Human Resource Blog

Unemployment Laws and Firings

	Benefits
Total Compensation Summary Performance Improvement Plan Performance Appraisal and Review Employee Payroll Status/Change Form Employee Change Form

	Compensation
Employee Payroll Action Form W-4 Employee Withholding Allowance Cert. Employee Payroll Status/Change Form Direct Deposit Form Total Compensation Summary

	HR Management
Confidential Employee Folder Confidential Employee Medical Folder Job File Worksheet Folder Daily EEO Applicant Flow Log Workplace Information Sheets Request to Inspect Personnel Files

	Labor Laws
Complete State & Federal Labor Law Posters 1 Year Compliance Protection Plan State ONLY Labor Law Posters Federal Labor Law Posters

	Termination
Employee Warning Notice Employee Final Warning Notice Employee Resignation Form Exit Interview Questionnaire Separation Checklist

	Workplace Management
Attendance Organizer for 2008, 2009, or 2010 Employee Warning Notice Employee Counseling Report Performance Improvement Plan Employee Performance Evaluation Form Employee Final Warning Notice Separation Checklist Harassment Prevention Kit

We recently had an employee be fired from our city council staff due to misconduct. The employee insists that because she was fired without any severance package, she should get unemployment benefits. Is this the case? We are based in Illinois.

No. Under state and federal law, one of the only ways that employees cannot receive unemployment benefits is if they are fired due to misconduct. As such, because your employee was fired, she is not entitled to benefits. The employee would also not receive benefits if she had voluntarily quit. This can be a difficult situation to manage for employees and employers, especially if a relationship has been long term. Employees might feel bitter if they worked hard for the company and then made some mistakes and got terminated. However, as an employer, it is important for you to leave your emotional needs aside so that you can be fair not only to this employee, but to all other employees in your company.

Keep in mind that each state defines “misconduct” in a different way. Some states do offer unemployment packages to employees that have quit for “good cause.” Misconduct means that an employee has been negligent or that she has willfully disregarded the company’s interests or deliberately violated a company rule. Keep in mind that many companies do give warnings before actually firing an employee, though the warning is not necessarily required.

If an employee quits with good cause, it generally means that there is a substantial reason that the employee would quit, such as the case when an employer has been excessively abusive or hostile. Good cause for quitting may also be when an employee has a health-related reason for not being able to work or has an extreme family situation that would make working difficult or impossible.

In most cases, if the employee provides proper notice to the employer, such as a two weeks notice, then the employee may be entitled to receive unemployment benefits. If the employee gives the proper notice and the employer tells the employer to leave immediately, then the employer is considered to be the part in the wrong. As such, the employee will be labeled as a fired employee and the employee will be entitled to unemployment insurance benefits.