Recently i was sat in a room and my employre told me that if i do not resign that i would be fired. In Texas if i resign will i be able to get unemployment since i was forced to resign? Also does any one know for sure if they can take your whole paycheck?

Unemployment is generally available for workers who are laid-off or terminated for no cause.

Why are you being asked to resign? The details will make all the difference.

What kind of deductions are you expecting from your final check? You should be paid for the time you worked. It would be ok to take your standard deductions (i.e. taxes, health insurance, etc.). If you are asking can an employer hold your final check. The answer is NO.

Employers do things like that so that they can truthfully report to the Unemployment folks that the employee resigned (and, thus, hope to avoid being tagged for unemployment). I have NO idea if that ploy actually works or not.

Employees agree to resign since some prospective employers will not get too upset about a resignation (confirmed by the ex-employer), but may worry about someone being fired.

Personally, when I am interviewing folks looking for a job, "Fired" does not bother me and "Resigned" does not impress me. I do want details about what happened. Then I can judge the circumstances and make some sort of informed decision about how risky it would be to my business if I hired him/her.

And, no, as robb stated, they usually cannot take your entire paycheck, but that could happen if you had an advance pay that has not been paid in full and the balance owed equals or exceeds your net pay (without the advance pay collection).

They told that i was not meeting their training standards. They took my final check to pay back my relocation and cost of training. the contract i signed said if i voluntarily terminate that i must pay it back......but they forced me to resign should i have to pay it back?

Then it sounds like the reason they asked you to resign is so they can recoup your relocation expenses. Does the agreement allow for a payroll deduction from final wages? It may be worthwhile to take this agreement to a lawyer to see if its indeed enforceable.

In either case your dismissal was for not meeting company standards. Prior to your dismissal were you coached on your job performance? If yes, then there might be recourse of your former employer to dispute unemployment. If you decide to file, the burden of proof lies with your former employer to "prove" misconduct. A voluntary resignation will "ususally" disqualify you from benefits. However being "forced" to resign MAY have different implications. UC may view this as a termination, in spite of your resignation. UC ultimately makes the determination on these matters.

rjc, can you provide additional insight here?

1. Consult with an attorney about your agreement.

2. My opinion only, but I would make them fire me. IF the agreement is valid (which is why you need to see an attorney), then they cannot collect the relo and training costs from you, plus, short of misconduct (and I see none), you should be able to get unemployment.

3. When the question comes up in the future about why you left this company, tell, truthfully, that you were terminated for not meeting training standards. Hopefully, you won't be applying for quite the same job requring the same kind of skills and training, so this reason for leaving should not alarm a potential employer.

Good luck,