So I work in a physically demanding field. I've been with the company about 5 years. 7 years ago, I had a back injury that left me with long term pain and effects. This has always been known to my employer as I occasionally had to take time off due to pain (always personal/vacation/sick/unpaid depending on what i had available. I never filed a workers comp claim because the initial injury didn't happen at work.)
I've been working full time for the entirety of my time here, but a few months ago, I decided to go part time. My back pain was getting unbearable and my chiropractor told me I'll never fully heal in this line of work and recommend I shift careers.
A family member insisted I file for partial unemployment. I filled out the initial paperwork a month ago, but never bothered claiming. I'm looking for a new job anyway, I just didn't want the hassle since hopefully I'll be gone soon.
Today my boss asked me to sign a “letter of voluntary change in availability”. It basically said “I voluntarily chose to cut my hours due to personal preferences”. I told them “I can't sign this because it's 1) not voluntary and 2) not my preference. I would work if I could, my doctor told me not to. It's not exactly a choice”
I found it so odd how it was worded. My very first thought was they're trying to get out of paying unemployment. They kept pushing and pushing and I refused to sign. I eventually got them to admit this was prompted by a call from the unemployment office.
This left me feeling so gross, how they would try to undermine and trick me into signing something like that. Is this legal? what action can I take?