by Chris
(New Jersey)
I was fired for misconduct due to my job by supposedly showing up late. I appealed and just recently had the appeals interview and was denied again. They said I was denied because my employer changed my hours due to my lateness but it was because he couldn’t afford to pay which is why he got rid of one of our supervisors. He said I was 15-20 minutes late on the day he fired me but I was not and told the appeal lady that if anything I was 1-2 minutes late. I got a letter in the mail today stating I was rejected(again). To my knowledge, I was told I can still recieve my benefits after six weeks, which is this week, but I would like to appeal and recieve the back money I am owed and need help.
Hi Chris,
You’re right. NJ will start paying you benefits after a total of six weeks. One week is the week you filed and 5 weeks of being unemployed after that. You’re lucky, most states also require that you have to return to work and earn X amount times your weekly benefit amount and then have another “qualifying separation to collect.
You must have been written up and warned about being late Chris. I don’t see how the schedule change .. no matter for what reason is relevant since you were fired for being late.
Whether 15-20 minutes or 1-2 minutes .. what’s the difference? You admitted to being late and apparently your reason for being late was within your control or you failed to explain the reason at hearing .. and it’s too late now.
You of course can appeal to the Board of Review, but that appeal needs to be based on rule and or procedural errors made by the Hearing Examiner or the “appeal lady”.
I do not think it is a good idea to handle this type of appeal on your own .. to be successful you actually should file a brief .. with every error you believe was made .. this is hard to do unless you are very familiar with the rules and procedures or “how a hearing is to be conducted”.
The decision is based on the existing record .. you can’t add additional information.
If you still feel compelled to do so though I suggest you contact an attorney.