by Mike
(PA)
My job started as a temp and the company hired me full time about six months later. When hired, I was the first company hire for that position as it was filled with temps only previously. Part of the reason for being hired was our floor manager was very happy with the way I had stepped up and helped run the department when my supervisor was unable to devote full attention to our area.
About six months after that, our small department was given over to another supervisor.
At first, all seemed okay and the department continued to run as it had previously. Management was happy with my department’s progress. Then my supervisor began to assert his “supervisor” position and began to disagree with my methods and would subtly harrass new temps if he or a coworker (i’ll call Tom) didn’t like the temp.
Then I was written up for essentially nonsense. But it was nonsense a supervisor can write someone up for in a corporate structure. I was written up for not allocating work properly to the temps. The temp was working, but for a few hours they worked on something that was not deemed top priority, even though the person who created the priority allowed me to decide how to lead the temps as he was on the other side of the country. (He was also the superior of the floor manager and my supervisor.) I was also written for essentially talking to coworkers for fifteen minutes.
None of my actions of what i was written up for was any different than i acted the previous year I worked there.
Right after that, my supervisor took away some of my responsibilities (like training) without any explanation.
My supervisor then treated me differently and became combative to the way I had performed my job for the past year.
After speaking to the floor supervisor and having a 3-way discussion, all seemed better.
Four months later, it started again with my supervisor deriding my performance. My supervisor stayed late one Friday night to meet(write me) up. Ironically, it was that Monday when the president of the company released the news that cutbacks due to the economy would be happening.
About a month later, i received my final warning (next was termination) for a bunch of things that i subsequently disagreed/denied. This was my first meeting that included my HR person.
My theory is that my supervisor didn’t like me but as he was a stickler for company rules when they served his purpose, he would always deny that when i brought it up.
My supervisor’s harassment of me continued and my coworkers were not even supposed to ask me questions or for assistance even though i had seniority and experience.
I went to see my HR department and asked if I could move to another position or take a leave. As we were in hiring freeze mode, i had nowhere to go. HR suggested resigning and going on UC.
The state has denied me under statue 402(b) under PA UC Law. (I have the burden to show that I had knowledge that my job would be affected if I didn’t accept the employer’s plan.)
I signed up for UC online and there was nothing stating to provide proof or that the onus was on me.
After waiting a day over a month to get my UC, I got the ineligible denial from the state.
I’ll be representing myself at the appeal and I have some paperwork that shows my supervisor diminishing my capacities and creating written performance standards that I immediately violated as they were created just to give a spine to my getting written up.
I wasn’t fired, so my warnings shouldn’t be considered willful misconduct should they?
My reason for quitting was due to personal reasons and that i had no other alternative but to quit. I made an attempt to please my supervisor for nearly six months before resigning my position. My supervisor’s boss and his boss were all happy with the work i was doing right up until i resigned. I attempted to continue my employment with the company, but the hiring freeze precluded me from going to another department.
I know i need to edit my story a bit, but any advice you could offer would be appreciated.
Hi Mike,
I actually read your submission late last night and have been thinking about what it is I think you need to hear.
First, are you sure your employer didn’t respond to the claim? Because, if they didn’t the reason you’ve been denied is because you self-disqualified yourself.
PA determinations have a brief, but useful little outline for the conclusions of the determination .. I think it’s in the upper left portion of the paper.
Just from reading what you’ve said here, I can conclude that their was a “personality conflict” between you and the supervisor and some kind of power struggle going on.
I can also tell you that just because the employer said they won’t fight your unemployment doesn’t mean they won’t show up at the hearing unless there is a written agreement that they won’t.
It sounds to me like the employer has a built in argument that will prove you quit in anticipation of discharge, given that you were on a final written warning.
You say you were being harassed by this supervisor yet all your contentions only highlight things an employer can do and even though motivated by a personality conflict are acceptable.
What you have failed to do in your story is highlight your efforts to correct an employment situation of harassment or retaliation efforts by a person in direct authority over you.
I don’t want to upset you Mike, but you would be better off to focus less on the personality conflict and more on your efforts to resolve the personality conflict.
You did not quit for personal reasons you quit due to reasons attributable to the employment.
You quit because your supervisor was using his position of authority to harass you by writing you up for performing your job the way you had been trained to do your job. You sought correction from HR by talking to HR and doing everything within your power to work to this persons standards .. when the problem began again you sought to be transferred to a different dept., but due to a hiring freeze, the employer denied this request leaving you with no alternative, but to quit to avoid further harassment.
And this is still not a sure thing .. unless you have documentation supporting your efforts to stop the harassment .. like a formal complaint .. maybe your transfer request.
I haven’t read the documents that show he was “diminishing your capacities”, but I’d be careful that they won’t do more harm than good.
Do you have documentation from the employee handbook that show the standards he was applying to you were different that what is applied to others?