Filing for unemployment if you quit?

[GESancMan]

As I recently described here, I am seriously thinking about quitting my job, without having another lined up. A couple of people I’ve talked to IRL about this have asked “why don’t you just quit and file for unemployment?”

Huh? My response to that is: if I quit, I’m not eligible. At least, that’s always been my understanding. But, one person seems to think I’d have a shot at it, due to the horrid conditions at work.

But then the other thing is, I’m a contractor - technically, I’m self-employed. So even if the company was to let me go, I wouldn’t think I’d qualify - I certainly haven’t been paying any unemployment insurance. However, I found this interesting item:

Talk to your state unemployment office to find out if you were misclassified as self-employed. Courts in California and Oregon have ruled that long-term contractors who were functioning similarly to at-will employees should be treated as such and are eligible for unemployment benefits.

(Bolding mine)

This is certainly the case with me - my company calls me a contractor, but treats me as an employee, and has for years. And I am in Oregon.

Has anyone here had an experience similar to this? Would I actually have a shot at getting unemployment, or would I be wasting my time by filing?

Oh, and FTR, in the 22 years I’ve been working, I’ve never filed before.

[Mom-of-Andrew]

IANAL, and you want one from Oregon anyway. Around here, they have free legal Thursdays – The third Thursday of the month a bunch of lawyers sit around and answer phone calls for free. You might have something similiar up there.

In your case, though, I’d just call the unemployment office and ask.

[Markxxx]

Yes, you can quit and if it’s for a legitimate reason you can get unemployment.

A lot of companies simply don’t bother to fight claims, so if you file and they don’t dispute it you win.

Just don’t put anything in writing. If you quit, and they demand written notice, just refuse.

The worst that can happen is if you don’t give a written notice they can escort you off property, which then allows you to claim you were terminated against your will

Or you can simpy say “On my last day here I’ll give you a written resignation backdated.” And then don’t

[twickster]

This is seeking legal advice, which is not permitted at the SDMB. Talk to a real-life lawyer about how it works in your state.

Locked.