proof from what you've already sent me (documentation) that shows what you're saying."
She focused her questions (this was the second call one, in regards to the response the employer gave to the documentation I had provided, which the harassment, discrimination, medical reasons, wasn't even discussed by the former operations manager. Her argument was towards my schedule and them accommodating it for school..) on the schedule change the company was adhering to that caused me to quit, and the fact I was in school at night. She was very nice and patient with me, and since she listened to me talk about all the aforementioned (other reasons I quit), I felt like she understood my whole story.

I find out the next day when logging into the Texas Workforce Commissions website that I was "Disqualified because I quit to go to school.""
I was floored. That's NOT why I quit. That's NOT what I told my company in my resignation letter or in my UI application, in the documentation, or even in my interview with the examiner. In fact, prior to this determination, and prior to the second interview with the examiner discussing the employees response, I received notification that I WAS eligible for benefits despite being in school because it was found that my school hours did not interfere with me finding a job, which it never had (I'm half way through Grad school, and have ALWAYS worked in the day while going to school at night) and did not when i was hired with this company because they A. told me the company would accommodate my school schedule and my schedule would be day time B. I was ALREADY in school way before resigning, I did not resign TO go to school.

I called the examiner back to question how she was able to make this determination after my initial UI claim, the documentation I provided her, and the information I gave her during our conversations. She said that the employer has the right to change the hours of the job at any time, which blew my mind because my argument was not that they changed the hours, but because they breached my employment contract/ changed the terms and conditions of my job. But she ignored this and affirmed her stance that I said I could not work nights because I was in school, which still made no sense to me.

I then asked her what about everything else, the discrimination, harassment, and she said since that I stated "Since I thought I could not qualify for UI benefits if I quit due to harassment, I stayed at my job," which I did, and I explained to her, yes, that's what I THOUGHT at the time, but discovered later on that's not the case. Her rebuttal "Well, since you didn't quit after it happened, and stayed, you allowed it to continue." WTF, so it's MY fault I was harassed?? I was completely shocked by the reasoning she was giving me!

I asked her what about the medical reasons, Dr.'s note? She said the Dr.'s note did not state that the Dr. advised me to quit my job, only to seek rehabilitation services. I told her she was not the only Dr. I had been seeing, and I had other notes from other Dr.'s, but I had not provided those because I felt like I was already sending in an overwhelming amount of documentation for her to review (29 pages.)

She tried ending the conversation by saying "you'll just have to appeal now," but before she could hang up I begged her for the opportunity to let me send her more documentation proving my case, that there must have been some misunderstanding during our 2 interviews because I did not quit to go to school, and have lots of documentation, and was attempting the day before during our second interview to send when she said "no, that's okay, I have enough proof from what you've already sent me (documentation) that shows what you're saying."
She said the only documentation she'll be willing to review now is a Dr.'s note advising me to quit my job, which I then interrupted her saying I had dated while I was still working there (which I will be providing) on Monday.

I thanked her for the opportunity to allow me to send her more documentation, but am worried she'll still deny me. I getting

[Chyvan]

I told you to turn this into a discharge in your last post. This is what happens when you "quit." They took that one thing "school," and now look where you're at.

Just appeal it, and don't waste your time with the UI worker. "The determination dated mm/dd/yy is wrong. I want an appeal hearing scheduled," will get you a hearing. The clock is now ticking. The decision was rendered. If you miss your appeal window thinking she's going to change her mind, then you'll have to deal with a "late appeal," and we don't have magic that fixes that.

It was TOO long of a story no matter how justified you think you were to "quit." You did this to yourself. You only needed one thing to be fired, and now you wouldn't be beating your head against the wall thinking the UI worker didn't understand.

Quitting for "medical" is one of the worst reasons to work with because it raises "able and available" issues.

[mich_trav]

How do I tell her I was discharged if I submitted a resignation letter, and the company said I submitted a resignation letter, and the UI worker herself said the company has the right to change the hours of the job? I told her it's not the fact they changed the hours, but they breached the terms and conditions/ employee contract? How can they take "one thing" that has nothing to do with "THE thing"?
You told me they changed the terms and conditions of my employment, so I had good cause based on that, and included it. So how was I wrong?

[mich_trav]

I've already appealed. The same day I found out the determination (right before I called her to ask how she could have come up with my reason for quitting was to go to school..) I appealed. I asked her for the opportunity to send more documentation praying this proof will change her mind because I can't afford another 2+ months for the appeals process being a single mom of 2 (I still appealed, though).
You may be eligible for benefits if you quit for one of the reasons listed below:

Quit for good cause connected with the work, which means a work-related reason that would make an individual who wants to remain employed leave employment. You should be able to present evidence that you tried to correct work-related problems before you quit.
Examples of quitting for good work-related reason are well-documented instances of:
Unsafe working conditions
Significant changes in hiring agreement
Not getting paid or difficulty getting your agreed-upon pay
Quit for a good reason not related to work, under limited circumstances. Examples include leaving work because:
A personal medical illness or injury prevented you from working
It says "Work related reason that would make an individual who wants to remain employed leave employment."
There are plenty of other verbatim elsewhere in Texas statues, codes, rules, etc that says I would have had to allowed the employer the opportunity to investigate and correct the issues before quitting (discrimination, harassment) as well. So her argument "Why didn't you quit when it first happened, by you staying after it first happened you allowed it" would have made me ineligible for benefits anyway had I done so. So the fact I allowed the company the opportunity to investigate and correct the problems, why does that not count? How can it only be "one reason I quit?" If someone was harassed and discriminated at the same time, why can they only have left for one of the two? I don't understand that logic or see that any any statue, law, rule, etc. warranting a person can only quit for one good cause and one good cause alone.