Unemployment Hearing

SO I applied for UE after I left my job. I spoke to my former employer about my transition to a DV shelter and asked for a week to get my affairs in order. They requested I send documents stating I was in the DV shelter (I did). HR told me That they received it and expect me back that Monday. Prior to my return date my check wasnt direct deposited in my acct, there was sum issue so i had to go to the job and get my check.My offender was outside my job I made a decision not to return to my job because it wasnt safe. We share mutual friends and social media with my voworkers. I cant prove contact between them but I do have a witness who saw him and the chances of him showing up at the same time was no voincidence. I dont file a PFA because we share kids and I know he will fight back with with a custody battle that I am not financially able to win. I applied for UE,My employer denied my benefits stating I left because I moved and didn’t have transportation to work. I filed an appeal and provided the letter from the DV shelter, I had my witness to testify my offender was there at my workplace. No one called for the hearing today. I called Unemployment and confirmed my number the time and date of the hearing. Will I be denied again? What is the reason they didn’t call? Do I have a legitimate case and what are my chances of winning?

Hi,
Clearly I can’t say why the employer didn’t attend the hearing, nor whether they would appeal any decision from the hearing that reverses and allows unemployment benefits.

What I can tell you, is the first and really only question I have about what you did tell me, that you voluntarily quit your job due to reasons associated with being the victim of domestic violence, is to ask if the state, is one of the states with a special provision in it’s unemployment law, that allows for good cause to quit for this reason.

You can check on this in the non-monetary chartbooks at the USDOL. I provide the link to the chartbooks, on the unemployment law resource page.

You can’t be serious .. you actually want me to predict the outcome of your hearing based upon the information you gave me?

Okay ..

My guess would be .. expect a denial.

But only because it sounds like you self diagnosed yourself medically, nor did you address any of your efforts that might make your voluntary quit, with good cause.

I quit due to lack of support from employer . I was a manager . The stress due to me working my job and the others jobs there also took a toll on my physically and mentally my stress level and anxiety was high . It was putting a starin on my health due to lack of rest working long hours and my marriage and family . The employer didn’t nothing to try to release me of his there are two other managers that work there also . As long a I was there doing the work the employer didn’t care as long as the store was up and running . What will be the outcome of the judges decision .

I have an unemployment hearing coming up in 2 days. I’ve been battling to get my unemployment benefits for 8 months now. “Misconduct” is stated as “intentionally” ignoring your employers rules which I DIDN’T do. There was someone in management that was bullying me and wanted me gone, but that’s hard to prove so they decided to write me up for everything they could possibly find on me. On the day of my termination, they gave me my termination papers, but they also had me sign a paper (during my devastation moment) saying that I quit because “it would be better for me in the long run,” as they put it. I don’t know if I’ll win this case, but I sure pray I do!

Hi!

First off on November 29th, 2010 I was laid off via text message by my boss. I was owed back wages (7200.00) so I asked if I could be paid them and I was laughed at and told NOPE! Winters coming and he needed the money. I waited a few days before calling again, once I asked again he said no again so I filed a complaint with the equal rights division of unemplyment. I filed my unemployment but was denied because they never paid in. The withholdings were kept for themselves. I was told that I had to wait until equal rights made their determination then contact unemployment again. Finally on January 19th, 2012 (only 13 months later) I won my equal rights case. So I contacted unemployment. They are still doing the audit to prove I was an employee not a subcontracter (which is what my employer was stating). So here I sit and wait for the 42 weeks of back pay. So my question is if equal rights already made their decision why would they need another audit there part of the same organization? I was also told that I should get a lawyer to push things faster. Is that true? Also because I filed the complaint with equal rights the company started threatening me. Now their saying I stole from them that’s why they fired me. I still have the text message of them laying me off. Can they now change that?

Thanks

The employer can do anything he wants to do .. However, it seems to me that if you can still prove the employer’s story is a lie he may be in for a world of hurt by adding perjury to the list of things it sounds like he did wrong.

Why another audit? Unemployment and an equal rights commission are not the same department.

Sounds to me like you just had a wage complaint resolved and unemployment is going to determined if what you should have been paid was wages or earnings from self employment. Unemployment insurance taxes are paid on covered wages.

A lawyer could probably speed things up, but it would also come at lawyer prices.

Have you tried contacting the AG’s office yet? You might try that first to speed things along.

It’s usually the state attorney general’s office charged with the responsibility of making sure the state’s unemployment program stays compliant with federal guidelines to resolve UI claims expeditiously.

What state are you in?

I was hired at a local call center…and even during my training I was constantly removed from the phones by managament…they were to keep track of all of the times I was taken off of the phones. Since,I had been there for a short period of time (9 months) I wasn’t clear about who was who only my manager and trainer I knew by name and face.

So, I found it strange that I was coming in being hit with being over breaks and lunch times when those times were when I was removed by managament. So, I would have to chase him down have him remember that “Oh yes we did meet” and on several occassions he had to adjust my time back…He did this very often…..I thought it wasn’t fair at all the only thing I was hired to do was answer phones and not chase after him to correct times on my time sheets.

So, during my 6 month review I was given a raise and one of the issues that they look at if the person is relaible in determining the raise factor.(in 2011) I was also in a meeting at the first of the year(1/2012 that was 13 days before I was fired/that showed the areas of improvement I needed to work on and again it wasn’t dependebility)……

We’ll, during the phone trial the person that I was complaining to was on the phone(I didn’t put a face with a name until I went to face book and identified that person as the person I was complaining too/after the phone trial was done), Plus the manager and the person over me are friends on f/b wouldn’t that be a conflict of interest?)

When I got the rejection the facts weren’t correct at all(the dating of my termination and how I obtained my raise was never addressed in the judges ruling)

Should I push the issue and file or just close this chapter of my life?

Need help! been at this job for 4+ years.NEVER had a problem. Last Friday, the general manager was yelling and cursing at me so loud other passer bys could even hear. I let him finish. And responded calmly.He continued with the abrasive and foul language. I lost it.I told him he cant speak to me like this and i recipricated in a loud voice. He than told me to take my stuffand go home. I told him dont worry, I am going.I filed unemployment saying I quit due to verbaly abuse and a hostile environment. Bottom line, if I file unemployment under this circumstance, do they make an internal decision, or do they look into it? And if they attempt to contact the employer and the employer doesnt respond, do I automatically win? And finally, is this enough justifiable cause to have quit. I honestly can’t work in that type of environment.

Hi,

Oh yes, Unemployment always .. always gives the employer the opportunity to respond to a claim filed for unemployment against them.

They will not only look into it, they will investigate the matter.

However, I’m curious as to what you thought the GM was doing when he told you to get your stuff and go home??

Chris

got my results yesterday in mail well i fought back but i lost o well i definatly learned from that mistake to be completely honest,i should have gave the probation dept note instead of false doctors note.No matter what HONESTY is what matters not felling ashamed of your problems.Yea i lost thousands of bucks in back pay but the good news is after reading that heart breaking letter the phone rang it was the jobb ive been waitng 3 weeks for an answer from and said Robert would you like to come in and fill out some paperwork @ 11:00 am,i dashed over and sure enough it was to finalize the job offer and fill out the w2 forms i start tommorow doing what i love DRIVING TRUCKS,with a higher pay than my last job.So just want to say goodluck and yes aLways fight for what you beleive in.you never know.so in a way im still the WINNER. THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS.

Thanks Robert for sharing the best of all possible news .. work is good and a better paying job doing what you love is great news!!

I was fired Oct 2011 stated for misconduct. I applied for unemployment since there was no misconduct. Letter received from unemployment didn’t find misconduct so I started receiving unemployment. On 12-4-11 my ex employer filed an appeal was notified March 2012. Called in to judge for appeal. Judge called back employer didn’t call in so ruled on my side. I received a letter stating the above but also noted it said there was 15 days to respond for another appeal. How is this right?

I don’t answer that question .. “How is this right?”

If the situation were reversed and it were you .. asking what to do after missing a hearing .. I’d tell you too, “there might be chance to get it reopened with some good cause reason or another.

It’s just the way it works.

first of all sorry for all the missing words i just read my story and it came out horrible.Yes i want to know if that will help me win my appeal i brought proof that the company doesent even go by the code of conduct if i was fired for 0 tolerance on falsafying a doctors note,I fell i should had been given a chance due to my ill wife and the reason being that i used poor judgment not being in the right mind due to stress over family problems but NO they bended the rules and over look an illegal alien for falsly driving with a fake drivers permit i even told the judge well i mean HR how come you never ask him to provide you guys a hard plastic drivers licence when it came down for insurance changes.And i asked HR how come you dont know of this action when he was arrested by CHP @ ventura truck scales when the company truck had to be picked up by someone else,I mean come on then HR say well we transferd him because we were only aware that his permit expired…..Come on why did he go to jail then HR countinued to answer like that and at the end HR tryed to throw in that he trustes the company resources because they are D.O.T tested i objected and said he was class C driver your honer im a class B driver im D.O.T regulated.I brought in a noterised copy of his statement abought being pulled over and caught for driving with a false drivers permit and was able to countinue to work with company for years to come.I brought the papers that said he was guilty of forgery and he even pled guilty got out on bail and countinued to go back to work on monday i asked HR why wasent i given a second chance HERE IM A LEGAL US CITIZEN but yet you let a illegal ALEIN countinue on for a lower pay cut in the shipping area…what do you all think do i got a shot for a over turn on my appeal or what,and do i have this HR guy in a pinch or what is this even a LAW SUIT hit me up i need feed back..

I gave you me my feedback, but I’ll let this through to see if someone else has something that may help you.

I understand the basis your your argument .. that you were fired for an employer policy that the employer didn’t enforce uniformly, however, it seems to me you spent all your energy trying to justify your instance of poor judgement by pointing a finger of blame at another employee instead of at the employer that is free to choose to not enforce the policy uniformly if they so want.

Did you have an attorney .. or an unemployment hearing rep?

i was fired for a false doctors note on 01/09/2012, i just used an xtra return to work slipped i received before had my wife fill out the day i missed but we did not falsly sigh it we just left it life that anyways i was called into hr two days later, now before all this i had tooken fmla in 2010 for my ill wife who is manic deppressed and bipolar so she has episodes and gets violent at times with me but i love her and i take it sometimes i get bruised or cuts on face and go to work like that and i know the office everyone says ohh sh”t robert wife beat him up again so i was ashamed.Iworked 105 hrs every two weeks for them so my son doesent want to be home with wife and he got in trouble with the law and had a probation date on the 9th of jan so my son begged me to take him to the probation office because his mom was acting up he dident want her to take him on the bus so i took him instead of going to the doctor to get legit note but i got a note from probation dept for the 9th of jan but used poor judgent embaresed of the on going shame of family i turned in the false doctors note instead of the probation now on the 12th of jan when called in hr i explained my story and gave them the probation note and was still fired for false doc note,and was told theres no way to break the rules for me theres a 0 tolerence.So im denied unemployment but i went to my appeal with evidence my wife is sick and probation note and proof of an ex employee was caught by CHP at truck scales for driving with false drivers permit brought proof he was found guilty of 470 pc forgery went to jail came out on bail and was let to countinue to work for company for two and a half more years i explained to the judge why did the bend the rules for an illegal alien and not a US citizen what do you think i will win or lose….please respond

Hi Robert in Cali,

Very difficult to follow what you’ve written but I’ll take a stab and ask you a question

Are you asking me if your basic argument that because others have gotten away with forging documents, it should stand to reason that’s it’s also a valid justification that you should be allowed to get away with using an irrelevant dr’s note and getting fired because you got caught?

Please tell me which state .. I’ll go find a link to the Atty. General office I’d contact.

Personally, I’m not surprised when I hear this stuff because some UI depts make egregious errors on a much to frequent basis.

State UI agencies are like McDonald franchises .. some I’d eat at in a pinch .. others .. No thanks, I’ll just go hungry today.

Here’s what isn’t making sense to me.

If you were finally going to receive benefits after an appeal hearing decision

And .. if the claims dept. is now telling you benefits are being delayed because of some mystery re-determ they sent out to you ..

Wouldn’t it be logical to assume the re-determ reversed their initial determination?

Which of course I’ve presumed denied your benefits .. therefore that’s the reason you had to appeal in the first place?????

What did the damn redetermination redetermine, if not your initial eligibility?

I really want to know what state this is .. Could it be Michigan .. maybe? I think they call themselves the UIA.

Try this .. call them first and let them know to look for the fax of your hearing notice. Maybe this will job their collective memory.

Because until you receive a hearing decision .. you’re stuck with that last determination they’re telling you they made.

Chris

I had my hearing about a month ago. The employer didn’t show up. The judge asked a few questions and at the end said, “Well, everything looks good to me. You should find a much bigger balance in you UIA account in 2 weeks from this Thus. We were sooo thrilled and relieved. We didn’t know what we were going to do. We had already spent all of our savings while looking for a job. Well, the big day came and I called my debit card. There was still zero bal. I called the next two days and still nothing. When I called UIA they said it was being reviewed and they were allowed 6-8 wks to make their decision. Before the hearing one woman said I had been sent a redetermination the monthe before and did not respond within 30 days. This is not true. Every employee I spoke to said something different. Today they said that the super was reviewing it and refused to let me speak to the super. saying they didn’t know who it was reviewing it. Does this sound right? When I told the one woman I 100% didn’t get a redeterm in the mail and asked if she would send me one she said no. This is crazy and so unfair. What now?

State of IN. I quit my 8 yr job after yrs of harassment. I filed for unemp & was denied stating I left vol. without good cause. I appealled & already had my hearing. It was a joke. They had a witness that had been the basis of alot of my complaints to the HR dept. HR stated she sent a letter regarding to my last day of work. During the hearing I stated if I knew I was allowed to have a witness I woud have. She lied through her teeth & when I was allowed to question her, I asked if she forgot she was under oath. The Judge wouldn’t allow the question stating it was not legitament. I want to know how a person is suppose to know their rights for the hearing? I had submitted letters that I had written to HR & the Judge said her copy was not legible, but would not let me read the letter. At the end I just sat there in shock & even told that to the Judge. I haven’t gotten the decision yet, but think it will be denied. Will I be able to appeal again? Where do I find my rights? Thanks, Denice

The appeal and hearing rights they tell you about are either located on some additional paper attached to the hearing notice .. or the pamphlet many states send .. which can usually be found online as well. Believe me, if you had read the hearing instructions .. you’d of know you had the right to have witnesses.

But, I doubt the instruction would have told you that you also have the right to object and make requests on the record .. such as when the document was said to be illegible .. a request for continuance might have been in order until you could get legible copies to everyone per Indiana’s requirements (found in the instructions).

This is why I recommend unemployment hearing reps. Because they know about the rules of procedure for administrative law hearings .. you know, the quasi hearing that the state makes sound so benevolent.

Did you happen to object when she denied your request to read the document into the record? Did you request the continuance then until you get get legible copies to all parties?

This is the type of stuff the non-lawyer claimant is presumed to know when they represent themselves.

But because you’re in Indiana .. you would have needed an attorney anyway. It’s their rule that only an attorney, a CPA, or a union rep can represent outside of the parties involved.

I don’t think the appeal process is a joke .. it’s just usually too legalistic for claimants to do a good job for themselves when they are faced with something no one seems to consider as a possible problem .. bias on the part of the imALJ presiding at the hearing that is mandated to be impartial.

Find an Indiana attorney to see if there’s points for an appeal for review of the hearing decision.

You might be able to get a new lower level hearing.

Yes this is pretty much the only argument I have. I just feel this was human error and as long as I had worked for the company with no mistakes and then they just up and fire me for this…

It’s weak because it’s not focusing on who has the burden of proof nor the weaknesses that may exist in that burden of proof .. which belongs to the employer.

This is why I have a referral service for affordable hearing representation .. including NC which is considered an attorney state, but has an exception for non-attorney reps that have a supervisory letter from a NC attorney.

Referrals to Unemployment Appeal Hearing Advocates.

Hi. I have a hearing coming up in a week and just wanted your opinion on my case. I worked at the same company for 13 years..it is a medical office in NC. I was fired 3 mths ago due to a Hippa violation. They hired someone new in our office and she had almost no training apparently because lots of mistakes were coming back where she was putting wrong MR numbers on info and it was getting mailed out. I was one of the unlucky ones that mailed out wrong info due to her putting the wrong MR numbers on the request letters. I did not catch this and realise that it was partially my fault but I feel the company was neglegent in their training and this could have been avoided if she had better training. Then, the company gave me a written warning and I agreed to do more training etc and not even a week later they fired me! I had no other violations they just fired me. Do I have any chance of winning this appeal?

Is that your best argument and the one you will be presenting at the hearing?

Chris

I was a police officer in Oregon with the same department for 21 years and had a clean file with many commendations. Last year while on bereavement leave, I was notified that the dept was investigating me for a possible fraudulent marriage that I entered into 18 years before and for misuse of a department lap top computer. During the investigation, I reiterated that I married for love and it was not a scam for citizenship. On the second count, with no warnings on this and another officer in a similar situation receiving a verbal warning, termination was not warranted but they did.
I filed for unemployment and the City had a time frame to turn in the paperwork and talk to the claims investigator. They did neither and I was granted unemployment benefits. Then I received a letter saying that the City was contesting this and now I have to be at a hearing. Can the department fail to meet deadlines and still get a hearing? What is the burden of proof required for them to win? Beyond a reasonable doubt, preponderance of the evidence, more likely than not? How do I prepare for this hearing?

Hi,

I’ll bet they did respond to notice of claim filed, but did not partake in the adjudication process.

Unfortunately, most states have nothing in their statutes like a consequence for not participating in the adjudication process of the claims department.

A determination is made based upon the available information and we’re then off to the appeal process where you can come on with all cylinders firing.

This is how cost control companies keep getting away with unsupported generic responses to notices of claim filed.

They know and by virtue their clients know that if the initial determination doesn’t go the way they want .. it can still be appeal and then they can submit all the documentation for the hearing.

This situation, which still drives me nuts, as it sets up a potential overpayment in all, but a small handful of states that require “complete separation information” or mandatory participation in the adjudication process or boom .. you lose your appeal rights. Or good cause for failure to participate at least becomes a preliminary issue at the hearing before moving on to the main merit issue.

The burden of proof is to prove willful misconduct connected with the work by a preponderance of the evidence.

However, it is safe to say that some professions including public servants, teachers, doctors, etc., are held to an even higher standard of the definition by virtue of what the what the living entails.

Hi I was recently let go at my job for something I did not do. A month before I was let go the Loss prevention manager came to the my store to run an “investigation” during the meeting with him he was trying to make me make a statement that was false pushing me to say if I knew anyone that was stealing from the company he then said that their was a cash deposit made under my numbers and that the bank had turned it up missing. That night me and another manager closed in my store it is very easy to steal someones number or to just take the deposit from the safe especially if you are a manager. He just said it was an investigation and thats it next month my district manager came and fired me stating that I had not fallow company procedures when it comes to handling money. I never took any money from any safe I didnt steal from the company period. The other manager that closed with me that they was a thief though. My old store manager actually said they should investigate him and not me because he had always been stealing. They failed to investigate him and just pined it on me. I asked them to go threw the surveillance tape and they didnt they gave me the run around. How can I get fired from a job Ive had for a whole year Ive never done anything out of company procedure and then I get fired for something I did not do and everyone in my store knows I did not do. Now unemployment send me a letter saying they are stopping benefits due to the fact that the company has claimed that they fired me for other reasons than lack of work. They sent me a letter to write a statement. I dont know how I will be able to win this case because honestly I didnt even want to loose my job for something I did not do. How would I be able to fight them back and would I have a chance on winning?

First of all LP was just doing what LP does. And you need a hearing rep. Loss prevention people are usually, very effective witnesses because they do these hearings all the time. And .. your employer may use a third party for UI issues .. and that means they may also be represented at the hearing.

I’ve tried many times to explain that when fired from a job, the burden of proof belong to the employer .. not you.

However, to be effective at getting benefits at an appeal hearing you should prepare to effectively blow holes in the employer’s burden of proof. You have to shoot at the weak points.

So, let me start with one basic question.

What do you think are the main weaknesses in your employer case and how can you expose those weaknesses through testimony and documentation?

basically the hearing went in the favor of my employer because she said that I quit and I didn’t. She said I demanded a 19.00 raise from her which I didn’t I said I would like 19.00 and it’s negotiable. but she she never tried to negotiate she just said do you want friday to be your last day or I can be fair and give you two weeks. I told her it was her decision, so she said let’s make friday your last day. I said ok. basically the hearing officer said I should’ve begged for my job. Why? for what? I just came in and asked for a raise wasn’t expecting to be let go. Now I’m doing another appeal before the hearing board. bc the hearing officer clearly couldn’t hear because she wrote up false statements from the hearing in the decision letter. So I’m just hoping they will go back and listen to the tape and see that I’m telling the truth and I handled this very professional. This unemployment mess is crazy. basically if you didnt get laid off. They will do everything in their power to not give you benefits.

You are correct. It’s a mess and even those that were laid off now have to stay on their toes to avoid having their benefits stopped by an unemployment department.

I don’t know who these government entities are trying to fool with their public benevolent crap .. but it’s not working on me.

I know they are broke. Employers aren’t creating new jobs to refill the coffers with UI tax dollars .. so states are actually trying to stop people from collecting.

I used to think employee ignorance of how unemployment worked created enough problems, but these days .. you now have to watch the “impartial” states like a hawk .. because by all appearances, they look like they are up to no good.

Purely, an opinion ..

Chris

I have a in-person hearing on Monday. I quit my position after being there for 8 months. The workload became extremely heavy after a merger and the duties changed due to the setting up of accounting for the new year. My supervisor and I had issues in December when she made me change my time due to me having over-time (APPROVED)during the week even though it was a holiday week. I kept questioning her about it and then just asked someone in HR and told them I didn’t think she understood that you can’t force my time sheet to be 40 hours because of a holiday. After February month-end I was called into HR due to work performance and accusations of me stealing time and hearsay of me engaging in non-productive work activities(all in the write-up). I have my documentation where my time was corrected by HR but missed 15 minutes. The write up states that I falsified time but my approved time sheet states a miscalculation. I have a e-mail for the following month stating signatures on paperwork were given the day of month end which caused me to process paperwork late (work performance write-up)and is out of my control along with her stating “I told you to do this and you didn’t, well I have the e-mails stating when it was done on time and she’s copied on it. The second HR meeting the HR mgr told me he did not care to see my documentation, was yelling, and said we will re-visit this in 30 days then turned to my supervisor and told her if I was insubordinate before 30 days to inform him immediately so I resigned the next morning. The non-productive activities was claimed to be Facebook which can not be accessed at work. Do I have a chance of winning with my documentation?

How’d that hearing turn out?

I apologize for not seeing this early, but I’m not answering question at this point in time .. and comments are to be directed to the person that actually submitted the question.

Hi: In July of 2008,I asked for a medical leave of absence (FMLA) to begin September 9, because of my husbands upcoming surgery. My employer denied this and then said “you can go now”. I was in disbelief that I was fired. I filed for unemployment benefits, was denied as my employer said that I quit to become an RN.. I am an LPN. I was denied from the telephone interview. I appealed with an atty and lost at the hearing. The examiner did not give any weight to my case. My employer stated that she called me in to the office, had many conversations regarding my time worked but never had any paperwork to substansiate anything. Came to the hearing totally unprepared but won. Subsequently, my atty filed paperwork that remanded the case for a new hearing which took place but the employer did not show for the hearing. I won this and collected past benefits. Two days ago, I received a letter stating that the employer appealed and it is now remanded back to the original hearing person for review because of “new evidence”. How can this happen when the employer clearly has lied.

I do not know because I haven’t read the employer’s appeal or the reason for their non-appearance at that hearing.

But I will say that since this recession began I have seen a general deterioration of the quality and/or correctness of in some unemployment decisions, which makes the need for representation even more essential in my opinion.

I know most of us are not so naive to believe that legal rights to unemployment benefits might not be bowled over as a way to balance out what has proven to be a government shortfall of insufficiently funded “unemployment funds”.

What is most surprising to me in your case is that an attorney was not able to win the lower level unemployment hearing .. given the reason you say you lost your job.

I mean, there is a huge difference between a voluntary quit to go back to school and quitting because your rights to FMLA were illegally denied to you.

Hello, I filed for unemployment in Virginia due to illness. The medicines prescribed had a number o side effects making it impossible for me to work at my call center job. When I asked for leave for two weeks to finished the medicines, I was turned down by my job. My employee advised me to just leave for now and come back in two weeks after I finished my medication. I did but they did not hire me back. I filed for unemployment and was turned down because I did not have my doctor’s note at the time of my filing. When I contacted my doctor, he took three weeks to give me my doctor’ note (The emergency room doctor was very hard to track down.) I need it by Oct 17th. Received it October 26. I was turn down because I missed my appeal deadline. Any recourse? A court hearing is next. How can I present Good Cause to the court judge?

Hi,

I’m confused as to why you think I should know what you’re needing to do.

Good cause for what? Missing the appeal deadline because you didn’t have the doctor’s note by the time your appeal was due?

Or a lower level hearing without the evidence you needed?

Rob,

An unemployment hearing is not one sided .. One side will be found in the wrong .. no matter what the hearing decision is.

I don’t even know who had to appeal, but it doesn’t really matter .. the fact is you can be wrong as hell and still appeal.

If everything you say is true and you have no prior write-ups for any inappropriate behavior in the workplace .. this should be a no brainer to not only figure out the employer’s case is weak and you should be able to win ..

But having said this .. I suggest you get help, because the no brainer part doesn’t appear to be clear to you.

Rob .. it’s just an employer argument against you getting benefits ..

Your employer is simply doing what they do and can argue anything they want about why they might of fired you. If I were in my old position and I could see the employers case, and it was in fact as you say it was .. it might be one of those cases that caused me twinges of guilt throughout the day because you lost the hearing .. because you didn’t know what you were doing at the hearing and had no clear plan to win.

You just need to be prepared to fight back at any hearing that is scheduled.

I like metaphors and analogies …

A workplace is like a playground and the hearing officer is the monitor listening to two sides of a fight on the playground .. which he/she didn’t happen to witness first hand, but has to decide who is ultimately at fault ..

Either kid involved in the fight might bring his buddy in on the deal as a witness to the fight .. but if the buddy didn’t see the fight and is just telling what he heard from his friend .. it’s called hearsay and it should never be allowed to carry as much weight as what is told by the two parties involved in the fight because they have direct testimony.

And the monitor .. is allowed to judge credibility when the stories conflict on certain points and determine in his/her own mind, who is telling the truth.

For no other reasons than this get a rep who understands how you prove things at a hearing because many claimants will find themselves in over their heads and continue arguing about whether it was right or not to do what the employer did ..

The fact is they did and the point of the hearing is to prove they good cause to do it .. yours is to prove the cause .. was not good because it wasn’t for “misconduct” as defined by law in your state.

In the beginning of December of 2010 I had an argument with a co worker. We were in an office alone and our boss gave me directions on something we should do. I relayed this to her and she became very defensive. She started saying things like “why are we doing that? why did you ask her about that? why did you throw me under the bus for?” I began to tell her the things we were doing were not my final decision but our bosses. She continued to argue until I told her I did not give a sh** what she thought, this is what we were supposed to do. We spent the next week or so sharing an office, but not saying a lot to each other. Our boss finally called us into her office to discuss our situation. She stated neither one of us were in trouble because we both handled ourselves wrong. We were going to move on from there. The next day I came into work and received a letter stating ” as of today you are terminated” and that was all the letter stated. I was told it was an at will termination because I was not a good fit for the company. The company is now trying to deny my unemployment benefits because I was fired for “just cause” for arguing with my co worker. And she still works there! Is this right? How can I be fired for arguing with a co worker when she started the argument with me and she is still there. And our boss told us in the meeting we were both at fault and no one would be in trouble and should move on!?

Last September I had an alergy reaction or some sort that left my hand with rashes and sores so I got a doctors note to excuse me from over time. The comp kept trying to find reasons to fire me after that but wasn’t enough. Policy is that you can’t have 3 write ups with 6 months so in March they tried to have me sign this paper saying I was absent 3 time within sick months, which you are not allowed to have. I over looked it and realized a new period had started and quickly notified my supervisor who then ripped it up and said to ignore it. Then I was put on probation in April because my partner had sent out a defected part which since she was my partner, it’s an auto-write up for myself. Then I called in sick in July because I had worked 12 hours straight for 30 days straight since my doctors note had expired and I had not been able to renew it and felt exhausted. My second write up was for clocking in 3 minutes late and the final write up was for clocking in 1 minute late which I know for a fact that they changed the timer on the clock in machine cause I set that time to my time on my phone. 2 other people clocked in late with me but only got verbal warnings and I got a write up. I just had my hearing and all my employer said was that I was terminated due to attendance. The judge got my side of the story. Now I have to wait to see if this falls on my side or my employers. Can anyone help me or let me know if they think it will fall in my favor?

On june 15th 2010 I suffered a work related injury. I reported the injury to my supervisor on my way to the emergency room. After I was treated I called my supervisor and told him what had happened. from ther on out I was regularly treated in the emergency room. Several Doctors treated me but could not figure out the nature of my treatment. During one trip to the ER I called my human resources department to begin my workers comp claim and was told that my injuries were never reported by my supervisor. When I was released I went to him to show him the condition of my body. He saw my wounds and asked me to go visit his private doctor, which I did without any hesitation. His doctor sent me to another doctor and I handed my supervisor all of my medical information. He inquired about what type of testing was being done to me. I told him I was tested for all known deseases including stds. He laughed and said”STD’s as in something to do with your dick”. I was given a week of work because of my doctors notes. within that week a news station did a story about the conditions in that store that made me sick. That same day I was contacted by my employer and they took my work vehicle and company assets. I was told that they were not allowed to contact me. Months went by No one was able to speak to me and they did not respond to my phone calls. I wrote several complaints to my supervisor and to the company. I then filed a complaint with the state and hired an attorney. I applied for unemployment at the advice of my lawyer under constructive termination. My claim was denied and I am scheduled for a telephone interview with unemployment. Do I stand a chance of winning?

I would think you should stand a chance of winning at hearing if what you said is true, but I’m curious .. why didn’t you get unemployment benefits right off the bat if you applied on the advice of a lawyer?

You must have said something .. failed to say something or failed to provide the proper documentation to be disqualified …

I sorry to question you, but what you wrote here is extremely confusing. You didn’t even tell me if it was a quit or misconduct disqualification.

about 3 weeks before i was released, i informed my employer that i would need to make a small adjustment to my schedule. my wife was starting work in 3 weeks and kids were starting school then. she would not be able to pick the kids up at the end of the day. i am payed salary and work what ever hours are needed to complete the days task. i told my employer that i would have to pick the kids up and return them to our home, but my older son would be able to babysit until me or my wife got home. this would allow me to return to work and complete whatever task were still needed done. i work as an inspector in a company truck and have a laborer work with me. i told him that i would use my own vehicle to take care of my personal issues and let the laborer continue to work in my 45min-1hr absence. i felt that as long as the job was getting done, no foul. the laborer also works off salary, so no extra pay if the job took longer. i tried to talk with him thru out those 3 weeks to see if we could agree to the terms and he was non responsive. the final week, he called me at home and said to make wedensday my final day of employment. i tried to explain to him that the work would still get done but he was uninterested. on thursday i filed for unemployment as discharged. i soon found out that my employer had enter my release as quit voluntary. i have been denied unemployment and have filed an appeal but there is no documentation from either of us to go on, so it is his word against mine. what do you believe will happen. thanks for your time.

When it’s one person’s word against another it comes down to “credibility”.

I would personally, try to add to the credibility of my testimony by bringing in a witness who you had conversations with about his refusal to accommodate this need. Namely your spouse.

Did you ever say anything to the employer about this being a short term arrangement until others could be made?

That might help also.

I was fired recently from a job I adored!! Long hours and tons of stess, but I work well under those circumstances, usually. We were having a busy time and were under staffed and I had already worked 67 hours that week and got into an arguement with a fellow co-worker over the phone. This was 7/8. On 7/13 we were in the office for the first time together since the arguement and I was trying to act like nothing happened. Well, after she smart mouthed me the fourth time, I told her I wasn’t going to sit there all day and listen to her mouth. She went off and screamed and swore at me and told me to get the f*** out and move, etc. The week before she told a few other staff members that I was planning on quitting and moving, which I wasn’t so I brought that up as I yelled back. Well this kept going and I called her a f******* bitch and she flipped out some more. Well,she went to HR and said I was harassing her. Everyon in the office got to write a statement as to what they heard and unfortunately there was only one person who heard it all and told the truth in the letter, but the other two people only heard the end of the fight of me getting my two cents in. They didn’t hear her screaming at me. I got fired and she didn’t. I was never written up for this before, ever, even at previous jobs, and she was once for arguing with me about a year ago. My hearing is tomorrow and I know it’s because the company is denying me saying I was fired for misconduct. If that is really the case? and not because she told them I was quitting? Why wasn’t she fired as well? Is this a good defense? I thought all this time that it was, but now I’m second guessing myself. My job is not very common and hard to find. It could take me months and months to find a new job. I don’t know what I’m going to do if I don’t get money. Any ideas?

You know what anonymous a defense based on the fact that a reasonable rule was not uniformly enforced could work, but then you should make the effort to support the argument with witnesses and documentation .. even if you have to subpoena the documentation.

Another thing .. what did the employer tell the state was the reason for your separation .. quitting or discharge?

You should have contacted me a lot sooner .. I would have tried to of helped you prepare a lot better than I can now.

I am 61-years old, have always worked in healthcare and I must say I am so worked up over this. I have never received a bad evaluation etc in my whole life. Due to restructuring I had the opportunity to work in a department, I took the position which was unanimously agreed upon by all the clerical staff because I could do some of the things they trully appreciated that I knew how to do but a funny thing I had to learn the scheduling system and was to be trained by a person who was off on sick leave (6-months). Since I had done everything else I only had the scheduling to learn…..Well, first of all the system is set up were it is now exactly user friendly and there are so many factors to learn before you can schedule a patient. Instead of 1 type of test at a time I was to learn numerous at a time and to process this does take time. I became a nervous wreck, patient’s on the phone too long and this very impatient individual between running back and forth into the director office etc. Eventually I had to go into the director office and sign that I will do better by the end of the week. Other staff members came to me and said things like: My panic attacks started when working with her. She is pretty crude and I can’t believe how she talks to you. It takes time to learn all of this, we learned because we did not have all the paperwork to do as we do now. Now usually I don’t pay much attention to people talking about people but after things were getting unbelievably stressfull you start listening. My director was as nice as she could be. She wanted to keep me on to do all of the paperwork with hopes I could find another position in the system but by the following week I was told My last day would be friday. During that same week I was told that they would not be filling my position, they were doing a lot of cost-cutting measures in all departments so I feel I was caught up in this cost-cutting plan. Oh I was told that I was also a rehire…..Does this sound common and how do I fight this ? This is a very big system in Indiana and I feel I do not have a leg to stand on, do I?

Yes, you do have a leg.

New position, new duties, new software and apparently, an inability or lack of sufficient training to learn it.

No prior warning, no prior problems whatsoever.

Hi I have a question. I am up for an appeal hearing and my employer requested a motion to produce. Well, I am just curious as to what can be the outcome if the employer denied me verbally a leave of absence and stated that she did not formally deny because she did not receive a form for a leave of absence and she also stated that at my warning counseling session to write a letter stating that I would not be late or tardy anymore and that if I did not write the letter she would be forced to terminate me because that would mean that I voluntarily quit. I am wondering can she get away with this. And the day she fired me she told me to punch in and the she fired me, ( she wanted to make sure I was on the clock. Can she get away with this?

Care to share .. a motion to produce “WHAT” and how about you tell me what state you are located in? .. And maybe even whose appeal it is and what the determination stated.

Chris

Hi,
On 3.9.2010 i had the hearing for my unemployment appeal and unfortunately it went in the favor of the employer. The reason stated in the letter i received judged that i was terminated due to just cause. the situation is as follows: I am a full time student and missed the last two days of work in order to get a number of things done to ensure that i graduate on time (turn in papers, meetings for internships, etc). My job works on a no fault, points system for attendance and the loss of these two days dropped my points below the required level. The employer sent the copy of the policy handbook to myself and the judge with any of my past warnings as well (i was with the company for 2.5 years). I know that i can appeal this decision, but i guess i am wondering what do i do now to help this go in my favor the second time around? I still have the same reasons why i missed work and i guess i’m assuming that i would still be seen as terminated due to just cause. Any tips on what i would be able to do to help this sway in my favor?

No, I really don’t have any tips. The fact is that the discharge was for “just cause” according to what unemployment departments determine to be just cause.

If you consider the fact that when someone is allowed unemployment benefits and the state thinks you aren’t able and available for work “due to school” your benefits will be denied .. it makes sense that the employer doesn’t have to be concerned either about your schooling.

Decisions about discharges for attendance often take the “final incident” into consideration. If the cause of the final incident can be reasonably seen as “beyond your control” then it probably will not be held to be misconduct .. such as when you are ill or can prove you were in a car accident .. or your kids sick and daycare won’t take them for the day.

But if you had to make a choice between school and work .. work will always win out .. at least that’s what the state believes is reasonable.

I applied for unemployeement benefits in Decemeber of 09′. Forms were sent back and forth from me the the Unemployeemtn office constintly. I was denied benefits and appealed. Forms were recieved on 2/2/10. I haven’t recieved and notice in the mail of a hearing. But, my brother also was denied his benefits at the same time as I was. In about a week he had a letter in the mail stating his hearing date. He recently had his hearing over the phone and the company was not present. My question, We both applied for benefits for the same company, If he gets approved, will I as well. I’m confused.

I can’t possibly determine that because I don’t have a clue about the details, but I will tell you that if you haven’t received your hearing notice yet .. you need to call and find out why not ..

I really do hope it goes in my favor. I’ve been trying to find a job since I lost mine. No one seems to want to hire me since I’m pregnant. I’ve only got four months to go. I was waiting on my appeal too. I filed for it in april and didn’t even get a hearing until july. I think they forgot about me. lol I just hope that what I presented was vauleable enough to go in my favor. Even with the employer not attempting to do anything.

Christina

It’s going to be fine, keep a positive attitude and let me know when you get the decision. We’ll do a high five over the internet:)

Chris

No it was my appeal. I thought it was weird why he asked that. Of course I still wanted to do it. I sent in the papers all along saying I wanted my appeal. So I don’t know. It seemed like my employer didn’t care or maybe realized it was a lost cause. They didn’t seem to mess with anything except denying me my benifits.

Hmmm.

Can’t figure out why he ask that.

Christina, it happens all the time that an employer wins the initial .. for whatever reason and the claimant is forced to appeal .. not often enough in my opinion.

I regularly would look at a claimant’s appeal and make my own determination as to whether it was a waste of time to attend or not. This could have happened in your case too.