Do You Know How to Handle an Unemployment Claim?

Posted 1/25/21 (Mon)

Chuck Horter | Human Resources Coordinator
When an employee comes to us and announces they are resigning and will be gone in two weeks, what do you do next? Often times you are surprised, and you immediately get started on finding a replacement. Even though it is easy to set aside, the task of handling routine resignations is important and should not be procrastinated. 
The first very important thing you need to do is to make sure you have on record the reason the employee is terminating. Many people have the belief that they are entitled to unemployment compensation benefits even if they left employment voluntarily. When I was an HR director for my past employer, I was always amazed by people who simply resigned and walked out the door; and in a week or two, we would receive an unemployment claim. Seriously?
As an employer you need to take steps to prepare yourself that this could happen, and you need to be in a good position to defend the county if an unemployment claim is filed. The most important part of this process is to get a written statement from the employee explaining the reason they are resigning. Have a document put together that simply asks for their effective date of resignation and the specific reason why they are leaving the organization. Have them complete, sign and date the form. If the employee states that they are leaving “for personal reasons” or “to find other employment,” this will reinforce the fact that their departure is voluntary.
While you cannot legally mandate that they do this, I have never seen anyone refuse to complete this form. If they put down a reason that has not been disclosed or discussed, then this will be a good time to sit down with them and discuss their rationale and reason for leaving. If an unemployment claim is filed, you are then in a good position to deny the claim if the reason specifies that it was voluntary. If a request for supporting information is requested by the Job Service Unemployment Compensation Division, you will be in a good spot to defend your position in denying the claim. I have had situations where the resigning employee has tried to “get creative” and during the hearing hosted by a Job Service referee tried to sway the argument that it was somehow the employer’s actions that caused them to resign. In every case, the written statement that was completed by the former employee and in turn submitted to the Job Service referee carried the day and the claim was denied. 
With that being said, it is not always a slam dunk that every claim will be denied even if the resignation was done voluntarily. I was involved with a case where even though the employee voluntarily resigned, he did so under safety concerns and unsafe work practices. We did an investigation and discovered his supervisor would take “short cuts” and work with live electrical connections. In addition, he would jokingly demonstrate how he could handle live electrical current in an almost carnival like atmosphere. We were horrified by these actions and fired the supervisor, but we still had to accept the unemployment claim because of the unsafe work practices. In this case, it was totally justifiable. 
As this case demonstrated, an exit interview can also determine if there are any negative issues in the workplace that need to be addressed. Exit interviews and disclosure of reasons for terminations and resignations play an important role in work practices and values. Take the time to review your processes and engage employees who are leaving the organization to gain insight as to why they are leaving. Their feedback is a tremendous resource on things you can do to make your organization a better place to work. 
The Human Resource function can be very complex, and priorities change on an almost daily basis when you are dealing with a multitude of issues and tasks. When you are faced with the news of an employee’s departure, don’t let the urgency of finding a replacement keep you from the important task of closing the loop with the departing employee. If you can make sure everything is in order when they walk out the door, it can save you and them headaches down the road.