Can Your Employer Fire You After You Quit?

You submit a notice, but your employer rejects your resignation and fires you locally. What Happens to Your Unemployment Insurance Benefit? Human resource investigates.

Dear employees,

At the end of last year, I gave my employer 60 days’ notice of my termination, which took effect on January 1st. Two days after I notified me, my boss fired me for no reason, stating, “We do not accept your resignation.”

I’m in Massachusetts. I consulted with an employment lawyer here and was told that I had no reason to file a claim for illegal dismissal. Unemployment determined that I was eligible for benefits and received checks accordingly.

But after January 1, checks stopped coming, because my old job told unemployment that I was quitting. Several months later, this problem remains unresolved due to the fact that I have things ahead of me in the line for unemployment benefits.

What I have? In my work situation, nothing has changed; I didn’t continue to work for them after they fired me and they didn’t accept my resignation, so how can they claim that I quit the job that I was fired from? How can I fight for unemployment benefits? My savings are shrinking and there is no end in sight. Thanks for any guidance you may have.

Check your local unemployment benefits laws.

Your HR department is not a lawyer, so I had to speak with some experts to understand the context here – specifically the Massachusetts context. Government regulation can go a long way in determining how unemployment benefits are actually allocated. So, a word to any reader in a similar situation in any state: start by researching the local details.

The Massachusetts State Unemployment Agency is the Unemployment Assistance Department; you can visit online here . Based on the circumstances you described, you should have received a “Notice of Ineligibility” when your benefits suddenly ended.

Amy Epstein Gluck, partner at FisherBroyles and author of the firm’s helpful labor law blog , told me that this was the perfect time to appeal to the agency – you must do so within ten days of receiving notice. … “If you haven’t received it yet, call and ask for it,” she adds. “You must continue to ask for benefits while your appeal is pending in order to receive payment for those weeks if you win.”

(Note that Epstein Gluck does not offer specific legal advice here. You may want to talk to a lawyer again; more on that below.)

But in the short term, you should appeal – even if you’re now (far) out of the deadline, Massachusetts employment attorney Jill Havens of Havens Law Office tells me. Offer any explanation to explain the delay and hope you can get a hearing on your case.

Dismissal or dismissal

Typically, when someone applies for unemployment benefits, you are asked (among other things) if you quit, were fired or were fired, or in any other situation. Your former employer is being asked similar questions. Benefits are appropriately allocated or not.

Havens (who, of course, also does not offer specific legal advice here) suggests that there are several possibilities that might explain your situation. First, your former employer did not immediately respond (and, in your opinion, answered dishonestly).

Another possibility, at least for me, is more unpleasant. On 60 days’ notice, you announced that you are resigning from January 1st. After a day or two, your employer fired you. For about 58 days, you were eligible for unemployment benefits. “But from January 1, you were going to leave anyway,” Havens says, conveying the agency’s possible thoughts: “So, from this date, you left.” In a sense, your employer is trying to achieve both.

Consideration of an appeal

Does this mean that you are simply losing your benefits? This is definitely possible, but not necessary. As Havens points out, the unemployment agency must determine if the reason you quit qualifies for further benefits. This is why you definitely need to file an appeal. And perhaps consider talking to a lawyer again.

We point out here that you have the right to view all materials related to your claim: it may be helpful if you believe that your former employer made a false material statement to this agency about the details of your unemployment, which could constitute a fraud.

You mentioned that you previously consulted a lawyer, but if you are not blinded by the advice you received and would like other options, visit the Massachusetts Association of Employment Lawyers – there is a list of members that lists dozens of attorneys specializing in representing workers (as opposed to employers).

The best thing you can do is move on

However, I am usually very wary of offering full blown legal action if you have other options. Be sure to contact the agency, but I think you better focus most of your energy on finding your next performance and leave that experience behind. You have several possible strategies for seeking help, as described here, but they may not be very attractive and certainly are not a guarantee.

But perhaps the readers of Lifehacker (lawyers and others!) Will take it one step further. Let us know in the comments if so!

Send your work questions to humanresource@lifehacker.com . Questions can be edited for added volume and clarity.