I'm on the verge of resigning from my job in New York (as a supervisor) after being at my company for 3 years. The company I work for is private but large enough to have an establishment. My company does not have a set vacation policy that I cannot retreive a copy from the HR department. I asked for a copy but the HR employee at my company could not provide me one a copy of what I wanted.

With this being said, our policy states that we have "2 floating holidays" to utilize based on a list they generated. Therefore if we choose to take a holiday off (based on the list), we are entitled to. But my company tends to verbally change the policy on us therefore making it very unfair. It is very hard to request for a national holiday off such as Labor Day - they feel its not important and someone should be staffed in each department. But when it comes to their "religious" holidays - any employee who wishes to observed the "religious" holidays are not questioned. This is highly unfair and I know for a fact that this is racial discrimination.

With this being said, I requested overtime pay for working on national holidays or if someone works over their 8 hours shift but my company refuses to give such compensation and they always give me a vague answer about this when it is requested.

During this whole duration, my CEO also made a sexual comment towards me that I did not like at all and took offense to. But its my word against his since we talked in his office privately.

Will I be eligible for unemployment with my dispute or will I be struggling financially if I resign from my company?

You will be considered as a voluntary resignation and, therefore, you won't be eligible for unemployment.

By the way, accomodating a person's need for time off due to religious discrimination is not considered as racial discrimination. It is required by federal law. Your company is required to pay overtime for all hours worked over 40 in a week. So, working extra hours in a day doesn't necessarily give you overtime. There is no law requiring additional pay for working on a holiday, except for certain industries in certain states.

If you feel that you are a victim of sexual harassment, you can file a complaint with the EEOC. Information about filing a claim may be found at eeoc.gov website.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

So if I get fired from miss-days at work or poor performance, will I be eligible for unemployment then?

Possibly not. You cannot collect unemployment if you resign or are involuntarily terminated for gross misconduct. Your claim may be rejected the first time around. However, if you can show that the reasons why you were absent were beyond your control, such as illlness of a child, etc., you may succeed in getting an approval upon appeal. Some states and some hearing officers are more lenient than others.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

I have been out sick with a doctor's note and my company expects me to come back in tomorrow or their other option it to give me 4 weeks of serverance pay if I don't. Does that mean they will lay me off if I accept the 4wks of serverance? Or are they using this against me so I can quit voluntarily?

Yes, that's when employers will pay severance...in exchange for the person leaving and absolving them from all liability.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

That being said, if i accept the 4 weeks serverance, will I be able to collect unemployment with their offer?

Probably. The question is whether the severance will offset your unemployment, thereby manking you ineligible for four weeks. This question often depends on your state. You may want to check with your state to see the regulations there.

Let me know if you have other questions.

I have proof of my ceo stating these options to me via-email- if they deny me unemployment, can i take the email they sent to me to show proof that they offered me unemployment therefore laying me off? I am not worried that I will be ineligible for it for 4 weeks, my concern is to have unemployment to protect me as I get laid off.

I appreciate your prompt response to my numerous questions.

I believe that your best best is to talk to the agency that handles unemployment in your state. They can answer your questions better, since I'm not sure what state you are located in.