quit voluntarily – due to moving to new area

by Renee Frazier

(Lakeland, Florida)

I am not mentally fit to live by myself. I have lived with my parents all my life. I had brain damage when I was born. My mother recently moved to Florida to be with her family since my father died. I had to move with her because I am not able to make it on my own. So I had to quit my job and have been looking actively for a new one but have not found one yet. Unemployment benefits were started but now they have stopped and say I have to pay it back. Yes, I quit voluntarily but I had no choice.
How can I get help?

Hi Renee,

Did you per chance work for an employer that had different locations and did you first try to resolve the problem by requesting a transfer? I’m looking for a reason that might be able to connect the reason for the quit to the work.

Florida does allow benefits when someone voluntarily quits for health reasons, but this usually requires medical documentation of some sort that the job is no longer suitable due to the health condition or when an employer is unable or unwilling to comply with a medical restriction.

So you might consider appealing, if you did seek alternative with the employer prior to quitting that could have accommodated the need to move. If not, you might try to appeal that your medically documented mental limitations gave you no other alternative to continue in the employment, but I wouldn’t hold out much hope for that argument because nothing in it can be seen as “attributable to the work” which is a problem in all states that have few provisions that create an exception to this underlying principle.