Can I collect unemployment if I quit in Pennsylvania?

by jennifer
(Pennsylvania Unemployment Benefits)

Can I collect unemployment if I quit in Pennsylvania?

I quit my job in September to help my mother take care of my alzheimers dad who is not doing well, he is very hard to handle at times. I tried to go back to work but the place closed in December due to bankruptcy.

So I tried to work in December at another facility. Again, my mom was having a hard time with my dad and I quit again. Am I eligible for unemployment in Pennsylvania.


Hi Jennifer,

It's possible because Pennsylvania law allows for unemployment if a person quits for "compelling and necessitous reason", but they also examine if you first exhausted all reasonable alternatives to quitting, this would include things like requesting family medical leave, a personal leave if FML wasn't an option, presenting medical documentation advising of the need for your assistance for the situation, maybe a shift change...etc.