Surviving Unemployment -- Fired Unfairly

The words no hard working employee, who has dedicated more than 15 years of service, want to hear is:

"I'm sorry Mrs. Newman, but we have to let you go because your performance no longer meet our standards despite the many warnings we gave you to correct this problem."

Followed by a letter officially firing them with a list of made up "issues" they had grown tired of and demand you sign the letter and return the keys to the office.

At this point, the most you can do is tell them that they have fired you unfairly and if they don't wish to listen, then walk out of their office calmly and begin packing your personal belongings. If they demand that you leave immediately and tell you that they will box your stuff personally and arrange a time that you can pick them up. Refuse the offer and explain that you would rather pack your own things and just leave. If they demand you leave immediately without question, then refuse to return the keys to the building until they have at least allowed you to finish packing and load the box into your car personally. If they want to watch you pack your stuff, that is fine just don't rant or mumble and If you have to cry, then cry.

You should never let them touch your belongings. Why? Because I know for a fact that they will go through your stuff. I know this because I was once the employee assigned to pack the "box" belonging to a fired co-worker and watched my employers and supervisors sort through that person's belongings for "office property" or take the items they wanted to keep for themselves. I was also the person who trusted a former employer at a Real Estate office to pack my things and found they poured something sticky over it, broke a few trinkets and some of my personal memorabilia is missing from the box when I went to pick it up after hours so the customers didn't see me. Nice, huh?

Once you leave the office go straight home to cry and vent. Trust me, at this point you are not going to be able to think clearly because emotionally you're hurt, even shocked and its already bad enough that you are going to be riding that emotional roller-coaster all night long. Trust me, its draining. Start fresh the next morning with a clear mind.

No matter how long you worked in an office or even considered the employer or supervisor a good friend. Once you have been fired, all ties should be severed. Why? They are no longer friends and they will begin lying to save their own jobs soon, keep reading.

Writing letters and filing a claim

After a good breakfast, collect any and all documents the company has ever given you. Documents like letters of achievements, recommendations, warning letters, reprimands, any negative notes or jokes they have left on your desk and the termination letter. If you have a way to make copies of the documents, make several copies because you will need them soon.

Once you have collected all the documents, write a letter of grievance to your employers stating how you felt about the situation and explain why you felt their termination of your position was unfair. Then explain you would like to file a formal grievance with the company's human resources department. They are going to expect a letter of grievance from you anyway. Put a stamp on it and mail it to them on your way to the Unemployment Office in your area.

At the Unemployment Office the first thing they will ask you the reason you are unemployed. Tell them you were fired unfairly and wish to file a claim. The paper work is long, but no matter what be truthful and explain everything in the space provided on the form, ask for extra sheets of paper if its going to take more than five lines to explain how you were treated unfairly. Be consistent and use the exact dates for any reprimands given, comments regarding your performance, any unpaid hours you've worked outside of your normal work hours because the supervisor asked you to and the names of everyone involved in this matter. Before handing the claim back to them attach copies of all the documents pertaining to the case with a clip and turn it in. The more evidence you can provide to support your claim the better.

Once your claim has been filed, time to visit the local library and do some research. Why? Because your company will rush to file an appeal to deny you benefits the moment the unemployment office sends them a form stating that you are applying for benefits. That's why.

Researching Unemployment Laws

*Note that my information only applies in the state of North Carolina, and requirements for benefits may differ in other states.

First find out what can disqualify you for benefits, because this is what your employer will use to find an excuse to disqualify you for benefits. Remember, go through the law with a fine tooth comb and find any and all that applies to your situation, this is your money your fighting for.

In North Carolina, you can not be disqualified if you must leave work because of health condition of an employee or because of a child or elderly person in their legal custody, or if they employee gave the employer reasonable time of notice prior to leaving the office according to General Statute 96-14. In other words, if had reasonable cause for leaving work they can not deny you benefits. You explained your situation and asked permission to take care of personal matters and they agreed, they can't use that against you. You can be disqualified if you were discharged for any misconduct at work, reported to work under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs, convicted for manufacturing or selling controlled substances, harass or display violence towards employer or co-workers. The list goes on. (Again, check with the laws in your area as this only applies to NC.)

But let's focus on the current situation which is being fired because your performance no longer meets their requirements. In GS 96-14 (2a) "...such an individual is, at the time the claim is filed, unemployed because he was discharged for substantial fault on his part connected with his work not rising to the level of misconduct. Substantial fault is defined to include those acts or omissions of employees over which they exercised reasonable control and which violate reasonable requirements of the job..."

Basically if you are unable to perform to their standards because you either lack the skills or equipment to perform the job, its not your fault. As long as you did the job they gave you, it shows it was not your fault you didn't meet the company's standards.

Locate your state's general statute for unemployment and make copies of it for yourself. If you're not sure what you are looking for, don't worry, you can always return to the library because an appeals referee will send you a letter explaining what your company is filing the appeal for and will list the statutes that applies to the case. Locate and copy those statutes and highlight only that which applies to your situation.

Believe me, you will be shocked when you hear the lies they will be telling the appeals referee.

Until this case is closed, remember to keep everything that is sent to you by both the Appeals Court Referee and your Company. Make several copies. Keep one copy for your records and one for yourself to use when you are heard by the appeals referee. To make sure he has a copy, you are allowed to send it to him personally before the hearing.

The Hearing

It's nerve wracking to either sit in front of your former employers before the appeals referee or even hear them mumble in the background if the referee chooses to do the hearing via teleconference. Whatever you do, show no fear. Sit up straight, stay focus and resist the urge to argue with your former employer and supervisor as this will harm your chances of winning. If you sent the appeals referee documents supporting your case, you are one step ahead of the game. But make sure to have a copy in front of you, because they will be checking for consistency in your claim.

The hearing may take an hour depending on all the evidence either side has produced. No matter what happens, do not lose your temper, argue with anyone or curse. Or you can kiss your benefits goodbye. Remain calm and professional as if you are participating in an interview, save your personal comments for the end of the hearing when the referee will allow you to speak uninterrupted. Explain how you felt that you were fired unfairly and tell the referee your opinion as to why you think you were really fired in a calm voice. If you must cry, try to stay calm. It's almost over at this point and any thing you do will effect the referee's decision.

After the Hearing

After the hearing, you have to wait for the referee's decision. This could take anywhere from one to three weeks depending on your case. If you lost the case, you can file another appeal and start the process over again, except this time dig deeper into your documents, case files and employment history to provide more evidence.

If you won the case, congratulations, the Unemployment Office will immediately mail all the necessary documents you need to begin receiving benefits. Note these benefits only last a year and you may have to file these documents again to continue receiving benefits if you are unsuccessful in finding a job that year. So keep everything in your records because you may need them again.

Information source: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_96/GS_96-14.html