Keeping those bridges strong, strong, strong

September 22, 2014 3:58 PM

Can filing for unemployment hurt your relationship with your previous employer?

(Apologies if this is a dumb or naive question, I confess that I don't really know how unemployment works.)

From May-September I had a temporary position with the state branch of a national nonprofit. This ended a few weeks ago and while I have been sending in applications and going to interviews for the past month, nothing has panned out yet (though it looks like I will likely be able to get part time work with a former employer soon.)

It looks like I qualify for unemployment in my state (RI), (or that I will qualify if I wait a few more weeks to apply for income purposes, which is weird...?) Anyway, I'm not sure that I qualify, but I figure the best way to find out is to file. However, I'm concerned that I might damage my relationship with this previous employer--under the grounds that I went into the position knowing it was temporary and now I'm turning around and claiming unemployment. (I'm not really sure how this works, honestly, but based on all of the stories about employers going to ends to deny unemployment, I gather it's not good for them.)

I'd like to keep this relationship good because my supervisor there is one of my references now, and also I am welcome to return to the same position next May--since my work is often seasonal, it is very possible that any employment I find now will dry up in the spring, and I'd love to return there next summer if I'm available, I had a great summer and it's great experience for me. Also, it's a small state and my particular field within it is also quite small.

posted by geegollygosh to Work & Money (14 answers total)

In general, temporary positions are ineligible for unemployment benefits. I can't find a corroborating reference for Rhode Island in a (very) short Google search.

I figure the best way to find out is to file

That is correct.

I'm concerned that I might damage my relationship with this previous employer

Any employer that is offended by you filing for unemployment is not an employer you want to work for. Each unemployment claim that is paid out (slightly) increases the employer's unemployment insurance premium, so it is suboptimal from the employer's perspective. However, unemployment claims by themselves do not effect the insurance premium. It should be noted that employers do not decide whether or not you are eligible for unemployment benefits - the state does. When you file for unemployment benefits, the state unemployment board will contact your ex-employer to verify eligibility. Your ex-employer will state that you were employed in a temporary position, and the state will deny your claim (presuming Rhode Island isn't an exceptional state that provides unemployment benefits for temporary positions). At that point, the state will offer you the chance to appeal the decision, which I would suggest is not worth your time.

All this being said, from the employer's perspective, you filing costs them nothing except a letter, which is not something that should cause them to change their opinion of you.
posted by saeculorum at 4:05 PM on September 22, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Unless this particular company is weird or uptight about it, my understanding is that seasonal employees are expected to file. I used to deal with these claims at a company that hired a lot of seasonal employees and it was considered a regular, expected cost of doing business. The business not being able to provide enough hours for you to work is a legit reason to file. If you worked for a temp agency, you'd also be able to file if they weren't able to come up with another assignment for you within a certain time frame, like a week or so.
posted by bleep at 4:08 PM on September 22, 2014 [1 favorite]

Right from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training:

To qualify for UI benefits, you must meet certain wage requirements. While these requirements are explained to you in detail, please do not use this information to try to determine your own eligibility.

If you are laid off we strongly urge you to apply for benefits. We will determine whether you qualify based on all the facts relating to your claim and notify you as quickly as possible. You must be unemployed through no fault of your own.

posted by saeculorum at 4:09 PM on September 22, 2014

Response by poster: Thanks, Bleep, that's the kind of information I'm looking for.

I'm not asking anyone to speculate on whether I qualify or not. I've done some digging, it looks like I do, the only way to find out for sure is to file, but that's not the question.
posted by geegollygosh at 4:12 PM on September 22, 2014

If this burns a bridge with one of your major references, they're not someone you want as a reference.

Also, like bleep, in my field seasonal employees are expected to file. In every state I've worked in, the reason for unemployment you want to choose is "lack of work". Note that it's phrased "lack of work" and not "laid off" or something else that would preclude seasonal workers filing for unemployment.
posted by Sara C. at 4:17 PM on September 22, 2014

I do think you're entitled to unemployment and you should file.

However ... In a former life, I was a manager in a department of a large nonprofit. We had a temp employee who we let go for lack of work. When she filed for, and received, unemployment, the organization charged the cost of her unemployment benefits back to our department. No more temps for us after that.
posted by shiny blue object at 4:24 PM on September 22, 2014

Everyone should always file for unemployment when they are eligible. It's there for a reason.

Employers who would even check up on it, or notice it, let alone be concerned about it are the kinds of employers one leaves off the resume. Because they suck.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:25 PM on September 22, 2014 [3 favorites]

Another datapoint: I volunteered a few years ago for a nonprofit that had primarily seasonal employees, and about half of these employees would spend the season with the nonprofit, take unemployment, then return to the nonprofit the following season. There was zero discrimination and these employees were not treated any differently. It was just sort of the way things were in that particular geographic region (interior Alaska) where there were simply no jobs available in the winter.
posted by mochapickle at 4:28 PM on September 22, 2014 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks, this has been helpful. I think I will apply (after the end of this base quarter). Shiny blue object's story is exactly the kind of cautionary tale I was worried about, but I know this organization hires plenty of seasonal employees nationally, so based on the other responses it seems likely they're used to this happening.

It's not exactly that I'm worried about them being bitter and angry and sabotaging my future career over this... I just want them to think happy thoughts about me when they're called for a reference, not sigh heavily and think about the budget.
posted by geegollygosh at 4:46 PM on September 22, 2014

I will repeat: I do think you should apply. The chargeback to our department was a nasty surprise, but we had rarely used temps before that.
posted by shiny blue object at 4:49 PM on September 22, 2014

If they commonly employ seasonal workers and pay unemployment to them, then their employment insurance rate is already elevated, so you won't make that worse. Usually, an employer gets upset when they're not usually paying unemployment and you've jacked up their rates by applying. That shouldn't prevent you from filing for unemployment because you, the employee, assume the employer factors the risk and cost of unemployment insurance into the decision to hire you. I wouldn't go so far as to say you wouldn't want their reference if they got upset, because your job was legitimate and a reference is always nice, but the small risk of losing a reference from a small company is not enough to dissuade you from getting sure help during your job search.
posted by michaelh at 4:51 PM on September 22, 2014

The only times you usually hear about unemployment being a thing is if there's a dispute about whether people left because they were fired for cause or because they left for some good reason (or because they quit). An employer can contest your version of events if there is some dispute (you say they were downsizing or laid off because of lack of work, them saying you're a lousy employee and they had to fire you) where you say you are eligible and they say you are not. If you both agree on the same version of why-you-left events, this should be a non-issue.

I left MeFi because of downsizing, I collect some unemployment, this is not a big deal with mathowie at all I don't think, but feel free to drop him a note because he could speak to whatever the issues would be on his side. The system is in place both to help employees but also to somewhat incent businesses to provide jobs for people generally and not just hire/lay off randomly. That is, seasonal workers are accounted for in this system. Filing for unemployment is a total pain in the ass, so that also incents you the unemployed to keep looking for work which sounds like it will be no issue for you.
posted by jessamyn at 5:33 PM on September 22, 2014 [1 favorite]

Another seasonal/temp employee for a state agency popping in here to say yes, file for unemployment, they may even be expecting you to do so. At the very least they should not be upset about it and I would not worry at all about it impacting a reference. They understand that you have to eat! Unemployment was a huge help to me.
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:03 PM on September 22, 2014

You should also file as soon as you believe you can -- if you've never done it before, it may be surprising how slow the wheels of bureaucracy grind.
posted by polexa at 11:10 PM on September 22, 2014