Filing for unemployment quesiton

[silva]

I'm filing out my initial application and I need to go into detail why I was fired. Talk about a blow to your esteem.


There is a place in the application where I can place additional information to help my case. I wanted to note that my last performance evaluation was back in 2015 and that my HR meeting I had in April I did not get anything in writing nor any notification that if my performance continued to decline, I could be terminated, but I'm scared

If I add that specific info, is the state going to ask HR to confirm that? Will they get in trouble? I honestly don't recall signing anything and I know after my supervisor left in 2016 or so, I never had a performance review, because I was supervised by the executive director. 

[shopgirl07]

It’s highly, highly unlikely that your employer would contest your claim, or that you wouldn’t qualify. Usually it only happens if you were fired for cause, i.e., you stole money, etc. You’ll be fine!

[silva]

Feb 6, 2023 17:36:20 GMT -5 shopgirl07 said:

It’s highly, highly unlikely that your employer would contest your claim, or that you wouldn’t qualify. Usually it only happens if you were fired for cause, i.e., you stole money, etc. You’ll be fine!

Thank you.

[ProfessorArtNerd]

I think you’re thinking too deeply into the question. They just want to know if you were fired for cause, and make sure you didn’t like steal or break any laws.

[starburst604]

If we fire someone for performance issues it’s expected that they’ll file for unemployment, so we don’t contest anything. Even when we fired someone for clocking in from her phone when she was still mid-commute and we contested it, she still got the benefits.

[livinitup]

People get laid off all the time. Sometimes for good reasons sometimes for no reason and we all qualify for unemployment insurance just the same. The state isn’t looking into best practices at your employer, just verification of employment and your end date.

Your employer is required to pay into it and now you have a little bit of relief to bridge you to your next salary. The hardest part is re-applying every week. But really, it’s just paperwork, it’s not personal.

[fiddles]

Depending on your state they may ask for confirmation, no one is going to get in trouble though.

I'm in HR and there are sometimes we will contest unemployment if we fire someone. Reason for that is that it impacts the company in a higher tax that they have to pay. The only times we do this is if it was egregious, ex: stealing

Ultimately it's the state that makes the determination if you are eligible. Just know, if they come back and say you are not eligible for unemployment you can request a hearing to fight and possibly overturn that.

[thebreakfastclub]

When I was fired, I ended up having to speak with a rep from the unemployment office. Something was denied at first - I can't even remember what anymore, that was almost a decade ago. I think there was a dispute on dates or something. Anyway, I talked to the rep and told him that I was let go, I had no warning on performance, etc. In reality, my boss was let go the same day, so I think they just cleaned house or whatever.

The guy was very nice and listened to my account. It's not an inquisition, they just want to gather facts.
A few days later, my claim was approved. Also do not wait even if you got severance. I double dipped my 16 weeks of severance and qualified for max unemployment.

[thebreakfastclub]

Also stop caring if your former employer gets into trouble for anything!

[jlt19]

I’m really sorry you’re dealing with this.

DH was just fired for lack of performance last Monday, without any warning (that I know of). I filed for him because I’ve done it before and we honestly don’t have a computer at home yet because we all used work/school computers.

At first I put he was “discharged/fired” and it asked all of those questions. Since I didn’t have all the answers, I went back and put “laid off/lack of work”, and no questions further. Obviously that’s state dependent, but I felt it was the easiest way for all parties involved.

His has been accepted, so I guess they were ok not getting into details.

I hope you find something soon and this will give you the time to heal from what sounds like a toxic situation.

[wildrice]

No, they won't get in trouble - though they are NOT your problem even if they did. They can contest paying unemployment but if they don't have anything documented, its unlikely they'll win. They likely will know this and won't even fight it in that case. I think more often than not its not worth the time and effort for a company to fight UE, so you'll probably be just fine.

[fiddles]

Feb 6, 2023 21:11:14 GMT -5 jlt19 said:

I’m really sorry you’re dealing with this.
[br

Not to worry you, but be careful as they may come back with additional questions. I believe in my state they will conditionally approve you for some reasons. If the former employer provides different information it may cause an issue.

[jlt19]

Feb 6, 2023 21:19:12 GMT -5 fiddles said:

Feb 6, 2023 21:11:14 GMT -5 jlt19 said:

I’m really sorry you’re dealing with this.
[br

Not to worry you, but be careful as they may come back with additional questions. I believe in my state they will conditionally approve you for some reasons. If the former employer provides different information it may cause an issue.

Thanks. They told him he could file, so I’d be shocked if they contested it, but if that happens, it’s on him. I’m trying to be supportive and understanding but my patience is quickly waning.

[fernweh]

Honestly I think you’ll be fine. Back when I had to deal with this I contested paying someone because they had voluntarily quit. I had a written resignation and time clock punches showing they just quit coming to to work the day after putting in two weeks notice and they still won.

I’m sorry you have to deal with this. I hope you get a quick approval.

[msmerymac]

Feb 6, 2023 22:20:08 GMT -5 jlt19 said:

Feb 6, 2023 21:19:12 GMT -5 fiddles said:

Not to worry you, but be careful as they may come back with additional questions. I believe in my state they will conditionally approve you for some reasons. If the former employer provides different information it may cause an issue.

Thanks. They told him he could file, so I’d be shocked if they contested it, but if that happens, it’s on him. I’m trying to be supportive and understanding but my patience is quickly waning.

I think they legally need to give everyone information on filing for unemployment (may be state-dependent?), but I really doubt anything will come back. In all my life I think I've had 1 employer who contested an unemployment claim, MAYBE two. Just generally, not for me specifically. And one was because the person filed after she had only been there for 3 weeks, when she was still on probation.

[noodleoo]

Feb 7, 2023 7:09:26 GMT -5 fernweh said:

Honestly I think you’ll be fine. Back when I had to deal with this I contested paying someone because they had voluntarily quit. I had a written resignation and time clock punches showing they just quit coming to to work the day after putting in two weeks notice and they still won.

I’m sorry you have to deal with this. I hope you get a quick approval.

Really?  I have quit 2 jobs voluntarily without another lined up (oh actually 3) and I never filed for unemployment because I assumed I couldn't since I quit my job!

[fiddles]

Feb 6, 2023 22:20:08 GMT -5 jlt19 said:

Feb 6, 2023 21:19:12 GMT -5 fiddles said:

Not to worry you, but be careful as they may come back with additional questions. I believe in my state they will conditionally approve you for some reasons. If the former employer provides different information it may cause an issue.

Thanks. They told him he could file, so I’d be shocked if they contested it, but if that happens, it’s on him. I’m trying to be supportive and understanding but my patience is quickly waning.

In that case I wouldn't worry.  Typically in those situations with us we don't even respond to the claim from the state and it gets approved.  That may have been what happened here.

[cjcouple]

Id actually write down everything you can remember now about what your experience was as an employee. All good and bad performance experiences, also exactly what they said to you during the let go.

My DH was laid off from a retail job he had been at since he was 16 (24 years). For a long time, he was part time. Sometimes only working Sundays for extra money along side his FT job. He eventually decided to try full time and was in his role for about 3 years before the firing. The Store Manager was looking for any reason to get rid of him. He started writing him up for ridiculous things like not realizing 2 carriages were left in the parking lot corral when he left, or not restocking all bags, even not noticing one of the belts was dirty. The final write up and firing was because a part time cashier said she couldn't work a shift and couldn't find someone to cover. He said he would try to help her BUT if he can't find someone they may write her up as a no show. Well, he was unable to find coverage. He left a note on the register assignment clip board before he left so the CSM would see it in the morning. He was written up and finally fired for NOT emailing and only writing a note. Absurd.

HR gave him the unemployment paperwork and he filed. The State approved it and paid out for a while. Eventually he got a new job and moved on. Well, the employer decided to fight the UEI. The state had already paid out 8k to us and he wasn't even collecting anymore. So he gathering everything he had and trying to remember things 6 months post firing. What he experienced, how everything went down, times/dates, brought his "excellent customer service slips" they used to hand out for doing a great job on something, his last couple evals/reviews, also his raise information, and wrote down every incident he was written up for and why that he remebered.

He brought it all with him to the meeting with the DOL Judge and his smug Manager sat across from him with their HR representative and tried claiming all these false things. My husband had proof on everything he tried lying about in the managers own handwriting. He had dates wrong, inaccurate recollection of events, and ended up looking like a fool I guess. Finally the judge said it was the employers responsibility to prove he falsely applied for UEI and they failed to do so and sided with us so we did NOT need to pay back the benefits we received. It was extremely stressful dealing with.

I highly doubt this will happen to you, but it is a good idea just to write everything down and file it away and keep anything you feel will help your case and that you were in fact working to your best abilities and not purposely setting out to be fired. I really don't think you'll need it but worst case you will have a clear recollection of things. This hearing was literally 6 months after he was fired so difficult for him to remember everything.

[fernweh]

Feb 7, 2023 11:14:44 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Feb 7, 2023 7:09:26 GMT -5 fernweh said:

Honestly I think you’ll be fine. Back when I had to deal with this I contested paying someone because they had voluntarily quit. I had a written resignation and time clock punches showing they just quit coming to to work the day after putting in two weeks notice and they still won.

I’m sorry you have to deal with this. I hope you get a quick approval.

Really?  I have quit 2 jobs voluntarily without another lined up (oh actually 3) and I never filed for unemployment because I assumed I couldn't since I quit my job!

Technically if it’s a voluntary quit you aren’t eligible but we denied, she appealed and won so 🤷‍♀️

[DefenseAgainstTheDarkArts22]

Unemployment for performance is actually quite a difficult claim for the employer to win. In most states, they need to prove that they know you can do the job well and are choosing not to. Think something like you are performing at 90x per month. After a conversation with your supervisor that you need to shower before work you are now performing at 30x per month. Performance conversations happened and we're documented and performance did not increase. Just general "eh, we need you to do X and you are only at Y" is GENERALLY not disqualifying.