If I quit because my employer is intolerable....

[MirandaB]

My employer has reduced my pay and has increased my hours and miles. I am a truck driver and get paid by the mile. I got hired at $.34 per mile and now make $.31 per mile. I have the most seniority and was told the most senior driver got their choice of loads. This is their verbal policy as they do not have any written policies. Now I have been singled out and no longer get my choice of loads and less senior drivers do. It is my contention that my employer does not want to pay unemployment and they want me to quit by reducing my pay and having me work all hours of the days and not getting any consistent sleep and forcing me to drive unsafely or risk losing even more pay. Can I quit or force them to fire me so I can get some unemployment until I get a new job? I also have no write ups in my personnel file.

[Beth3]

Can I quit Sure. But it is very unlikely you'd receive UC benefits.

or force them to fire me so I can get some unemployment until I get a new job? How are you going to force them to fire you in a way that won't result in your ineligibilty for unemployment? If you engage in some sort of misconduct in order to get fired, you won't be eligible.

[Pattymd]

If you quit under these circumstances, you will not get unemployment benefits. And you can't "force" your employer to fire you. As I stated in a response to another of your posts, if it is that intolerable, you need to find another job.

[MirandaB]

I have found another job and thanks for the advice.
If I had a problem with somone breaking a contract with me such as a private contractor I would have some legal recourse.
I entered into a "contract" when I agreed to work for this company and they agreed to pay me "X$" for services performed. Now there has been nothing in my employee file saying I have done bad work (which if I had I would understand) but now they just changed my salary to a lower figure and took away my seniority.
It just doesn't seem right that if i have no legal recourse then what is the point of Unemployment Compensation? I pay into it and I no longer have the same job I once had. Isn't UC supposed to help you while you are off of work to help you until you find a new job. It wasn't by my choosing they lowered my pay. It is by my choosing that I quit but it was by their choosing they broke the contract.
Again thank you very much for the info and I don't understand what UC is, but I do understand what it is not.

[Beth3]

I entered into a "contract" when I agreed to work for this company and they agreed to pay me "X$" for services performed. Now there has been nothing in my employee file saying I have done bad work (which if I had I would understand) but now they just changed my salary to a lower figure and took away my seniority. Yes, but the contract you entered into was an "at will" employment contract. That means that either party could sever the employment relationship any time they liked. In other words, if the employer treated you unfairly, you could say "adios" and head out the door as you wished.

It just doesn't seem right that if i have no legal recourse then what is the point of Unemployment Compensation? Except in rare instances, unemployment benefits are reserved for those who are involuntarily unemployed - not for those who quit their jobs.

I pay into it I don't think so. Unless your State is highly unusual, UC taxes are paid 100% by employers.

Isn't UC supposed to help you while you are off of work to help you until you find a new job. Yes, but not if you quit. The State generally takes the position that any job is better than no job and an employee needs to keep the job they have until they find another one.

It wasn't by my choosing they lowered my pay. It is by my choosing that I quit but it was by their choosing they broke the contract. (a) It wasn't a contract per se and (b) I understand why you became unhappy with your job situation but quitting because you're unhappy is not "good cause" in UC regulations.