If I Quit, Can I Collect Unemployment?

Fundamentally, unemployment exists to protect people who are involuntarily separated from employment. So if you quit or resign and it is truly voluntary, you will not be eligible for benefits.

There are some exceptions. If you are compelled to resign for compelling or urgent reasons attributable to the employer, you may be able to collect. Examples include pervasive sexual harassment in the workplace, or other unlawful or intolerable conduct. They also include health reasons for you or your family that your employer cannot or will not accommodate.

You also may be able to collect if you agreed to resign in lieu of being terminated, so long as the proposed termination was not for willful misconduct or any other disqualifying reason.

Learn more here about unemployment benefits in Massachusetts.