Unemployment Benefit Tips

Tips To Collect Unemployment Benefits

being demoted and moved to another job over 25 miles away with in the same company and transportation failed?

by Anonymous79

( OH, USA)

I have worked for this company for almost 3 1/2 yrs. I was promoted to Asst. Manager after 18mo’s and then promoted to Manager 1yr. later. Upon the initial talk of promotion, I told my DM that I could do the job with further training. I was then told that I would have help readily available as needed and that most of my skills and knowledge would be gradually learned while performing my duties day in/out.

I accepted the position! With in 2-3 wks. my division hired a new DM (temporarily). So far, everything was ok with a few misunderstandings of how to do a particular part of my job. The temp. DM would explain everything to me on a very short visit and then leave.

2mo’s later…New and current DM storms in with an Iron Fist managerial attitude. Anyway, 1st inventory (Sept. 2009)…passed with ok numbers. This was nice since I had not been properly trained on how to control inventory or how to prep for it.

October 2009, time for store inspection…oh boy!!! My DM would come to the store about 1x a week to help me prepare and get me to passing status. Time for inspection…failed!!! DM wrote out an action plan of what is to be done, who will do it and a deadline to complete. Needless to say he did not complete his own duties by his own deadlines!

November 2009, time for another inventory…woo, hoo!!! I was prepared to the best of my knowledge and excited for the numbers, only to hear…FAILED!!! I was then wrote up and given a 3 day suspension without pay. His plan…bring in more help, sooooo.

December 2009, 7 other DM’s and my DM came to the store along with the regional DM and a couple other guys who’s areas of expertise were, floor plans and company software!

I thought this was great! All these people coming to help me succeed! Awesome…wrong!!! They pulled me here and there, said this and that, do it this way, do it that way and at criticized me in front of customer’s. They humiliated me as I stood there and cried about not doing my job correctly! Anyway, the computer software guy saw how my DM and the 2 other DM’s were treating me, degrading me and demoralizing me to the point of tears falling…he gave my DM a look of disbelief that he could be so heartless to me! I stood there and took it all in and I cried and cried as I was so hurt and scared! I was scared because not only were they putting me down over and over and over but, they told me that they would get the store to the company standands and it would be my job to keep it up there. I would then have an unannounced inspection that I must pass or I could be fired!

I worked hard day after day after day! My salary was $$$ for 54 hrs. a week! I was working 65 hrs. or more even though I was not paid for any work over 54hrs. I worked as early as 4am, 5am and 6am to as late as 5pm, 6pm or even 8pm only to turn around and come back the next morning and do it all over again for 6-7 days a week. Not only was I keeping up all areas they showed me but, I was also doing my other managerial duties like, grocery orders, paperwork, invoices, cash handling, training employees, hiring/firing employees, motivating my workers (just to name a few) and still taking criticism from the….DM! WOW…the stress was unbelievable and hard on me but, I pushed forward and on most days I felt like I was on ‘AUTO PILOT’. I managed to be stressed out and still keep my employees and customers happy!

As a part of my job, checking company emails sent to store level everyday I found an email that upset me to no end. In reference to the guy who gave my DM a look of disbelief. This guy emailed my DM either late that day or the following morning. When I checked the email for that following morning, there was a reply email to this guy from my DM that stated something like…I know you think I am heartless in my ways of teaching but, I have to deal with her emotional crying everytime I see her…blah,blah,blah!!!

I was looking at it and realized that not only did he reply to that guy but, he had sent that email to all districts/manager’s with in the company (which is how I got to see it in the first place)…only (sarcasm) about 176 stores in 3 different states, 8 of those managers I communicate with about 3x a week! Now…how unproffesional is that for a DM to do? Pretty bad huh? I replied back to him only and stated how upset I was and that did he notice he sent that email to all districts? I said a few other statements as well but, I think you get my point of frustration. We had exchanged about 2 more emails based on the initial one.

Moving on…I was given the 3 day suspension in the week that I would receive my last check before xmas. That was awful as my hubby and I have 7 kids between the both of us.

January 2010, Special case store inspection was given (as mentioned above)…FAILED!!! Normally, the DM does not give store inspections at this level, especially in his own district. This time, he did and it took him 3 hrs. to complete. This is not the average time it takes…20-30min. is about the average it has ever taken any inspection in my store that I was there for.

I failed it by 8pts. About a week after store inspections, manager’s are given their inspection sheet used on that particular day and are able to see where they failed. I was not given one from this special store inspection…hmmm, I wonder why?

DM came to me at the end of January to tell me that I might get another 3 day suspension or I would be demoted! At this time, he knew my real discipline but later told me that he didn’t tell me because he wanted to see my reaction based upon what could happen…that is crap!

7 mo’s after accepting manager position:
February 2010, DM came to me on thursday and informed me that…do to inspection failure, I am demoted to Asst. Manager and transferred over 25 miles away to work in one of the company’s other stores. He also told me that I am too nice to my employees and that I have too good of a relationship with them and that it hinders my ability to make them do their job. Therefore he is doing this demotion to another store to put me with people I do not have any social relations with in hopes that I can be trained to better my people skills. Are you serious? That is what I asked him…I told him he is being completely unfair and that this is not the way to train me. When asked why I felt that…I told him, it’s wrong of the company to promote me, allow me to build my life around my current financial means and then demote me at no fault of my own. I told him that the company knew I was not trained as did he, to perform certain aspects of the job!

I also told him…in my opinion, this company knew I needed trained and they should have sent a well trained manager to give me ‘IN-STORE’ training.I told him that I think that is what they should be doing now instead of demoting me!

Try to wrap this up now…I told him I am unhappy of his decision and that I don’t think I could survive financially on the paycut but, I am not a quitter and I will give this change a try.

On my very first day of work at my new job placement…I started having car troubles and almost was stuck there because my car wouldn’t start. I finally got it! 5 days later I had more car troubles which resulted in my 1st call off in over a year. On my way to work about 4 more days later…it stopped working completely in the middle of my commute! I called my manager and told her that I am still having car troubles and that I quit because I can’t afford to get it fixed. I told her that I wanted to give a 2 wk notice but, I don’t have a working vehicle to get me there. I also told her that I could just call off again and try to find a way there but, there was no guarantees from day to day and it’s probably best that I just quit! I asked her for suggestions and she said her car wouldn’t make that drive to pick me up and take me home 5 days a week.

The part that really sucks, if I would have had any kind of car troubles at my mananger job (in my hometown). I could have walked as it is located about 5 blocks away and not 25 miles.

My x employees were very upset about this. One of them quit that very day, another one has called off more times in a week than is allowed and is on the verge of being fired. Most of the customers have stopped going there because alot of them went their as my store environment was clean, in stock, friendly, happy smiling faces and we cared for each other and it showed! I live in a small town…it’s hard not to care. The new manager has yelled at my old workers in front of customers and kicked one of them out of the store and yelled “you are fired” several times all of this…in front of customer’s!

Something to think about: New manager starts my job, works a total of 6 days…has an inspection just like the one I had and she passes! Very strange…

How can this company demote me for training they didn’t provide me? I just don’t get this….

I am sooooo sorry it’s long but, you mentioned that details are important…their you have it, atleast 94% of it anyway!

Comments for being demoted and moved to another job over 25 miles away with in the same company and transportation failed?
Feb 27, 2010 What are the relevant details?

by: Chris


Hi 79,

Would it surprise you that as far as unemployment benefits go your entire list of details is irrelevant until you got to the details of the day you resigned?

You car broke down during your 25 mile commute and it was at that time and for that reason you resigned.

You didn’t call or “email” your nasty DM and ask if he would transfer you back to the store from which you came .. so you could walk to work .. or at least you didn’t mention doing so.

Claimants always tend to clutter up the issue at hand.

The “final incident” is very relevant when getting unemployment. You were the moving party .. therefore you had the responsibility at that time to make the efforts to try to “preserve the employment” .. even if it meant just a little more humiliating and demeaning talk from your DM.

He’s the one that put you there .. so he could have gotten you out of there ..

Did you talk to him 79?

I could commiserate with you on all the things that were happening prior to your demotion .. and I might even have had suggestions for what you should have been doing at the time .. but now .. it doesn’t really matter anymore .. it’s too late for me to offer you any help.

Now, after all my negativity, you should also consider that I don’t know everything you did .. do. I don’t know for certain that you didn’t talk to your DM .. I just know that you didn’t mention it.

So what I suggest is that you read the precedents for Ohio.

Use the concepts and apply them to your specific circumstances.

Feb 28, 2010 There is more….

by: Anonymous79


I thought about calling my DM and asking him exactly what you mentioned:

To allow me to work in a closer store where I could walk until I could get my car fixed. Problem, the only other company store in my town is the one he removed me from in the first place. During our talk about his decision to demote me, he also told me to stay out of the store for awhile because he didn’t want my x employees feeling the need to ask me questions about the store. He wanted them to get used to the fact that they have a new manager. He wanted them to depend on her. So, no I didn’t ask him that very question.

The paycut alone was enough to get me to quit!

I understand most of this is irrelevent to my reasons of quitting to some people and maybe even to unemployment. I gave all that detail because it shows how he failed me and how the company failed me as well by not giving me training that I needed.

I filed unemployment on Friday Feb. 19, 2010 I have yet to hear from them.

I gave the reason ‘No Transportation’. I am thinking I will get denied but, I will appeal on the grounds of a paycut and that the company failed to give me training to do my job.

Now, I have done some research on the company’s CEO and found that in an interview with CNN he stated that his company keeps it’s customers happy by keeping happy employees and caring for one another. My DM demoted me for running my store by the CEO’s beliefs!

I have been prepping, taking notes, jotting down time frames and incidents leading up to my quitting. I plan to have a face to face talk with the CEO as he will be in town this coming week. I can’t help but wonder if this guy knows how his DM is treating people. I will inform him and do it well. My only goal is to inform him and to not get the DM fired.

According to unemployment I should be receiving some kind of packet to fill out. Nothing yet, hopefully there is a place on there that I can go into better detail about my quitting for no transportation. Definately not like I have posted here…lol,lol but, shorter and to the point. I will also put the paycut and the no training on there.

Do you think with those other 2 reasons that I even stand a chance?
Feb 28, 2010 Damage Control When Quitting A Job.

by: Chris


79,

Please don’t think for a moment, that I do not understand the predicament your DM .. intentionally created for you .. I do.

One of the most frustrating parts of what I do, do, is that I know without reservation .. that for most people .. I could have helped them a whole lot more as far as preparing for unemployment if I had been able to talk to them before their job ended for any reason.

As it is .. after the fact usually amounts to “damage control” ..

Off the top of my head I can think of one state that has a special provision for “transportation problems” and might under “special circumstances” be good cause to quit .. and Ohio isn’t it.

So I too expect a denial.

Ironically, even when quitting is attributable to the work .. the documented “things that were going on” may only serve to prove that a discharged was without good cause.

Of course this is what everyone wants to avoid .. because it doesn’t “look good” on a resume.

Without a doubt, it is easier to prove that a termination was without good cause .. than it is that a VQ was with good cause.

In your case, you would have been wise to document all the “intolerable conditions” your DM was putting you under.

A demotion is difficult to carry the burden of quitting because it is being combated with the performance evals which stand to justify the demotion unless you can prove or show that the employer was “treating you differently or not providing to you .. what is provided to all new managers in training.

So, in case you haven’t already .. I think you should use the precedents to understand what carrying a burden requires.

Mar 01, 2010 Waiting…..

by: Anonymous


Well, all I can do now is wait and see what happens.

I hate even thinking about what he did to me. It upsets me to no end that I get emotional daily. Not only did he take away what I enjoyed doing, he humiliated me. I think about my old manager job and its upsetting. I miss my employees, my customers and everything in between. I mean seriously, who cries about leaving a job other than reasons for no job? I guess I do…hahaha!

I will keep you informed as soon as I know something from Unemployment.

Thanks for you input, it’s greatly appreciated.

ps. If only I had found this site before I quit…I would have taken any damage control advice you could have given me. I loved my job and really miss it!

I completely understand how you’re feeling .. I believe that to actually work for others to earn a living requires us to find other rewards from a job .. aside from the paycheck.

It’s our own internal expectations of ourselves and the reward we feel when we meet those that make “just another job” tolerable.

Throw in unfair and distasteful treatment by someone in authority trained to make us look like we aren’t performing to “company standards” that we get all confused ..

I don’t know about you .. but I like a routine. When I worked .. out in the world I woke up every morning feeling like I had a purpose .. irregardless of some of the rotten people I knew I had to face everyday .. they couldn’t stop me from a desire to fulfill my own expectations .. which I thought were important to me and beneficial to the company that employed me ..

Actually it was working in unemployment that ever made me question whether “my daily purpose” to accomplish all I could to the best of my ability .. might also be causing harm.

I’ve come to the conclusion that unless you’re free to follow your heart .. working for someone else will always present personal conflict which will eventually need to be resolved .. and the problem is that most people resolve it on an impulse without thinking through all the ramifications of their actions.

Never more, than when they quit their job.

I’d love to know how it turns out because although my subject is unemployment benefits .. the reward for me is communicating about other aspects of working.

Chin up, this to will pass:) and it’s not to late to file an official complaint against the guy …

Mar 05, 2010 Denied

by: Anonymous


Ok, so I was denied today for unemployment on the grounds of…I was responsible for my own transportation!

Any suggestions?

I am going to appeal for the reason that, I did not ask to be transferred to another store that is 25 miles away. Not sure how this will go but, I will try it.

Thanks,

It’s all you really can do. Focus on the fact that it was the employer who made the change and you gave it a fair shot .. and if you actually worked at that location and walked to work you might argue that that is what made the work suitable to you in the first place because you didn’t have reliable transportation.

As for the reason you didn’t seek an alternative from the employer again prior to quitting .. um .. maybe .. it was made clear to you by the DM that you were not even allowed to go into the original store .. because they didn’t want you disrupting or causing problems for the current management because you were so well liked.

It’s weak .. but it’s the best I can do .. you might try finding a lawyer for a free consultation to see if there’s a better alternative. They do practice law after all .. I don’t .. this is just what would be running through my head if it happened to me.
Apr 13, 2010 Deli Manager

by: Anonymous


I could also write a book on what I have just went through as a Deli manager for many years in this position never had a problem any where else that I have managed until this past year. New Store Director New Food Manager from the the start the Blame game, before they came and now never holding employees accountable for thier calling in all the time the tardies the lack of work ethic, the whole part about being a responsable adult, I was written up several times for things that were out of my control, I was demoted and now I am thinking about taking this to lAWYER I have alot of documentation of innappropriate conduct and lack of support for me being a manager. One thing is I didt have the authority to formally discipline anyone. I was treated very poorly and disrespeted. Alotof sneaky
stuff going on behind my back. What should I do? Any suggestions?

Apr 15, 2010 Give employer a chance to resolve the issue….

by: Anonymous79


It’s awful what companies will put people thru at no thought about how good that person is doing for their company.

I just received notice that my 1st appeal was denied on the same grounds as my initial determination.

I, of course will appeal a 2nd time and do more research. I can’t help but think that I need a lawyer for this.

My question to you, have you quit your job yet? If not there are procedures you must follow like, going above those people causing the issue and giving the employer a chance to solve the problem. If they do not resolve the issue in suitable terms for you, I won’t swear to it but, I think you can quit and be eligible for unemployment.

I think you should atleast speak to a lawyer that gives an initial consultation for free and see what he/she advises you do.

You can also try to get help from your counties legal aid programs. If they can’t take your case, they will still help you with questions you may have.

Good Luck to you!

Oct 06, 2012 Slob Evans

by: Annie


Sounds like bob Evans:(

Oct 06, 2012 Update!

by: Anonymous 79


So, in the end of it all…I was denied! The DM played a good game, told many lies & even had the nerve to console me!

To this day, 2 1/2 yrs later…The particular store lost a lot of great customers. I see these people around town & they tell me “since you are no longer there, we go across the street”. I love to hear those words because I know I was a good person & I was good at my job!

Even though I still do not go into this store, I periodically get updates from people. They have hired people I would not hire because I knew of there backgrounds for theft! Sure enough, they have had loads of $$$ stolen & some they don’t even know about yet! They hire & fire more people in a month than I ever needed to do in 1yr or did!

I took a 3 mo leave after quitting this job before I started a new job. Right away this company wanted me in a lead position to wich I turned down! I left that job on a Friday to start my new job on a Saturday. I have been with this company for 2 yrs & right away was recognized for being a great leader to my fellow employees! I know my job well & again, my supervisor & others want me to be in a higher position! I turned them down many times!

I am now afraid to accept a lead position, afraid to take on more responsibility for fear of disappointment like before! I would love to say yes to them but, I am scarred! I have since learned that I have ADHD & wonder if that had anything to do with my failure as a store manager. I currently take meds for it daily & am doin ok!

My advice to anyone goin through what I did, KEEP A PAPER TRAIL OF EVERYTHING! Even the smallest detail or issue!

Have a great day!