Was laid off, now they claim fired?

[einsturzende]

(Missouri)

Hey there. Great forum here. I was laid off recently; at least, that's what my employer told me in the exit interview. it was a small business, and they simply didn't have enough work, according to all involved.

when i filed for unemployment, they quickly responded by saying that i was tardy, and that's why they fired me. now that i'm appealing the initial decision to deny unemployment benefits, they're saying i was continuosly tardy and was even counselled on this. of course, there is no written record of this, and no reprimands, because it didn't happen!

so how do i prove that i was laid off for lack of work like i was told? can i request that they bring the company ledgers?

thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[cbg]

YOU don't need to prove a darned thing. When you go into the unemployment hearing (I assume that's what you mean) THEY are the ones who have to do the proving.

While you CAN request them to bring in the ledgers, why should you? Don't do their work for them. Let THEM think of it. If they don't provide any proof to the adjudicator, you'll win. Since THEY are the ones contesting your benefits, THEY have to prove you were fired for misconduct.

BTW, I am not in your state. However, I once did have an employee turned down for unemployment benefits because of excessive tardiness. The ONLY reason she was turned down is that I had copies of the warnings WITH HER SIGNATURE ON THEM showing not only that she'd been warned that her behavior was unacceptable, but that she knew that her job was in jeopardy. If I hadn't had HER SIGNATURE on those warnings, she'd have gotten benefits.

Every state is different and I'm not offering you guarantees. But the burden of proof is on your employer, and if they can't provide some kind of evidence that you were warned about your so-called tardiness problem, they'll lose at the hearing. Simple as that.