Plan of Attack

If you were fired or suspended, your former employer has to prove that there was some sort of misconduct in connection with your position. You will receive unemployment benefits if your former employer fails to demonstrate willful misconduct on our part. An employer can successfully claim that there was misconduct if:

You breached the employer’s rules
You should have known about the rules either through the handbook or some other means.
Your misconduct was not related to your position.
Your misconduct falls within breaking a known set of rules and guidelines

You will have to prove that any of the above statements are incorrect about by stating that you never violated the rule ...

Attendance falls within the misconduct guidelines but again it has to be proven that there was willful misconduct. As an employer, you train an employee and spend time and effort on them. You expect them to come to work everyday. The reason that you hire them is because you have work that needs to be done. When the interviewer considers tardiness or missing days as your reason for being terminated, they will want to know why you missed the last day prior to your termination. If the reason you missed work or was late is out of your control, you may receive benefits even with a history of being late or absent. Do not use descriptive words to speak of your absenteeism like often or many. Make s...

If you were absent from work for a period of time due to your illness or someone in your close family, you may return to work and find that you no longer have a position. Your former employer will say that you quit your job because you haven’t been to work in a long time when in fact they have terminated you. When you have your initial interview, make sure that it’s clear to your interviewer. The burden of proof then falls to your employer that they have to establish that you quit and was not fired.

Tell you interviewer that you returned to work only to find that you no longer had a job. You will need to let them know that your employer kept you from performing your duties and pro...

If you were fired because you would not follow directions of a supervisor or if you were disruptive, you can argue that your working environment was very casual. Tell your interviewer that you have even heard swear words and name calling within the environment and that your actions were normally tolerated. If you can remember any times that you exhibited the same behavior and were not reprimanded, state those times as well. You are proving that you had no idea you would get fired over something that is generally accepted by your co workers and your management staff.

If your comments were not vulgar or obscene argue that point to your employer. If there was a person who started the whole incid...

If you have been dishonest with your former employer, this is very serious. The employer cannot be expected to give you several warning for this type of behavior. Theft of company time by dishonestly changing time sheets is a common one. Most employees know that this will indeed get you to termination quicker than some of the other charges against you. If your former charges you with dishonesty, the only way to defend it is that you believe that it was misunderstood and not taken in the context that you wanted. They may have not heard you correctly or was focused on something else that took their attention away from what you were saying.

Another defense of this charge could be that you were j...

If your former employer charges you with criminal conduct, most times you will not get a second chance to do something else. You will probably be terminated right away on the bases on severity. If you did not commit the crime, you should protest the charge. You may perhaps even want to consult an attorney when you are charged with this type of allegation.

Don’t be afraid to get upset and show that you are not pleased with these type of charges against you. Offer your theory of who did it. Make sure your interviewer knows that you are not going to stand for someone saying you conducted yourself criminally because you did not do it.

Ask during the hearing if your former employer questioned...

There is a difference between drinking and being drunk at work. If your former employer fired you because you were drinking, you will be able to defend yourself at your unemployment hearing. If you didn’t drink anything, how did the charge come about? Is it because of a cough medicine that you took last night? Sometimes the cough medicines have some alcohol in them that could be present on your breath the morning after you take it. If you did drink something before work or during your work time, you must make sure you tell your interviewer that you didn’t know drinking during work was not allowed. Explain that you went to lunch and had a drink with your lunch. That you were thirs...

As we discussed before, when you participate in strikes and labor disputes, you are not eligible for unemployment benefits. If you can prove that your former employer created a lockout situation, and that you were willing to return to work but was unable to, you may receive unemployment benefits. Explain that you tried to go to work and were told not to enter.

When a labor dispute or strike begins there are a certain group of individuals who may be able to receive unemployment benefits such as:

People who aren’t a part of the labor dispute
People who aren’t part of the group who is striking
People who are not a paying member of the Labor Union.

Explain to your interviewer that you are...