Quit job becuase of harassment and unhealthy work environment but was Denied Unemployment in Florida waiting for appeal date

by Alisa

(Boca Raton, FL, US)

Hi worked for 2 years for employer started at entry level position was promoted without compensation to office manager and was told they wanted to see how i performed in the position and would base compensation on my results.

Owner of the Corporation constantly made sexual comments about certain body parts of my own and other office help which made the workplace very uncomfortable. Both owners were extremely confrontational and would curse you out or yell derogatory statements about your personal life in front of other employees. I had been to HR and my husband had sent emails to both owners and the supposed HR. When I submitted my letter of resignation to HR i had mentioned the unprofessional behavior i was told thats how they are and i had to let it go in one ear and out the other and they had no record of any unprofessional behavior by the company. I had actually gotten so stressed at the workplace i had to see a doctor and a doctor recommended that i quit my job because it was causing emotional distress. I have doctor’s notes, dates, emails from the owner stating i was promoted but with my skill set no other company would pay me the rate they hired me at. I also have 4 letters from other employees that had witnessed all of the above. Will any of this help prove the unhealthy work environment and will all this information help or even be reviewed by the state?
Thank you.

Hi Alisa,

Yes, it might help, but I can’t say for sure because I haven’t seen your documents to make my own judgment and no one can give a guarantee it will be enough to prove good cause to quit under the usual standard. There are only best practices.

Out of curiosity have you filed an EEOC complaint?

What are the employer’s usual procedure for addressing grievances brought to HR? Is the procedure outlined in the handbook? (You are also allowed to use the handbook to prove your case .. and you are allowed to request and if need be, subpoena documents from the employer that would be relevant to proving your case).

You do have the option also to take what you have to an attorney and let them review it .. it will probably cost a minimum of $250 for a review, but probably well worth the money.

Were your documents submitted at the initial level?

Did that claims adjudicator know that you had documents for review and you wanted to fax them so they would become “part of the record”.

The scuttlebutt is that Florida claims reps are being told to deny benefits at the initial level whenever possible to slow the flow of money out. And I know for a fact it is taking so long to get hearings scheduled as to be ridiculous.

And if that weren’t enough .. after a claimant wins a hearing .. they are telling people they have to wait even longer to get paid.

So in my opinion .. especially in Florida, you need to act like everything is hinging on the initial level .. or you could be waiting for months to get a hearing and then longer to get benefits if you win the hearing.