Pa Unemployment Office Gives Positive Response

Aug 23, 2002
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I E mailed the PA Unemployment Office on being cut 21 % involuntarily.....Saying that with a 21 % paycut, I will have trouble paying bills...

If a person is cut that drasticly and has to leave his job to spend hias full time to find a job making equal pay to his agreed to pay with his employer, would unemployment compensation be possible.....That if you are involuntarily furloughed, you cannot be forced from Unemployment Compensation to take a lower paying job....

Their response, I took as a "positive" response, but that it would be looked on, in a individual basis...Here is what they E Mailed me on their response....Said it would be looked at under PA Section 402b....

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This is in response to your recent e-mail regarding your possible eligibility or unemployment compensation (UC) if you quit continuing employment because your employer has reduced your salary.

The following general information on voluntary quit separations is provided. A determination concerning eligibility/ineligibility for UC cannot be issued prior to an individual's separation from employment. However, should you become separated and file an application for UC benefits, you would then be asked by the UC Service Center to provide specific information regarding your separation from employment. All available information concerning a your separation would then be considered prior to the UC Service Center issuing the UC eligibility determination.

UC is a form of income support that protects an individual against income loss if he/she is separated from employment through no fault of his or her own. UC benefits are paid, for a limited time, to individuals who are able and available for suitable work, but continue to be unemployed while looking for another job.

If you voluntarily leave continuing employment, your UC eligibility will be determined in accordance with Section 402(B) of the Pennsylvania UC Law. Section 402(B) provides, in part, that an employee shall be ineligible for UC for any week in which his or her unemployment is due to voluntarily leaving work without cause of a necessitous and compelling nature. A claimant who voluntarily quits continuing employment has the burden of proof in establishing good cause for quitting and that such cause was real and substantial, leaving the claimant no other alternative.

A necessitous and compelling reason would be that in which a reasonable person would have no other choice. The claimant must demonstrate that his or her behavior was consistent with prudence and ordinary common sense, and was based on factors that are real, substantial and reasonable. Changes in the terms and conditions of employment and its effect may, under certain circumstances, be considered to be a cause of necessitous and compelling nature.

Unfortunately, we cannot give you a definitive answer regarding your UC eligibility. However, the following examples may help to explain the "necessitous and compelling" burden.

A baggage handler making $8.00 per hour has his wage rate cut by $1.50 an hour due to his employer's changing budget priorities. Upon quitting, he files for UC benefits, and after providing the UC Service Center with proof that he could not afford to work for less pay (because of financial reasons) and needed to find another job, he will probably be found eligible for UC under Section 402(B). This reason for the eligible determination is because the UC Service Center decided that he had a necessitous and compelling reason for leaving his position.

A senior pilot making more than $100,000 has his salary cut by $ 20,000 in union concessions. When this pilot quits, and files for UC, in order to be eligible for benefits, he has the burden of proving that his quit was based on good cause. Since the claimant had the option of remaining employed at $80,000 per year or becoming unemployed with no income, he will probably be determined ineligible because he will not be able to demonstrate to the UC Service Center that he had no other choice but to resign from employment.
If you decide to voluntarily leave employment and are denied benefits, you will have the right to appeal that decision to an independent UC referee.

To file a new application for UC benefits, log on to www.dli.state.pa.us. Under quick links, choose unemployment compensation, and then file an initial application for UC benefits. You may also call your UC Service Center at 1-888-313-7284. The hours of operation for our UC Service Centers are Mondays 7:00 a.m. - 6:45 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday 7:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.


So, if you cannot afford to live on what they are paying you...and you can demonstrate that ......You may be able to collect....while you are job hunting....

Good Luck all !!!
:D
 
am i to think you actually think you can make more money on UC??
wouldn't it be a smarter thing to get a part time job and work temporarily while in quest of another job??
mech's get somwhere around 400 = per week...i can't believe you can do any better.on UC.
or you got an under the table scam??
 
delldude said:
am i to think you actually think you can make more money on UC??
wouldn't it be a smarter thing to get a part time job and work temporarily while in quest of another job??
mech's get somwhere around 400 = per week...i can't believe you can do any better.on UC.
or you got an under the table scam??
[post="194493"][/post]​


dell...

I think the point that is being made is not that someone is trying "to make money" while claiming UC, but that they need to leave the job in order to obtain another job that pays a wage comparable to their former salary. And that such must be done in a time critical manner.

It appears to me from reading the correspondence that one might have a plausible case if they can prove that they can no longer financially subsist on the newly imposed wage. And that might be very burdensome to prove. I would think that it would apply only to those making the very least at mainline.

I'd caution anyone who is considering this move to carefully assess the strength of their argument. It appears that the definitive vocabulary is:

"A necessitous and compelling reason would be that in which a reasonable person would have no other choice. The claimant must demonstrate that his or her behavior was consistent with prudence and ordinary common sense, and was based on factors that are real, substantial and reasonable. Changes in the terms and conditions of employment and its effect may, under certain circumstances, be considered to be a cause of necessitous and compelling nature."

Definitely not an easy standard.

Best to all,
BT
 
dell...

I think the point that is being made is not that someone is trying "to make money" while claiming UC
my point was if you think you can do better on UC...you better stop and think....it usually is around 60% of your prior wage....and temporary at best..
and BTW,most i know have that under the table job lined up already.
 
Reservation Agent said:
A determination concerning eligibility/ineligibility for UC cannot be issued prior to an individual's separation from employment. [Italics mine]

A necessitous and compelling reason would be that in which a reasonable person would have no other choice. The claimant must demonstrate that his or her behavior was consistent with prudence and ordinary common sense, and was based on factors that are real, substantial and reasonable. Changes in the terms and conditions of employment and its effect may, under certain circumstances, be considered to be a cause of necessitous and compelling nature.

Unfortunately, we cannot give you a definitive answer regarding your UC eligibility.
[post="194492"][/post]​

Be very careful that you don't assume that what you consider to be "necessitous and compelling" will also be considered such by the claims examiner. You can not get a determination in advance (see italicized sentence above). They can not nor will they tell you before you quit that if you were making x dollars and your employer cut your pay by y dollars, you are eligible.

The argument can and has been made that the behavior demonstrating "prudence and ordinary common sense" would consist of remaining on your current job until you had secured a new job; therefore, eliminating the need for unemployment compensation totally. It would be difficult if not impossible to argue that that your job skills are such that a search for new employment required that you quit your current job to devote all your time to the search.
 
delldude said:
my point was if you think you can do better on UC...you better stop and think....it usually is around 60% of your prior wage....and temporary at best..
and BTW,most i know have that under the table job lined up already.
[post="194517"][/post]​

Also, unless you have a spouse with insurance, be sure to check out cobra and private insurance. It is a rude awakening. Cobra for family coverage for me was close to $1000.00 a month while I looked for private insurance. And private insurance is no picnic with high deductables and coverage that is less than desirable. What if all of someone's UC goes to insurance..then what do you live on?
 
callgirlcindie said:
Also, unless you have a spouse with insurance, be sure to check out cobra and private insurance. It is a rude awakening.
[post="194549"][/post]​
Can I have an AMEN from the choir! I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday who is a lawyer in Houston. Her husband is sorta kinda self-employed (he's in a small consulting group with a few other people). She can get "group insurance" through her law firm which is one of the largest in Houston.

For herself, her husband, and one child--all in excellent health--her monthly premium is $700, and she has a $3000 annual deductible!