UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE BENEFITS - VOLUNTARY SEPARATION

Employee and employer have argument. Employee asks "Do you want me to give my two weeks notice?" and employer says "You can leave now" and pays employee salary for that day. Employee is denied benefits by Department of Labor on the grounds of voluntary separation. Hearing is held and I argue that employee's statement was not a resignation. A decision is reached in favor of employee but on the ground that the determining factor was that the employer paid only up until that day and did not give "two weeks" pay. So the voluntary separation, in effect, became a termination because the two week notice period was shortened by the employer. Now, what if the employer gave the employee two weeks notice and employee said "No, just give me my money for today, I'm leaving".