- Although the individual states determine unemployment insurance benefit eligibility, there are similarities among the qualifications. In most cases, you must be unemployed through no fault of your own and be able and available for work. You also must be actively looking for employment and have enough wages in your base period to qualify for benefits. Your base period is usually the first four of the last five completed quarters prior to the date you file your application for benefits.
- The reason you are unemployed is an important factor in determining eligibility for benefits. If you were fired, you will likely need to attend a hearing to determine whether or not you are eligible. The reason you were fired will be important. If you were fired because you refused to work in the cold, the hearing officer will likely consider the type of work you were doing and any medical or personal reasons you have for not being able to work in the cold. A determination will then be made as to whether or not the dismissal was caused by misconduct on your part.
- If the determination is made that you were fired through no fault of your own, then you will be eligible for benefits. If, on the other hand, the hearing officer determines that refusing to work out in the cold rises to the level of misconduct on your part, then you may be completely disqualified for unemployment insurance benefits or you may simply be disqualified for a number of weeks. Some states further sub-divide misconduct into different degrees of misconduct with the degree determining your disqualification.
- In order to be certain how your state handles a situation where your were fired, or dismissed, from your job for refusing to work in the cold, you should check with the unemployment office directly. The United States Department of Labor provides links to all state unemployment offices through the Careeronestop website (see Resources).
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