If my employer puts me on part-time bases after full time, will that effect my unemployment benefits? (record, money)

[Chiquitina]

I am working CA, my employer reduced my full time work for part time, they explained us about less students, but there are part time employees that are working 28 hours/week while i am working 22 h/w. That is fair?

[Ariadne22]

Originally Posted by Chiquitina

I am working CA, my employer reduced my full time work for part time, they explained us about less students, but there are part time employees that are working 28 hours/week while i am working 22 h/w. That is fair?

Employers can do whatever they want. Fair has nothing to do with it unless you are in a union or part of a protected class.

You have two options.

The first is to quit because your employer terminated your full-time job, and has offered you new work as a part-time employee - which you are entitled to refuse as "unsuitable" because it is not full-time. Before you quit, you need to give your employer an opportunity to adjust the grievance - i.e., tell them to restore your hours to full time. If they refuse, apply for unemployment benefits on the basis of a discharge from your full-time job.

Second option is to continue to work these reduced hours and apply for unemployment benefits. Know that CA deducts 75% of your part-time earnings from the benefit - which probably means you will receive very little compensation for the loss of those hours.

Further, accepting this part-time work, will eventually redefine "suitable work" for you as part-time.

You and want to examine your earnings over the past 12-15 months to determine if you are better off quitting, applying for benefits, and using that time to look for better full-time employment.

CA handbook clearly explains how it calculates benefits. Essentially, your weekly benefit is determined by your high quarter of wages (schedule in handbook); then total wages in 12-month base period are divided by 2, and divided again by the weekly benefit to determine number of weeks paid.

http://www.edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de1275a.pdf

[Jo518]

Hi,

I have been working with a non profit for 10 months now and was hired as a supervisor, which I was paid hourly 12ph around 35-40 per week. I have since been promoted to a director at 32k, with better sick, vacation time and day care for my kids. I have only been at this position for a month and today I was just told I should accept an different hourly job back at the farther location where I worked at before. My previous position has been filled and there is no pay or position set. I will have to find out what is available tomorrow.

I was told if I choose to stay at my current position, I would no longer have the option of the other position and he would make sure I couldn't go back if things don't work out where I currently am. This is the first time I have heard of anything like this happening, I've had no issues at work and just very surprised.

So I was basically given an ultimatum.

What can I do? I reside in New York State.

[Klins1228]

Hi, I really need your help; I'm working at a restaurant, we make between 800$ to 1000$ a week with the tips, but now my boss want to get tip of us, some of us been working there over 10 years, so he's starting to use dirty and nasty way but legal to make us quit, he change the restaurant policy to a NO tip restaurant and pay us minimum wages and charge the customer 9.% of admin fee ( goes to the owner) .
So now we make less that half what we use to make,
It been 3 weeks so far with the new policy, no one have quit yet, only the new hired quit .
So it didn't work for him that well, so he's starting to cut hours to us, some works only 2 days.
what can we do? Can we applied for unemployment? Can we quit and collect? Or can we collect and work? We can make a living now,
He can't fire us and want us to quit, in the mean time he's looking for us to make a mistake and fire us with a reason, he even hired new people just to walk around and ask customers if the server did something no good, also hired other to just tell customers to no leave tips.
The restaurant name is Ichiumi in NYC.

Thanks

[Ariadne22]

Originally Posted by Klins1228

what can we do? Can we applied for unemployment? Can we quit and collect? Or can we collect and work?

You've already quoted your answer:

The first is to quit because your employer terminated your full-time job, and has offered you new work as a part-time employee - which you are entitled to refuse as "unsuitable" because it is not full-time. Before you quit, you need to give your employer an opportunity to adjust the grievance - i.e., tell them to restore your hours to full time. If they refuse, apply for unemployment benefits on the basis of a discharge from your full-time job.

You've already let too much time time go by. The time to have dealt with this material change in employment - substantial reduction in pay (no tips) and/or hours - essentially a discharge and offer of new work - was immediately when it occurred.

NY is a fairly claimant-friendly state. You may still have time to object and not have the past three weeks of employment considered "an acceptance of new terms." But, you'll have to act fast. Like tomorrow.

NY pays no more than $420 week, with a very punitive partial benefit formula. If you choose to keep the job, you won't collect a penny of UE b/c NY reduces your benefit by 25% for every day, or part of a day you work.

[Chyvan]

I think the person has a chance. As a quitter she needs proof, and I bet this was all verbal. She would need pay stubs. She'd have to show that server-minimum wages plus tips was less than just plain minimum wage. She'd need time to complain to the employer and have him fix things, so I think she's right on the edge but could still pull it off, and has a very legit reason of the delay.

[PKaram]

I have a similar situation as the lady who went from full time to part time. My problem is that I work for a family owned business in California. They are not only reducing my hours but they are replacing me with an undocumented employee.

[Chyvan]

You have to make the decision immediately as to what you are going to do, try to get some proof that the employer is making a material, adverse change, that you complain about it (and if you complain correctly, you won't have to quit, the employer will just fire you), and only after those steps are complete do you stop going to work.

Then when you apply, say you were fired anyway because technically you were fired from the job that you had and refused a crap offer of "new" work.

[hdezines]

I was just informed today that I am going to be permanently laid off due to financial reasons (new retail location not doing well) but until I find alternative employment I may work 2 days a week. Going from 40 hours per week to 15 hours a week. I was also made aware that they looked into an alternative position in our company but in the well established part of our company that may be looking for a new hire. But that would be up to me to apply to it. So I have been given until this coming Friday October 2nd to give them my decision. My husband is telling me that if I don't accept this partial hours I may be denied for UI. I work in Oregon and live in Washington so my commute is wretched. I am feeling like this is an answer of prayer since this manager is the worst that I have worked for and I would like to not continue to be there under these odd circumstances even though to them it looks like they are doing me a favor. But the main thing is, which way will I bring home more income while I look for alternative employment? I have been at this job since Feb 24, 2015. I am thinking tomorrow I should request all that was stated in that meeting in writing so I can be crystal clear on the change and offer. Then I will proceed. Any help on this would be Greatly Appreciated! Thank you! (I also must say that I applied for UI tonight with the push of my husband since it takes awhile but felt nervous since I didn't know my plans as of yet).

[Ariadne22]

Originally Posted by hdezines

I was just informed today that I am going to be permanently laid off due to financial reasons (new retail location not doing well) but until I find alternative employment I may work 2 days a week.

Going from 40 hours per week to 15 hours a week.

My husband is telling me that if I don't accept this partial hours I may be denied for UI.

But the main thing is, which way will I bring home more income while I look for alternative employment?

I have been at this job since Feb 24, 2015. I am thinking tomorrow I should request all that was stated in that meeting in writing so I can be crystal clear on the change and offer.

Then I will proceed.

(I also must say that I applied for UI tonight with the push of my husband since it takes awhile but felt nervous since I didn't know my plans as of yet).

Exactly. You should not have applied for unemployment, yet. You are still employed. There has been no discharge or quit, or even hours reduction. What reason did you give Oregon for applying for benefits even before the discharge?

Further, it rarely pays to work part-time while collecting unemployment benefits. In the end, you'll find yourself working for $2/hour after Oregon deducts your part-time wages from its benefit.

The reality, here, is your employer is discharging you from your full-time position and offering new "unsuitable" part-time work. If you accept this part-time work - even temporarily - you can be perceived to have accepted this work as suitable which compromises your ability to refuse other "unsuitable" work. And, once you accept this job, you can't quit just because you've decided it was a wrong decision. If you do, OR will disqualify you from benefits.

The way to proceed is to put in writing to your employer that you have been a full-time employee, the new work offered is part-time, that unless your employer can restore you to your original full-time position with commensurate pay and benefits, you have no choice but to consider yourself discharged.

THEN - you apply for unemployment. And - on the application - you state you have been DISCHARGED.

It's a slam dunk if done properly - but working part-time and/or applying before the actual termination - will unnecessarily muddy the waters - and prove costly.

My recommendation is to call OR, cancel this application - make sure they remove it from their system. Tell them you may be applying at another time - and then reapply when you've got your ducks in a row.