Who can help me out with this question on unemployment appeal filed by employer ?

Question

i was originally denied benefits saying i voluntarily quit but i appealed the decision and my employer did not show up for the phone hearing so there decision was to grant benefits but penalize me for 8 weeks for misconduct .i recieved a letter that my employer appealed the decision .i did not know that because i had appealed the 8 weeks .he showed up at the hearing and they were mainly asking him questions .i am sorry not to have gave a liittle of info on what happened .my employer had taken me off the schedule then later we had a meeting where he did not want me to record him so he asked for my keys and asked me to leave the property and called the cops.they asked why he ask for my keys, he said for security reasons ,then they asked me if i quit i said no. i know they could tell he was lying because he had no facts straight .he did not even know when the last day i worked was he gave the wrong date.then they ask me i told them. they ask if there were rules against a recorder he said no.what i need to know is will they go back and pay me the 8 weeks that i was disqualified for if they find that i was fired

Answer 1

First, let me say that your state may have different regulations than the ones I am familiar with so this may not apply.  However, I have been an employer and employee in a couple of states and in them the rules have been similar.

The period of time you have to wait to collect benefits if you quit is usually longer than the period of time that you must wait if you were fired - and sometimes, you cannot draw it until you have earned a certain percentage of your wages at another job if you quit.  It appears that they had originally determined that you quit but under extenuating circumstances so they determined that you could draw after 8 weeks and waived the earnings requirement.  If they determine now that you did not quit but were fired, there will still be a certain amount of time you are not eligible to draw.  In the states I'm familiar with, this has been from 4-6 weeks.  If your state, for example says that when you are fired you must wait 6 weeks to be eligible then you would draw for the difference between the 8 weeks they originally said and the 6 weeks determined by being fired so you would get two weeks back pay.  (Of course, one of those might be designated as your waiting week if you haven't had one.)    

Answer 2

sounds like a great place to work....no you have rights....but ultimately its on him ....i would just start looking for a job ....theres not too much you can do but tell the truth and keep appealing

Answer 3

I do not think the unemployment benefits board will give you the 8 weeks' pay.

I also think that if the former employer had been smarter, he would have said that he directed you to turn off the recorder, you refused, and he fired you for insubordination, and that would be the end of it.

He would have fired you for cause, and you'd get NO benefits.

Fortunately, he sounds like he's not very bright, and you got something out of it.

-Stuart