Will I be eligible for unemployment if I get fired for job performance?

Yes I was made aware of my performance issue prior to discharge. I was given a month until they review my progress, however, that didn’t happen. They just switched me to a whole different dept and later I was fired.

I have not filed a retaliation complaint. I’m not quite sure what that is but would appreciate the info.

If what you want is unemployment .. it’s not that the retaliation complaint will actually have an effect on whether you get UI benefits.

It’s just the follow through with the complaint is what may keep the employer away from the UI hearing and testifying that the performance issue amounted to misconduct .. which is the what they must prove to keep you from getting benefits.

Don’t confuse the two because it is possible to be denied unemployment due to misconduct .. irregardless of “retaliation” if your performance amounted to “misconduct.

Keep the focus on the issue at hand.

Hi Chris,
I’m in California. I need your help with a question. I was “involuntary discharged” aka fired from my job. The reason they gave me verbally on the day that I left the company was due to poor peformance on the job. But a month prior I was written up for breaking company policy for performing Union duties which they said I was aware of since I was once in the Union and the company had to pay $1000. I just filed unemployment and would like to know my chances of getting it?

Pls help,
anonymous

Hi Anonymous,

Were you made aware of performance issues before your discharge?

And have you filed a retaliation complaint yet?

Because as I’m sure you are aware .. union activities are a protected activity .. and a company can get in big trouble when they interfere or act against someone for “union activity”

Hi Chris,
thank you for the response and info. I’m in California.

Well then, you’re lucky. California has the best interpretive resource for understanding how unemployment works in my opinion .. albeit specific to California.

I link to it on the How to collect California unemployment page.

It’s called the Benefit Determination Guide and you will want to go to all the information about misconduct where you will find subject matter broken out in quite a lot of detail.

Hi, I just received one today & yes I truly believe its a way for employer to fire you without you collecting. For me, they listed items which I need to improve on within a month and then we meet again.

Does anyone know what I should do at this point?

I was told to keep a log and save supporting documents about the work that you are doing on a daily basis until they review you again. In case they fire you, you’ll have everything documented that you are infact are doing your job and you would have a better chance to prove to the unemployment office about your claim. Now, is this true ? If anyone know, pls help & provide a comment.

Thank you.
Roger

Hi Roger,

It’s Chris .. What state are you in? Not that the issue is much different from state to state, but some states are simply more “friendly” to one party or another and some states may provide interpretive resources which help to understand the elements that push performance issues from the realm of inability into the realm of what is considered misconduct.

I could probably write all day long about different scenarios, but in the end, whether an employer can sustain the burden that performance is misconduct may depend of what you’ve got to prove that changes the perception from a “failure to perform” to a good valid reason that it was either an inability or changes made by the employer that made the failure a possibility.

An example might be if someone takes a new position within a company and they are put on a PIP for the new position. An employer may trot out your prior performance reviews to show that you use to do very well, but not mention the fact that the reason for termination was because you were struggling in the new position.

Misconduct is in general, something within your control to change. Take for instance an increase in workload .. Even if we’re quite capable of doing the work, an increase in workload has an effect on overall performance if we are required to get it all done in the same amount of time. You as the employee should be able to produce documentation that you made the boss aware of this little factor and that they ignored your pleas for mercy to make the job doable.

Like I said, there are any number of scenarios and only an individual would know what is making performing to the employer’s expectations and standards unachievable because of a choice made by the employer.

By the way, that documentation you’re saving is what needs to prove your point and it needs to be used .. when you file for unemployment.

I think your employer, like many others, wants to be able to fire people so they don’t have to pay out the unemployment benefits. This is becoming a common tactic or so I’ve read, as of late, due to the failing economy.

Hope that isn’t the case with you; if you can I would consider talking to a legal expert.