Layoff with Severance Pay

• Massachusetts workers who receive severance pay following a layoff can still apply for unemployment benefits, but workers usually can't collect severance pay and unemployment compensation at the same time. Nonetheless, the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) indicates benefits are extended for the same number of weeks that workers are ineligible for unemployment payouts due to receiving severance pay. Therefore, people can claim unemployment benefits if they're still unemployed after their severance pay runs out.
  
  

Quitting and Firing Under Certain Circumstances

• You may qualify for unemployment if you quit your job for a good reason that's attributable to your previous employer's actions, such as maintaining a workplace that's hazardous to your health. Massachusetts workers who are laid off from a new job shortly after quitting another job to take it also can claim unemployment compensation. In such cases, the EOLWD notes workers' eligibility for compensation depends on their most recent job and any previous jobs they held during the past 12 to 15 months. State law may also allow workers who are fired for poor performance to receive unemployment assistance, as long as their employer cannot show their termination was due to deliberate violations of company policies.
  
  

Reduced Earnings

• Massachusetts allows full and partial unemployment compensation for people whose employers cut their work hours or pay. For example, employees can receive full compensation during the weeks their not scheduled to work, and they can get partial compensation when employers reduce their full-time schedules. At least one-third of a worker's hours or earnings usually must be cut to qualify for compensation, according to the EOLWD. The bigger the reduction in pay or work hours, the higher a worker's payable benefit is likely to be.
  
  

Spouse's Relocation for Military Service

• People who have spouses in the military may qualify for unemployment assistance in Massachusetts if they quit their job to relocate with their spouse due to an involuntary military transfer. The EOLWD indicates workers also may be eligible for unemployment assistance if they quit a job to transfer with a military spouse because they can't afford to maintain separate housing for each spouse if they live apart.