Must I accept all job offers to qualify for unemployment compensaton?

[HowardC]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Virginia
I am a contractor with a government agency. After 16 years, my company's contract finally is running out. The agency has hired two companies to make offers to all incumbents for all contracts....but I have found out that due to their "lowballing" their bids, their offer is for doing the exact same job at a 30% salary reduction and a reduction in benefits. Many good people have left rather than accept such an offer, and I am leaning towards doing the same, but will this disqualify me from receiving unemployment benefits?
thanks

 

[cbg]

More to the point, which will gain you more - a 30% reduction, or unemployment benefits?

UI generally pays only a fraction of what you were previously earning. In my state, which admittedly is not yours but which has a more generous (by far) benefit than yours, the reduction would have to be 50% on average before your UI benefit would equal what you would be earning after the pay cut, let alone exceed it.

 

[HowardC]

Break Even

Thank you cbg. Of course I realize the tradeoff involved, and have made the calculation. If I work 3 months at a 30% reduction it will equal one year of unemployment compensation. You see, I'm past "retirement age" anyway, so that figures into the tradeoff. Also, I don't know for how long the new contract would be funded....if it's less than 3 months, what's the point? Also, if after 3 or 4 months I decide to quit, then of course there would be no unemployment compensation. So that's why I would like to know, if I turn down this so-called offer (which I have not received yet), would I lost my right to unemployment compensation, even though I have been paying in for decades, for this job, for 16 years, and I read something about "depending on salary and other factors" in the determination, but it was not specific at all. Maybe it's a case by case basis?

 

[cbg]

Well, technically, YOU have not paid into it at all. There are only three states where the employee pays any portion of unemployment, and Virginia is not one of them.

I'll let Commentator address the likelihood of your collecting.