Question about unemployment.

A friend of mine got laid off from her company just after Christmas. In many ways it was a blessing in disguise because she *HATED* her job. But her bosses really like her (they laid off the entire department) and have been trying to find work for her elsewhere in the company. The problem is that she really doesn't want to go back because it's a suck-ass company. I should know, I currently work there in a different department.

Well today, she got a call from her old boss saying he wants her to come in on Monday to discuss a new job offer. She absolutely does not want to work for this guy ever again but she's afraid the company will dispute her unemployment checks if she refuses the new offer. I didn't think they could do that but what do I know? I told her to ask for some ridiculous pay raise and see what happens, but she's to the point that she never wants to come to this building ever again. I certainly can't blame her. The work is awful, the pay is crap, the benefits suck, the building has to be the most depressing office building in the world, AND they laid her a few days after Christmas.

Has anyone else had a similar experience? I'm directing her to check on some Illinois labor law sites but thought maybe someone here would have had real-life experience with the issue.

Thanks!

here in Georgia, if you turn down any offer of work, you could lose your benefits.

I collected unemployment once, and had to take a considerably lower paying job than the one I had before I got laid off because it met the requirements of 'jobs I could not turn down'.

This was in Florida, it might vary from state to state.

The new job would not be in her field. I know when I was unemployed I turned down a few jobs. They weren't with my old company, and I pretty much knew when I applied for them that I was not in the least qualified. I was amazed they were even offered to me. I just applied to keep my benefit checks coming in.

that the job be in the same field or a closely related field, then I think it was 70% or something ridicules of my old salary amount. So, if this job offer is in a totally different field, she may be off the hook !

company about a very high-paying job offer. My company would never make a higher counter offer. They're too cheap. Then hopefully she could drag that out for awhile until she actually *did* find another offer.

but could be in significant legal trouble if she DOES try to collect unemployment.

Lying about another offer is fine when one is playing the interview/job game on a normal basis, but when unemployment is in the picture, I wouldn't be surprised if it could be a felony, or something pretty awful. I'm no legal expert, but they don't like liars.

She is searching for a new job so she *is* waiting to hear about an offer. It doesn't mean an offer is definitely going to be made. I know what you're saying but my company wouldn't pursue it that far.

but you can certainly lie to a potential employer if you want to. It ain't real smart, but there you go.

And thus could be a heinous thing to do.

Especially Illinoisans but any response would be helpful. She has the meeting on Monday. Thanks.

She should take the job. Any job is better than unemployment, really.

AND - while she takes this job, if she does hate it, she's in a great spot to start looking elsewhere. It always looks better if one is currently working while looking for a job than if one is out of work. And in her case, it's even better - she can say to a potential new hire, "Look - my company laid me off in one area, but they loved me so much because I was such a good worker that they worked and worked to find another place for me in the company".

Plus the job will pay more than unemployment.

And, quite truthfully, unemployment only lasts 18 months (I think that's the number; it's certainly short term), and if she hasn't found a job by that time, she's sunk.

I would never refuse a job if I were unemployed.


(and she needs to accept that interview because she could lose her unemployment if she refuses)

unemployed. But I think she may be at the point where she'd rather work almost anywhere else than come back to my company. She can do a lot of different freelance stuff, so she'd probably go that route first.

not to fight this battle again, but most people i know are sorry that they went this route, and i know that i am very sorry i went this route

at the end of the day, freelance means you are forever in a ghetto of earning less money and NO benefits and once you are older and can't find affordable health insurance available to free-lancers you are well and truly screwn

she should take if not this job some job until such time as we have universal health care

i wish i knew then what i know now, going the freelance route is the road to misery and forever a smaller income at higher risk than the person experiences who just takes a j-o-b

plus, i did not have the problem of not getting along with bosses and being "miserable" working for somebody else, but many people give this as their reason for becoming freelancers, and those people are almost invariably doomed to fail -- why? because if you can't deal with one miserable demanding unreasonable irrational boss, how on earth do you think you're going to be able to deal with multiple miserable demanding unreasonable customers or clients?

Empty and alone and hopeless, left in a pool of ichorous despair on the basement floor of doom.

Never, ever take a risk, people, or work hard at what you love. Follow the footsteps of Warren Buffet, Sam Walton, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Ben & Jerry, Bill Clinton, Abbie Hoffman, Cy Twombly, Monet, Rodin, Beethoven, Liszt, Edison, Fulton, and all those other fucking idiot loser uppity jackasses who thought that they could do better on their own, and none of whom, I'm sure, has health insurance.

Be docile, and go for the benefits, no matter how soul crushing the work.

and they LOVE it. It has its drawbacks but they are all very happy overall. And I'm definitely going to go that route eventually. It really depends on the field. Luckily there are graphic artist guilds where you can purchase group insurance. And lots of graphic design freelance agencies actually offer insurance to their freelancers, so it's not true in her case that freelance would mean no insurance. I should also mention than the insurance and other benefits at my company suck ass, so she wouldn't be losing much anyway.

RE: miserable bosses vs. miserable clients. You can extract yourself from a bad client situation a lot more easily than you can get out from under the thumb of a bad boss. Getting away from a bad boss means quitting and starting over at a new job. If you drop a bad client, you can just keep working with your other clients and look for more to add. Also, a bad client (hopefully) isn't sitting 20 ft. away from you all day every day making you miserable. You can distance yourself a lot more easily.

I once got to the point where I would get physically ill just thinking of going back to an office. My stomach would get upset and I would get sleepy or develop a headache. So while your advice is very sensible, she may have some emotional issues of going back to a hellhole. I like someone's suggestion that she say she's waiting to hear about another job that pays a lot of money (not that she has an offer) and wondering whether this employer will match it.

It sucks when the thought of going somewhere like actually makes you ill.

Unemployment insurance rules vary by state. To be certain, she should call the state unemployment office and get the facts from them. She should not have to give her name or case # if she is only asking general questions about re-employment.

the real-life experiences people have had. They often vary greatly from official information.

:hi: