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Employer said i did not return equipment

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salt

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? IN

I am a former corrections officer that quit my job due to some very hinky circumstances regarding the administration level of the facility. I am currently battling them in an unemployment appeal. The very last day I did return my equipment. In the argument they are making; they are saying I did not. They did not give me a receipt stating that I returned my tools, and never contacted me regarding this issue. The appeal hearing is coming soon, is there a way to prove that I did not keep their items? I hate nothing more than being called a liar when I am honest and upfront with my employers.

Thank you in advance for any information you can provide to me.

Sincerely,
Hypertension
 
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commentator

Senior Member
Okay, the unemployment appeal cannot be about whether or not you returned their equipment. Because that took place after you "quit my job." Regardless of the reason, approval or denial of unemployment benefits is about the reason you are not working any more, not what happened after you quit or were fired regarding your final paycheck, or equipment you did or did not return.

If you quit a job, which you did, you must, in order to receive unemployment benefits, show that you had a very good work related reason to quit. If you were being singled out, treated unfairly, asked to do something illegal or unethical, to misrepresent data, etc. that might be considered a good enough reason to self-terminate that you would have a chance of being approved for benefits.

If then your employer comes up with, "Well, he didn't return our equipment when he quit!" or "He spat on the floor as he was leaving," or even "He punched someone in the face when we fired him!" that is irrelevant to the reason for termination, and should not be a factor in whether or not the claim is approved. If they want to, they can press charges against you for the theft of the supposedly stolen equipment, but that you did or did not return the equipment after leaving is not the reason you left, and should not have anything to do with your unemployment approval or denial. And that is all that this hearing is designed to deal with.

If they bring it up in the hearing, you sit there and listen to their statement. You do not get up and object, you do not yell out, "That's a lie!" you do not even have to produce proof of the return of the materials. You simply, when your time to speak comes, say, "I did return the work materials they are referring to. They should have them, because on April 7th, I turned them over to Joe Blow, my former supervisor."

That's all you have to say. That's all you need to say. Forget all the "I hate so bad to be called a liar, I want to make these suckers pay...." just be polite, professional and move on. I suspect that your "hypertension" screen name may indicate someone who's very high strung, and this will not serve you well in the hearing. State your case, which will be the reason you decided to quit your job, quietly and simply, and stay away from irrelevant arguments with the hearing officer OR the former employer.

Whether or not you had a good work related reason to quit the job is the only issue you should be interested in, and should be the only thing the appeals officer is interested in hearing about.
 
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swalsh411

Senior Member
I'm not sure what "hinky" means, but since you quit, you bear the burden of proof to show you had good cause, and that's a high burden to reach. Simply disagreeing with how the facility was run, not liking your boss, or him not liking you won't be good enough. You will have to show there was something going on that was grossly improper, immoral, or illegal. I suspect you think your chances or getting approved are much greater than they actually are.
 

salt

Junior Member
okay here is another question.

i was approved for my UI last year. it then came time for my extension. they put my acct on hold, i had an interview with one of their people that decide on the case to approve the unemployment. the euc was denied. the company did not fight me the first time, but they responded the second, should this have been thrown out, since i was granted my ui in the first place?
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Not necessarily. Each case stands alone. The fact that your employment ended a year ago for a qualifying reason is not a guarantee that when it ended this year it was also for a qualifying reason.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Not necessarily. Each case stands alone. The fact that your employment ended a year ago for a qualifying reason is not a guarantee that when it ended this year it was also for a qualifying reason.
???

This is relating to an extension of an existing claim - one in which the OP was already approved and has been collecting for a year.
 

salt

Junior Member
the reason i ask is because i spoke with a lawyer that was familiar with normal ui and not the euc.
 

commentator

Senior Member
Say whattttt???

Okay, you quit your job due to "hinky" circumstances last year. Or some time in the last year, right?
You were approved for unemployment insurance. You have not worked again.(??) You drew out all the money in your regular claim. The time came for you to receive EUC. Then suddenly they re-adjudicated your original approval????? Will not happen.

The only reason you could be approved for or disapproved for an extension is if you had returned to work somewhere and changed your separating employer, or if you had returned to work for the same company and changed your reason for separation. Otherwise, there could be monetary eligibility issues regarding the EUC or there could be problems related to your compliance with work search or participation in their work search activities. But they do not re-ajudicate the original separation issue at the time you file for EUC. There is no such thing as an attorney who specializes in EUC issues, as opposed to an attorney who specializes in regular unemployment. Because there's really no difference.


After you have applied for a regular claim and been approved, and have used up all your regular state benefits, maximum 26 weeks in your state, then you are set up on EUC. If you have returned to work after you were approved for the original claim, and a whole year has not passed since the last claim was filed, and you then lose or quit this new job, you will be reapplying for unemployment, and the only unemployment you would qualify for is the Federal extended benefits.

The state administers this program, and approval or disapproval for EUC is the same as for regular state benefits, will use all your state's same statutes and processes to determine separation based approval or denial. Likewise, the employer and the employee have the same opportunities to appeal a separation decision, there is no difference in whether or not the original claim was approved ---IF there has been another stint of work since the original claim approval.

If the person quit, filed for benefits, was approved, exhausted all regular state claim eligibility, and was ready to begin EUC, there is no way they'd go back and reopen the question of eligibility based on the original separation/// or whether the person had returned equipment or tools since that original separation. There's something else going on here we're not hearing.
 
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salt

Junior Member
You are right, there is an explanation. You have helped me with what I need to know. Like I said in the PM I did not want to air out all of the laundry on a message board. Thanks! I appreciate the help.
 

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