Accepting A Job That Is Suitable To YOU!

Think That Job Offer Through

After years of experience cleaning toilets at home and sometimes as a duty which went along with a couple jobs I've had ..

Cleaning toilets is not what I would consider suitable work for myself unless I was desperate.

But, because I know how unemployment benefits work .. the first thing I'd know before accepting any questionable job offer is what my state's unemployment laws and if I'm lucky, legal interpretations tell me is suitable work for me.

Refusal Of And Quitting Suitable Work

Unemployment benefits are partial replacement for lost wages from suitable work, but one of the conditions you must meet to collect a check for each week you are unemployed is to be ready, able and available to accept a job that is considered to be suitable work for you based on some specific criteria.

You're being paid to look for work .. that is the conditions of your job while unemployed to remain eligible.

The issue of suitable work is explained by DOLETA:

Criteria for Suitable Work — All states look at whether the work refused was suitable. When state laws list the criteria for suitability, they usually address the degree of risk to a worker’s health, safety, and morals; the worker’s physical fitness, prior training, experience, and earnings; the length of unemployment and prospects for securing local work in a customary occupation; and the distance of the available work from the worker’s residence. Delaware and New York make no reference to the suitability of work offered but provide fordisqualification for refusals of work for which a worker is reasonably fitted. South Carolina specifies that whether work is suitable must be based on a standard of reasonableness as it relates to the particular worker involved.

Going to page 26 of the 2011 Nonmonetary Chartbook is well worth the read for further specific about certain state laws because many states are changing the criteria.

I believe this to be a government counter measure to shake out those they think are gaming the system.

To bad they aren't being as inventive with counter measures to create more jobs that are suitable.

I can hear the former exec now .. Do you want to double size that? I don't know who submitted that story, but to this day .. I'm still trying to find the earnest quality in it instead of seeing only a deliberate attempt at propaganda to lower expectations.

If you're unemployed and receiving benefits, accepting a job isn't about finding the perfect job.

It's about scrutinizing an offer of work and considering how well you think you'll be able to tolerate the conditions of the employment if it happens to be unsuitable .. because the longer you stay in unsuitable work .. the more suitable you appear to say it is.

How Does Unemployment Know You Accepted A Job?

It should come as no surprise that some people think they can get away with collecting unemployment and working without reporting their wages.

Recently a National Directory was instituted, I presume, as a clearinghouse to detect interstate unemployment fraud.

So, even one day of employment has the potential to make you regret a choice made out of desperation to find work and this can effect your right to further benefits and can absolutely result in an overpayment finding, from the time you quit a job deemed to be suitable to present.

Watch Our For Temp Agencies

I know that accepting a job from a temporary staffing agency is one of the best options out there for finding work that is initially suitable work for you.

But, the problem is that when you sign up .. you have become an employee of the temp agency. It is the lure of a temp job turning into a permanent job that is most attractive.

However, working for temp agencies, without a doubt, may lower the bar quickly on what is now considered suitable work .. for you.

Don't let this happen. Know what your state's unemployment statutes say about suitable work and while you're at it, check to see if your state has a special provision for employees working for a temp agencies. (This can be quickly checked by checking the DOLETA chart book above.)

More about accepting a job from a temp agency.

The Original Offer Of Work vs. The Conditions After Accepting A Job

Continuing benefits is contingent on the separation of the most recent or last job.

It's next to impossible to get a written job offer. And without this .. how do you prove that what you were told about the job wasn't in fact the truth. It's difficult to say the least.

But, for the sake of an unemployment appeal hearing regarding an issue of suitable work let me offer the same advice about creating proof before you need it.

Counter documentation.

When they won't give you an offer letter with the terms and condition of hire create your own acceptance letter which makes clear the terms and conditions which made you think the job would be suitable to you.

You can at least offer something .. just in case of an investigative phone interview by the unemployment claims dept. or have something supportive documentation for an appeal hearing.

Think of it this way. Accepting a job is entering into a business relationship.

The biggest problem for employees is that they don't view themselves as in business for themselves by providing their services to a business entity.

Protecting your own interest begins when you accept a offer of work whether you're going to clean toilets or be the CEO of a corporation.

Unemployment Appeal Hearing Help?

How Unemployment Works
More Unemployment Benefits Q&A's
Home