Can I keep my unemployment benefits in California if I worked for 2 1/2 weeks and quit.

by Frustrated
(California)

I live in California and was laid off from a job that I had for 2 1/2 years due to them being unable to "afford" me anymore. I immediately filed for unemployment and recieved a letter stating that I was denied due to them being unable to identify me. Worried about the money, I went out and found a full time PM shift job, making 1/3 less the money that I was making. I am also in school full time. I worked at the job for about 2 1/2 weeks (in the 2 weeks, I had been approved for unemployment benefits and was informed that if I worked only part time I would remain eligible for the benefits). I tried to get my schedule switched to part time, but the manager said they could not do it. I did not feel that I was properly trained for my position and went to the managers about it a few times, in which nothing was really done about it. I ended up quitting because of the schedule and I accepted an on-call job position elsewhere. I have a phone interview in a week with EDD about why I quit the job. Do you think that I'm still eligible?


Hi Frustrated,

To retain benefits, you wll need to prove you had good cause to quit the job. You also need to be aware that limiting your availability for work due to school is harmful to you .. also it won't help if the state determines you quit because the employer refused to let you work part-time.

They'll also probably want to know if you quit the full-time job to accept the on call job .. this wouldn't be helpful either.

The sections of the benefit guide I suggest you read to understand your situation are "Able and Available", "Voluntary Quit", "Suitable Work", and "Total and Partial unemployment".

You won't have to read everything .. each section is broken down by nice little headings and subheadings read the stuff that you think would apply to you. I included the suitable work category just because anyone collecting unemployment needs to understand what that is so they know when they can refuse a job with good cause.

Benefit Determination Guide