Fired in California due to lunch break violations

by CJ

(California)

My ex-employer had a policy of getting points for working more than 5 hours without taking a 30 minute lunch break. The company had a limit of 8 points before let go. Many of my co-workers and I had more than 8 points. Due to the nature of the job, I made every effort to follow the policy. The job was sales and there were commissions involved. I was the first person to be fired due to this policy. Would I be denied benefits? Thank you for your input.

Hi,

For me, it’s not a matter of whether you would be denied benefits, but rather whether you can present a valid argument to get benefits at an unemployment appeal hearing if you are denied.

It sounds to me like if you weren’t the only one accruing points in excess of the established eight, but were the only one fired for it .. you have an inherent argument that the employer arbitrarily, rather than uniformly, enforces their written policies.

If it were me, I’d be reading through the CA UIBDG looking for references to how condonation can relate to selective enforcement of the standard rules and expectations of an employer.

The basic premise is if it applies to one employee .. it has to apply to all employees otherwise the rules don’t really serve any purpose .. especially if an employer hopes the rules, as a set of expectations, will help them to deny unemployment benefits.