Quit to follow spouse after my employer denied a transfer.

by Ramana
(Tampa, Florida)

Hi, my family lived in Florida for the past two years. About 6 months ago, my wife got a job in Dallas, Texas (at the time, my son was 18 months old) and she left. I asked my present employer if I could transfer to their Dallas office and they told me no; rather that they needed me to continue in the Florida office. Could this be a valid reason to quit and thus claim unemployment? Thank you.


Ramana,

Possibly. I tried to find a Florida decision about this type of quit...but Florida unemployment decisions are very hard to find.

Since you asked for a transfer before you quit..you would argue that it was due to the employer denying the transfer...which would make the quit attributable to the employer now, but the state will probably look at the reason your spouse had to move...whether the reason the employer denied you a transfer was valid....etc.

I think it's worth a shot. After all, the employer's decision to keep you in Florida instead of granting a transfer would have created a huge financial burden of carrying two households, and any number of other negative consequences that could have happened if you did not quit....and all due to the employer refusing a reasonable request.