If my position is eliminated, do I have to take another if it is offered?

Good question! Let me give you what I hope is a good general answer… But I caution you against applying it to your own situation without first seeking competent legal advice. When California employees leave their jobs, they generally can file claims with the California Employment Development Department (EDD) for unemployment benefits. But, such benefits are mainly intended by the State of California for employees who are involuntarily terminated. However, employees who voluntarily leave their work, like you appear to be contemplating doing, can be eligible to collect benefits if they had good cause to leave at the time they left. That, it seems to me, will be the crucial aspect of all this if you apply through the EDD and your current employer challenges your application. Let me define a few terms... Voluntarily Leave Employees voluntarily leave work when they quit, resign, retire, or otherwise terminate their relationship with their company. For example, if you tell your CA tech company employer that you plan to leave at the end of the month, you would be voluntarily leaving your job at the end of the month and you would be ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits as the month sentence unless you could demonstrate good cause for voluntarily leaving. But, hypothetically, if your supervisor becomes upset when you make your announcement and fires you on the spot, or tells you that your plan to work until the end of the month doesn't make sense to him and he tells you there and then that it is time to cleanout your desk, you would be leaving your employment involuntarily (before the end of the month) and you would be eligible for unemployment benefits (not just until the end of the month but until the program runs out for you). Good Cause Generally speaking, employees who voluntarily leave their jobs have good cause to quit (and may collect unemployment) if they fulfill two requirements: 1. ◦ compelling circumstances forced them to leave the company, and 2. ◦ they have attempted to remain employed. Note that one of the lessons to be learned here is that the California EDD presumes all employees have good cause to leave work unless their employers respond to claims and provide facts to the contrary. Whether a particular employee has good cause to quit depends on the facts of each situation. For instance, employees may have good cause if they have problems with their: ■ working conditions, or ■ their personal affairs, or ■ wages and hours (issues like overtime), or ■ duties of employment These things can be a bit tricky, This list is just illustrative, it is not exhaustive. In general, employees will be found by the EDD to have shown good cause to leave employment when a "substantial motivating factor" in their lives compels them to leave work. So, all that almost any important reason that would force a reasonable person (who genuinely desires to remain employed) to leave work under similar circumstances can qualify as good cause. Whether it's reasonable for employees to leave depends on the facts of each case, and that's what makes giving general advice difficult. It is why it might well be prudent for you to spend a little time with a lawyer who was experienced in dealing with the EDD. Note that under this standard I just described, employees have good cause to leave only if they have attempted, without success, to remain employed. They have to do everything within their control to resolve the problem, within reason. These are the major considerations that arise in most EDD cases dealing with eligibility for unemployment insurance after someone leaves a job and the employer challenges their right benefits. Once again, it is difficult to generalize because each case is different.. May you have a bright high-tech future as the manager you want to be. Good luck to you!

Hello. That would be an uphill battle. To qualify for unemployment, you would need good cause for not accepting the offered position. It has to be a compelling reason and something more than "I don't want it." So, if you choose to not accept the position offered, be ready to not be eligible for unemployment benefits. Thanks, Arkady Itkin San Francisco Employment Lawyer