QUITTING EMPLOYMENT TO MOVE TO ANOTHER JOB WILL NOT ALWAYS ENTITLE YOU TO UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS IF YOU LOSE THE SECOND JOB

Circumstances often dictate that a person must quit his job due to a desire to move to a different city and get a job there. The question arises as to whether the loss of the second job will affect his rights to unemployment compensation benefits in Colorado, under the Colorado Employment Security Act (CESA). (CESA is found at Colorado Revised Statutes §§ 8-70-101 to 8-82-105). Based on a recent decision of the Colorado Court of Appeals (“Nagl”) , your wage credits at the first employer may not be considered in awarding benefits if you quit voluntarily. (Nagl v. Indus. Claim Appeals Office of Colo., 2015 COA 51 (Colo. Ct. App. April 23, 2015)). Therefore, if you only worked a short time at the second job, your entitlement to benefits may be greatly reduced.

Nagl had worked at a hotel in Vail Colorado and voluntarily quit to take another job in Telluride Colorado, so that he could be closer to his girlfriend. He was terminated from the Telluride job due to no fault of his own and he applied for unemployment benefits and sought to have the wage credits from the Vail employer included in the calculation of benefits. The hearing officer refused to allow any benefits based on his work at Vail, as it was determined that he left of his own choice, which would not entitle him to benefits. While he received benefits for the time that he worked at Telluride, the amount was much less than what he would have received if the Vail wages were considered. The hearing officer’s decision was affirmed, and benefits for the Vail employment were denied. (Nagl did receive benefits for the time that he was at Telluride, and that was not a part of the ruling of the Court of Appeals).

While the CESA does allow benefits in certain cases for voluntarily quitting a job to move to another location , such as the transfer of a spouse, a spouse is killed in combat, or there is illness in the family, those exceptions do not apply in this kind of a situation.(CRS §§ 8-73­108(4)(s) to -108(4)(v)). Therefore, Nagl’s claim for unemployment benefits, based on his prior work at Vail, was denied.

There are many statutory provisions and regulatory provisions governing the unemployment compensation process in Colorado. In order to be able to properly present your claim for unemployment benefits, in accord with the applicable law, it is recommended that you obtain the advice of an attorney with expertise in this area.

Nathan Davidovich is available for a telephone consultation for only $175 for one-half hour, by calling 303-825-5529, or by email to nathandavidovich@talk-law.com.

By: Nathan Davidovich
Copyright April 2015
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This article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended as professional advice, and should not be considered as such.