Can you quit do to the Dr your working for had a heart attack and is going to retire?

by Debbie
(Hendersonville, NC)

I was working for a solo-practitioner Family Practice Dr. he had a heart attack at 72 y.o., had Bypass surgery etc, this happened in Feb 2009. I was his assistant for the back office-seeing pts. in the clinical setting was my main job. When he was hospitalized the receptionist was let go and I was moved up front to run the entire office-because I was a better and more loyal employee. The receptionist was able to get and still getting unemployment. After 2 months I was told by his wife-Ofice manager he would be retiring. I am a single mom and have no family in Hendersonville NC, so I made arrangements to move to Loveland Co, I gave notice and quit and moved in May 2009. I immediately applied for unemployment, waited my time for vacation pay and last check to be exhausted-still filing weekly claims, spoke with an eligibility person with NCESC and was sent a denial letter, stating I quit and there was still work, even though he was retiring. The Drs office is sub-contracting a person to come in 2 days a week to call in RX for the patients, until he sells the practice to the hospital. I believe I should get Unemployment benefits do to ecomomic hardship. I have been deligently looking for employment since moving to Colorado, but apparently so are a lot of other people, and I have had no luck. What should I say in my appeals letter-I cannot afford an attorney. I can barely afford to live and would be homeless if not for my family here in Colorado.


Hi Debbie,

I really don't have any suggestions for your appeal letter because you made a mistake by quitting .. unless your hours had been cut from full-time to two days a week.

It sounds like you quit in anticipation of the end of the job. That is not good cause. If you had waited until you were finally laid-off, then yes you would be eligible, but you didn't wait .. you resigned before the end and it is without good cause.

Economic hardship will never be a valid appeal because there is not one unemployment statute anywhere that allows benefits for economic or any other kind of financial hardship.

I truly wish I could help.