I have been fired for missing 2 days of work w/o calling in, can I get unemployment in NY

My brother had a 3 ton plate fall on him at work, it was all over the news and my family called me when I just got to work to go to the hospital because I was the closest and he might not live. I rushed off to the hospital and he was in bad shape 50/50 shot at living at best. I was the first to see him and was asked to turn my phone off when I got there. I stayed there overnight and never turned my phone back on. The last thing on my mind was work and I didn’t call in the following day either. When I got back to work 48 hrs later I was told by my boss that I was terminated. Up to that point I had worked with the company for 9 months and was about to sign a contract for a raise. I had never been warned about my attendance and had called in on my few sick days which were unpaid for in the first 6 months. At the time of the incident I also had a few paid vacation days available and had worked unpaid a few saturdays when the company needed a hand. I have the medical papers backing up my story and several witness (along w/ eye witness news)I also have my phone records showing I did make a call to the job that day and no one picked up I then went back into the hospital and turned my phone back off. I was fired for misconduct, I have a hearing coming up and want to know why my action was misconduct and if there is any way I can get unemployment?

Hi Anonymous,

I wouldn’t call that a discharge for misconduct. In fact, I would tell an employer to protest it as a voluntary quit by job abandonment.

So I guess I would have to ask some questions.

Did you happen to tell the employer before you left work .. right after you got there what happened and why, you had to leave?

Can you prove that you made that call to the employer .. and nobody picked up? Could you have left a voicemail?

And why is it that you didn’t call the next day?

Here’s the New York Interpretation Index so you can read precedent decisions which might be useful to you.