Curtis v. Commissioner of the Division of Unemployment Assistance

**What happened:** Three Verizon New England employees - Curtis, George Gaudin, and Nancy Gaudin - voluntarily quit their jobs and then applied for unemployment benefits. They claimed they left because they reasonably believed they were about to be laid off. The state denied their unemployment claims, and the workers appealed to court. **What the court decided:** The court had mixed results for the three workers. Curtis and George Gaudin lost their appeals - the court agreed with the state that they didn't have good enough reasons to believe a layoff was coming when they quit. However, Nancy Gaudin got a partial victory. The court sent her case back to the unemployment board for another review, finding that Verizon may have prevented her from properly evaluating whether she might be laid off. **Why this matters for workers:** This case shows how difficult it can be to get unemployment benefits after voluntarily quitting, even if you think a layoff is coming. Workers need strong evidence that a layoff is truly imminent to qualify for benefits after quitting. The ruling also suggests that if an employer withholds important information that prevents you from making an informed decision about your job security, you may have stronger grounds for an unemployment claim.