Is this legal??
The plant where I worked cut back 50% of its workforce and laid me off this month. Two months earlier I got a verbal warning for being late a couple of days and a written warning for a quality control error I made at the end of a 60 hour work week from mandatory overtime. They told me not to worry because I didn’t have enough corrective action incidents to affect my unemployment benefits. Today I received a rejection letter from unemployment and called the plant manager for an explanation. He told me that was a state unemployment decision and had nothing to do with the company. I called the unemployment office and they referred me back to the company. Rent is due next week and these people are playing games with my money. Who can I turn to for help?
@Adrian Wilson, Hello,Dear! Sorry to learn of and review your Employment plight! This occurs quite frequently in the corporate/company world. Your potential Unemployment is based upon the findings of the state unemployment boards final decision,and NOT your former employer until it is adjudicated in a collective hearing arranged in advance by the alleged employer and the State Board of Unemployment ! They inclusively make the final concrete decision. Bring all of your dossiers for solid proof of the excessive hours of mandatory times,dates,and weeks. There are state employment"Statutes" in place that explicitly prohibited egregious abuses of their "employees" by companies, and the employment Labor laws that govern protection and were implemented for a Legal reason to guard against Abuses and Corrupt employment practices. Lastly, consult with an Attorney at Law for a FREE consultation, and write your questions in advance and ponder what he recommends lawfully,and notify your contentious and dishonest former "employer" that you have obtained "Legal Counsel" to represent your interests and additionally collect if warranted, all pertinent documentation of other "Employees" that were predisposed to the same element of coercion and manipulation you personally experienced as this will give you "legal foundation" on your relevant claims and allegations! ( Justice Network National Legal Representative, M.S., double B.A., and United States Armed Forces Veteran)
You must appeal every denied unemployment claim. If you are terminated for any reason (you didn't voluntary quit) it is on the employer to prove why you aren't eligible for unemployment compensation. ALWAYS APPEAL as you will usually be denied the first time.
What state do you live in? Request a written letter from your company as to the reason of you leaving . If it says other than laid off. You can still fight it for unemployment. As far as the warnings - there needs to be a final one and it doesn't sound like you had one. Unemployment cannot be denied .
What I was told by my cousin who works for unemployment is that the company can give any reason as to why they let you go. They have a list of reasons why you are disqualified from receiving unemployment. I wanted to know what my layoff reason was and was told the company said they were going in a different direction for my management position. You might want to check with the HR department to find out what reason they gave for your dismissal.
I don't know all the particulars, but you should be entitled to unemployment. I am sorry you are going through this, I have many times myself. If you are looking for a sales job, I can help you. My email address is dnamedsolutionsllc.com It is commissioned based so I am not sure if it will help your immediate situation, but this position can be very lucrative if you are a hard worker. Good luck to you. Unemployment can be a bitch.
I figure you live in South Dakota, based on your picture icon. If so , the state is an at will employment state which means your employer needs no reason to terminate you. That also probably means they are willing to go thru the hassle of automatically denying unemployment. You should appeal but also be aggressively looking for a job. I personally would not depend on getting unemployment benefits as a given immediately. Types of jobs with needs in South Dakota are a follows---patient caretakers or children caretakers, customers service, language interpreters, truck drivers, finance managers,registered nurses, health care services and construction jobs that utilize computer skills like welding. You have a strong good employment center thru the state.gov. Hope that helps.
Everyone here has posted some fantastic answers. However, it's my opinion to move on and try to find any job (maybe a contract position since they're quick to obtain) in which you can pay your bills. You could spend a lot of time and $ just to get 0 results. It sucks, but I've been through several layoffs since I typically enjoy working for "start ups". Purchase a pressure washer, place an ad on Craigslist and get ready for business. May not be the best option but it might tie you over till you land your next opportunity.
First of all, that sucks. Second, I believe that the company is the entity that is causing you this problem since the employment office couldn't give a damn. If it was me, I'd have a very professional call with HR and try to get a better explanation. If I didn't agree with their answer, I'd follow Mariah's comments. What type of work are you interested in? Maybe I can make some suggestions.
You need a attorney. Find one that gives free consultation.
I just went through this. Welcome to the new age of companies using any legal loophole to the detriment of the employees. You were fired, not laid off. Just because it happened to a bunch of people, that no longer means its a "layoff", these days. Companies build dossiers on employees, with trumped up charges, just for this purpose. Oddly, in an "at will" employment situation they do not need a reason, but now they are pushing it to the next level by using the dossier to deny Unemployment Benefits, saying the person was fired "for cause". In my case, a month before layoff/fired, I had gotten a nice merit bonus for exceptional service, then then they fired all the Senior Engineering staff for "incompetence" a few weeks later. Then they contest your UI payoff with the UI office. I was turned down when I applied. You then have to look up, on the UI site, the procedure for appealing that ruling. You have to write up a good case, showing them you were doing your job to the best of your ability. Then wait 6 to weeks for "processing". Yes, that is correct. The company has figured out how to delay your UI for 2 months, with hopes that by then that you will give up or will have found a new job and the company won't have to go on record as having a layoff or dumping too many people into the UI system. It is quite a heartless scam, but perfectly legal.