Oregon Unemployment for Relocation / Child Safety

[wellison]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Oregon / Utah

My kids live out of state with their mom and step father(they are in Utah and I am in Oregon). I have recently found out that their mother has begun using drugs and their step father has a protective order barring her from seeing them. He has no legal custody and I have concerns for their future safety and stability. I am planning on taking what savings I have and relocating to where they currently reside. When I do this do I have any chances of receiving unemployment benefits while I’ll seek new employment to help ease some of the financial strain?

 

[Proserpina]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Oregon / Utah

My kids live out of state with their mom and step father(they are in Utah and I am in Oregon). I have recently found out that their mother has begun using drugs and their step father has a protective order barring her from seeing them. He has no legal custody and I have concerns for their future safety and stability. I am planning on taking what savings I have and relocating to where they currently reside. When I do this do I have any chances of receiving unemployment benefits while I’ll seek new employment to help ease some of the financial strain?

Please repost this (there is no need to delete this since it really does involve two very different concerns) under the custody forums, too.

 

[cbg]

I doubt it. One of Oregon's criteria for eligibility is that you be laid off through no fault of your own. A quit for personal reasons, no matter how good the reasons may seem, does not meet that criteria.

 

[commentator]

As part of the recent federal extension program, Oregon did elect to pass rather protective "domestic violence" unemployment requirements. In other words, if you are a victim of domestic violence or stalking and you feel that you are in danger if you appear at your workplace and you had to quit for these reasons or something loosely related, you may qualify for unemployment.

But the personal reason that you describe, in that you are going to leave the state to go save your children from a drug using mother, that is not domestic violence and it isn't a valid work related reason to quit your job. It's a choice. Therefore I'd say you have just about likely zero chance of being approved for unemployment. If you do it, file a claim in the state where you were working, but don't be surprised if you are denied because of quitting the job for personal reasons.

Why don't you keep working, and saving your money, assuming you will not qualify for unemployment if you quit your job and move there, and get there with enough money to survive on? Or sometime when you are off work, get online and apply for jobs there, etc. Or even go to the state where they are and try to find a job while you are there visiting, examining the situation.

You are not going to look any better to the courts than the other set of caretakers if you are in the state without any money, without a job, without a place, and ready to snatch up your kids.

Could you possibly ask your current employer for a leave of absence? If they're really fond of you, they might do this, though they certainly don't have to.