Fired - Am I Eligible for UI?

[Vycor]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

I already filed but won't get to talk to someone for a few days, figured i'd post here, see what others think.

I held a job as Project Manager. I started two weeks ago. I was fired today by the sales manager. My manager (VP) did not discuss the firing with me and the person above him, the President, did not discuss it either. Those two were my managers. The President instead did not come in and had the sales manager speak with me and terminate me. He was told to tell me I was let go for the following reasons

1) I was not agressive enough in getting a recent project started (access control job at a client of ours)
2) I was not agressive enough in making sure the proper insurance paperwork was ready so our crews could start the job (we needed proof of insurance for the construction company)

I feel both are reasons where I can collect unemployment. As I did everything in my power to do the job. Moreover in my defense on the two

The original start date of this project was to happen THIS week, however I was notified on 9/17 at 3pm (i was out sick) that they would be starting the job the next day. I explained we needed insurance still (we only did the walkthrough on 9/13 and informed the client at that time we'd do the installation 9/24) and attempted to get everything but it was already too late in the day for the contractors to tell us what we needed. I did get the paperwork the next morning after a few hour delay and we started.

So basically it doesnt seem like I was let go for valid reasons, more "excuses". Im not happy about being terminated, the company was doing bad and had issues with payroll but figured i should have every right to collect UI due to those reasons. The reasoning just doesnt make any sense, by them using the word "agressive enough" . meaning i should have been more agressive? Something that seems out of ones control anyway.

So what do you guys think?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

You file, you tell the truth, you did the job to the best of your ability. They weren't happy with the effort and fired you.

 

[Vycor]

Thats what I did. Told the truth. Told them exactly what happened. I have to call in a few days and elaborate, they always want a phone interview (last time i filed was about 7 years ago, similar process).

Basically from my understanding if you lose your job due to no fault of your own, you are eligible. Sounds like im eligible as it wasnt my fault they decided to change the date. Heck even if i knew about it and tried my best, i still tried my best and should be eligible, not that i didnt try. I actually did get the paperwork at the last minute, just took a few hours was all. Surely cant blame me for changing the schedule at the last minute, especially can't blame me for being new and nobody showing me what needs to be done. I even sent numerous emails asking for info on how things are done and nobody replied.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Using your own words....

I held a job as Project Manager. I started two weeks ago. I was fired today by the sales manager. He told me I was let go for the following reasons

1) I was not agressive enough in getting a recent project started (access control job at a client of ours)
2) I was not agressive enough in making sure the proper insurance paperwork was ready so our crews could start the job (we needed proof of insurance for the construction company)
The original start date of this project was to happen THIS week, however I was notified on 9/17 at 3pm (i was out sick) that they would be starting the job the next day. I explained we needed insurance still (we only did the walk through on 9/13 and informed the client at that time we'd do the installation 9/24) and attempted to get everything but it was already too late in the day for the contractors to tell us what we needed. I did get the paperwork the next morning after a few hour delay and we started.

Added by me.... I did my best to meet the requirements of my job.

 

[ecmst12]

The only question is if you were employed somewhere for long enough prior to this job to FINANCIALLY qualify for UC, since you only worked there for 2 weeks.

 

[commentator]

Very true, the first issue is whether or not there were enough wages in your history to set up a claim. This would call in all the covered wages from employers in the last two years. Your work with the current employer will be considered your last job, since you were terminated from them. Allowing you have a claim to draw, you'll begin making certifications for weeks as they go by and wait for the initial decision to be made on the claim.

You seem to believe that you will or will not get approved for benefits due to how brilliantly you argue and convince the unemployment system about everything when they call you back. That is not quite the case. Your statement about why you were terminated is taken when you file the claim. They may or may not need to call you back for more information at this point.

After the claim is filed, the company is contacted. They tell their reason why they say you were terminated. You've already given yours. If, based on the information provided to them by the employer, they need to discuss things further with you, you will get called back. If not, there's no mandatory reason why they would be calling you back. The next thing you may receive from them is a decision letter, telling you whether or not you are approved.

An ajudicator will make what is called the "initial decision." This is the first decision as to whether you were terminated from your job through no fault of your own or because of some type of misconduct. They will look at whether or not you were given the opportunity to to change your behavior and keep the job, try harder or do better, or whether it was a clear cut case of "we hired him but We weren't happy with how he was working out, what he had done so far, so we fired him" If that is the case, if you did not deliberately mess up on your job performance, sleep under a desk when you should've been working, lie and obstruct the job from getting done, then what they fired you for was not really misconduct. And you're probably very likely to be approved.

You don't automatically get a chance to provide more information or to argue your case after filing the initial claim. It all depends on how much information the ajudicator feels they need to make the decision according to unemployment law. In some cases, where the employee's story and the employer's story diverge widely (one says he was terminated for performance, the other says he was terminated for absenteeism) they could even have an initial "fact finding" hearing before making that first decision. But don't automatically assume you'll get another chance to talk to them before your claim is decided.

When terminated for performance issues, what you need to stress is that you were doing the job to the best of your abilities. That's about all they will be looking to hear.

But even if you are approved, the employer can appeal that first decision, they have the right to do so. Likewise, if you are denied, you can file the appeal, at which time there would be a hearing and a second decision is rendered.

 

[Vycor]

Figured I'd follow up. I received a letter today stating that my claim was under review and I needed to provide more info. My old emploiyer (one before my last) also received a letter in the mail on saturday asking for salary history and reasons why i left. He had faxed that back to them Monday... yet i already received the letter... telling me my last employer fought them on it.

So i wrote them back stating exactly what happened, on their paperwork and included my own words in a separate document stating what happened and that I did nothing wrong/that i could avoid.

 

[swalsh411]

Well then you did the right thing. They have every right to dispute your claim, but your former employer merely alleging misconduct is not good enough. They have to show actual evidence.

 

[Vycor]

Too bad for them they gave me a piece of paper when I left which had check marks for different things... none of them was misconduct it was "performance" that they checked off. They also did not write anything else, they just had my name, info, person who fired me and a few check marks... nothing else, very vague...