Quitting Your Job and Qualifying for Unemployment Benefits In Maryland

In Maryland, an individual who quits his or her job is typically disqualified from receiving unemployment insurance benefits – except when they can show that they had a very good reason for leaving their job. Under Maryland law, these reasons have to constitute good cause or valid circumstances. Unfortunately, determining what constitutes good cause or valid circumstances can be challenging. We receive many calls from individuals who have quit their jobs and then filed for unemployment benefits, only to learn that they are being denied benefits. Most of the time, these individuals call us because they need help with a Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (“DLLR”) lower appeals hearing (which is held before a hearing examiner).

We inform callers that going to a lower appeals hearing on their own, without counsel, is a recipe for disaster, especially in circumstances where the individual quit their job. While we cannot guarantee success, we have often achieved positive results for our clients in such hearings. We also assist people with appeals to the DLLR Board of Appeals, where we have also been quite successful. Winning an appeal to the Board of Appeals is even more difficult than winning at the lower appeals division, and handling an appeal there without an attorney is not advisable.

This week we received a very favorable decision from the Board of Appeals in a matter where our client quit because she was physically unable to perform the duties of her job. The Board agreed with our argument and awarded our client her benefits that she had been waiting months to receive. We urge our callers to secure representation before a matter is appealed to the Board, because we have a better chance of obtaining a favorable decision at a lower appeals hearing than before the Board of Appeals. While the attorneys at The Law Office of Andrew M. Dansicker cannot promise you a successful outcome to your unemployment appeal, we have handled hundreds of appeals and we are happy to offer our honest advice and counsel.