Help wanted: Cut in worker's hours backfires

DEAR CARRIE: We own a small business. Our lead man decided to go to school to study for a different occupation. He asked to work part-time, and though it was detrimental to us, we thought of him as a friend and decided to help him out. Later, he said schoolwork was overwhelming and he was going to quit. Again to help him out, we offered him a day here or there so he could earn some money.

Well, he used those work arrangements against us. He took his part-time hours and the few days we offered and filed for unemployment benefits, claiming we didn't have enough work for him. We explained that he quit and that the unemployment people could check his school records.

But the benefits people apparently felt he was eligible anyway. He got the benefits, and now our unemployment insurance rates are up. What can we do to prove to unemployment that he quit and wasn't eligible for benefits? -- Hard Lesson

DEAR HARD LESSON: Unfortunately, your kindness complicated matters, and it brings to mind the adage that "No good deed goes unpunished." If you had said goodbye to him when he wanted to quit, he clearly wouldn't have been eligible for unemployment benefits.

"The general rule in New York is that an employee who voluntarily resigns, without good cause, will be ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits," said employment attorney Ellen Storch, counsel at Kaufman Dolowich Voluck & Gonzo in Woodbury. "Cases have held that resigning to pursue educational interests is not a good cause. In other words, an employee who quits his job to go to school generally cannot collect unemployment benefits."

To contest an employee's claim for unemployment insurance benefits, an employer must offer evidence supporting its position, Storch said. But it seems that the information you provided was lacking.

"Based on the question, it seems as though the employer did not offer enough information to support its position, especially if it simply told the Department of Labor that it could check the employee's school records," Storch said.

Given the complexity of the situation, she said, you would have fared better with legal counsel.

"If the employer retained qualified employment counsel, who could have articulated the employer's position, offered evidence in support, and cited legal precedent, it would have had a better chance of successfully opposing the claim," she said.

And it may not be too late.

"If the time to appeal has not expired, the employer should retain counsel to pursue an appeal," she said. 

DEAR CARRIE: A few weeks ago you answered a question about whether it was legal for a boss to require an employee to pay for a uniform. My 17-year-old daughter is volunteering at a New York City zoo for the summer, and she had to pay $35 for a T-shirt with the zoo's logo. It is this legal? -- Teed Off

DEAR TEED OFF: Since your daughter is a volunteer and works for a municipal-owned business, she isn't covered by state labor laws, and that includes laws regarding uniforms. The employer is cheap, but it doesn't appear to be a labor-law violator.

The T-shirt in question is a uniform because it carries the zoo's logo. If your daughter were an employee, she couldn't legally be asked to purchase the T-shirt if the purchase would take her pay for the week below minimum wage, which is $7.25 an hour for both New York State and the nation.

Resources
Click here to find  more unemployment-benefits information for employers, go to labor.ny.gov/ui/employer.shtm.

Click here to read more on uniforms and labor law, go to labor.ny.gov/workerprotection/laborstandards/faq.shtm.