by Tai
(NJ)
Hello,
My unemployment claim was denied a couple weeks ago for lack of good cause . I want to request an Appeal as I wholeheartedly believe it’s an incorrect judgement .
I was hired as a Financial Analyst in July 2017 . Post my performance review in Feb 2018 ( I scored very well on my performance review and also got a raise ) , another Financial Analyst was hired to perform the major part of the work that I was doing as a Financial analyst . I was also asked to train her so that she gets familiarized with the process and eventually completely hand over the major piece of work that I was responsible for . After questioning why another Financial analyst was appointed , I was told that another group hired that person without letting my group know .Post February, I was given other responsibilities that were significantly different from my originally agreed duties as a Financial Analyst . I took that as a learning opportunity and with some basic help from the internet and some colleagues , I did my best to deliver some reports that I was expected to submit . It turned out that, I was handling ( singlehandedly )some very important time sensitive, high volume reports without any formal guidance or training which ideally should have been automated or produced by someone with some specific technical skills considering the volume and nature of report needed ! In May 2019 I was also called out by one of the Directors where I was told that the expectation was that I deliver those reports without guidance and hand holding as needed within the assigned time frame which was also unrealistic considering the volume of data that I was expected to work of of. This unreasonable expectation and pressure to single handedly produce accurate reports without any guidance or training created tremendous stress for me and I also started having stress related health issues . It was clear to me that all attempts were made to set me up for failure .Even then I did not voluntarily quit as I needed the job. I have 2 children and had the benefits and the health insurance through my cpmpany for my family. On 4th September 2018, my manager called me and told me verbally that he had just got out of a meeting where he learnt that a business decision was made about me and that I will be given 30 calendar days to give my resignation . If I decide not to resign within that time frame, I would be put under a Performance Improvement Plan under which my performance would be monitored and which also disqualifies me to apply to any other role within the organization till I was under that plan . This was a clear case of orchestrating a situation to force me to quit. I applied to a couple of positions internally that I thought would be a good fit for me . However, I did not get any response from the recruiter . As a result, I had no choice but to give my involuntary resignation on the 4th of October giving them 2 week notice ,19th October 2018 being my last working day.
I want to appeal on the grounds that there was a significant change in my job duties and situations leading to pressuring me to quit .
I would greatly appreciate your thoughts
Much appreciate your help and guidance,
Best,
Tai
Hi Tai,
And because you indicated the initial denial came a couple of weeks ago, I’m concerned your appeal would already be very late, per the Appeal Charts at the USDO.
One needs a good cause reason, for a late appeal to be accepted as a timely appeal. Generally speaking, if an appeal of an initial determination is late, but the appeal letter raises the issue of timeliness, for instance, “Please accept this late appeal as timely”, you can expect the issue of “Timeliness of Appeal” to be added to a hearing notice as an issue that needs to be addressed by the hearing examiner .. before they can move onto the separation issue of whether there was good cause to voluntarily quit, or not.
I understand the argument your pinning an appeal on, that you quit due to a substantial change to the terms and conditions of your employment, made by the employer .. which can be good cause for quitting when the facts align better.
I know what I read though. You stated you took the change to be a learning opportunity and that won’t mesh well with a common theme for employer rebuttal arguments, that simply say the claimant voluntarily quit their job .. in anticipation of being fired and not in lieu of being fired.
Whatever you do when you send your appeal letter, do not include wording that tells me what is at the heart of the problem I see for you.
“On 4th September 2018, my manager called me and told me verbally that he had just got out of a meeting where he learnt that a business decision was made about me and that I will be given 30 calendar days to give my resignation . If I decide not to resign within that time frame, I would be put under a Performance Improvement Plan under which my performance would be monitored and which also disqualifies me to apply to any other role within the organization till I was under that plan . This was a clear case of orchestrating a situation to force me to quit. I applied to a couple of positions internally that I thought would be a good fit for me . However, I did not get any response from the recruiter . As a result, I had no choice but to give my involuntary resignation on the 4th of October giving them 2 week notice ,19th October 2018 being my last working day. “
You did have a choice. You could of let the employer put you on the 30 day PIP .. as another effort to preserve your job .. and let the documenting of facts .. begin!
Chris