In a rare move, the Minnesota Court of Appeals published a decision reversing an unemployment law judge’s ruling that an applicant was ineligible for benefits when she quit after losing her childcare. In Gonzalez Diaz v. Three Rivers Cmty Action, Inc. and Dept. of Emp’t and Econ. Dev., 917 N.W.2d 813 (Minn. App. 2018), the court found that the applicant properly notified her employer and asked for accommodations when she lost her childcare, and then quit when the employer did not provide them. The employee had requested and received accommodations that were later taken away by the employer. The court found this satisfied the requirement in the law for eligibility.
Under the Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Act, an employee who quits a job due to loss of childcare must first request time off or another accommodation from the employer—and be denied this request—in order to be eligible for benefits.
Harmony Law Firm has represented many employees who quit their employment and sought unemployment benefits. If you are fighting for unemployment benefits, contact us today to see how we can help.