Legal Question in Employment Law in New York

Can I get unemployment benefits if I leave my job, due to traveling 35 minutes one way and the cost of gas is to much for me to make it. I have 4 kids at home and my wife is going make to school. We are barely paying our bills, most of the money is going for gas, please HELP.


Asked on 5/03/12, 7:49 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Nancy Delain Delain Law Office, PLLC

Probably not. Unemployment insurance is generally not available for people who voluntarily leave their jobs. It kicks in when an employee gets laid off or, in some cases, outright fired.

The court would say that you have the option to move closer to your job to lower your gasoline bill; you also have the option of finding alternate means of transportation to and from work (carpool, public transit, bicycle, ...). Depending on what, exactly, you do for a living (obviously this wouldn't work if you're involved, say, in direct patient care in a hospital or if you load boxes on a truck or if you work construction), perhaps you can work out a telecommuting arrangement with your employer for one or two days per week (that would save on daycare for the four kids, too)?

THIS POST CONTAINS GENERAL INFORMATION AND IS INTENDED FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE, NOR DOES IT CREATE ANY ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP. FOR LEGAL ADVICE ON YOUR PARTICULAR MATTER, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.

Read more
Answered on 5/12/12, 3:40 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Labor and Employment Law questions and answers in New York