Please help Fired after 11 years

[eliasmyangel]

What is the name of your state?ca

Hello, my name is Mike. Can someone please help me understand my rights? I have worked for Trader Joes for 11 years. I was a merchant manager (one step away from having my own store). My fiancee and I have been having some problems in our relationship every since our baby Elias died. One night after work I went next door to the bar with some co-workers, had a few drinks, next thing I know, I was kissing a part timer from my store. When I got home I told my fiancee what happened and she went to the girls house(my fiancee was 9 mo preg at the time) Knocked on Karens door, Karen opened the door and Julie told her "Karen I am going to trust you and Mike that this is never going to happen again" Karen stated she was sorry , my fiancee gave her a hug and said thank you.
Karen goes to work the next day and tells the head manager what happened, then she states that Julie is a threat to her at her job. So the head manager says "mike, Julie is not to call or come into the store."
This throws Julie for a loop, Now Julie (my fiancee) felt they were condoning me and Karens relationship. Because Julie could not call me or come in to see me while at work. Mind you I work for 10 hours a day and we have 3 kids. Five days after the incident Julie gives birth to our 4th boy. I got transfered to another store for a fresh start.
The first time Julie came into the new store my manager Mark tells me, "Julie is not allowed to come in the store or call the store" To make a long story short, Trader Joes fired me for to many phone calls, they are also denying me unemployment. They said to many phone calls is misconduct. I went from making $2000.00 every 2 weeks, to having not a dime. I have a family, rent, phone, cable, electric, food, hospital bills. I earned that unemployment money. They took money out of my checks for 11 years. Thats wrong! Please help.

 

[divgradcurl]

Need more info than that...

 

[eliasmyangel]

please help fired after 11 years

Please ask me some questions so I can understand what you need to know.

 

[divgradcurl]

Okay, now's there's some info!

Trader Joes fired me for to many phone calls,

As you are probably aware, CA is an at-will state, so they can fire you for any (legal) reason, and making too many phone calls is certainly a legitimate reason (from their perspective).

they are also denying me unemployment. They said to many phone calls is misconduct.

Trader Joe's isn't denying you the unemployment; the state is. If you get fired for misconduct, the state can deny unemployment benefits. However, just because Trader Joe's characterizes your behavior as misconduct, it doesn't mean that it meets the legal definition of misconduct. You need to appeal the denial of unemployment (assuming you are still within the window to do so).

Basically, what happens when you file for unemployment, the State contacts your employer, and asks why you were fired. Basically, if it is for any reason other than "gross misconduct," the state rubber-stamps your approval, and you get your unemployment. However, if the company uses the magic words "gross miscoonduct," then the state automatically denies benefits.

When you appeal, then the state requires the employer to prove that you were fired for an offense that the state agrees is "gross misconduct." If the employer fails to prove their case to the state, then unemployment benefits are granted automatically. If the employer does prove their case, then you will be allowed to present evidence to the contrary, and the appeals board will make a decision whether or not to give you benefits. You do not need a lawyer for this.

You must appeal within the 20 day time frame they give you, or you lose the right to appeal, and it's all over. If you are still within the 20 day window, file an appeal immediately. The appeals board is on YOUR side, remember that, but until their is a hearing, they have to take the employer's word for things.

I earned that unemployment money. They took money out of my checks for 11 years. Thats wrong! Please help.

You've certainly paid into the system. Exercise your rights by filing an appeal -- these appeals are usually handled pretty quickly, so you should know something pretty quick, like within a month or two -- it may not be concluded that fast, but at least you'll know what's going on.

 

[Star43]

I agree, fight it

I understand what you did was a mistake, I'm not here to judge you. Companies don't give a crap about you and I'm so sorry you are going through this stress. We all make mistakes. Just appeal, you deserve the unemployment, but if I was you I would be looking for another job, especially with a family to feed. This will work out either way, sometimes things happen for a reason, I'm not making light of this, just trying to make you feel better, keep at it, don't give up, you will get the unemployment, but no matter what, I would find another job.....Take care and BTW, I am sorry about the death of your son...Life can be so painful ans stressful at times...you will get through this........

 

[eliasmyangel]

well heres the rest

I did appeal the unemployment about 3 weeks ago, and during the appeal, my manager started lying under oath, he stated that my fiancee walked in the store, singled a girl out, and gave her the finger. Then I said, " Arn't we under oath?" So i asked if he had witnesses to this and he said he did. So how can I get him to prove the witnesses? Can I get a re-trial? On my kids grave I know Julie did not do this. She is a nurse and very compassionate. There is nobody that would risk there job to come to a hearing if they were told to lie. The other thing is that
they did not fire me for making to many phone calls, They fired me for Julie calling the store. If they were so against me recieving a phone call from my fiancee, They know her voice, why did they get on the intercom and say "Mike line 1" they should have asked Julie not to call or they should have intercepted the call. Instead they suspended me for 2 weeks with no pay, when i came back they handed me my final check.

 

[eliasmyangel]

You all are appreciated

Thanks to everyone whom gives me input. I will take all of your advice. I need as much re assurence as I can get. Thank you

 

[divgradcurl]

I did appeal the unemployment about 3 weeks ago

Have you received any word from the appeals board on their determination?

If the appeals board rules against you, you again have 20 days to appeal that ruling to the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board in Sacramento; however, the CUIAB in Scaramento will typically only reverse the original ruling if the administrative law judge wrongly applied the law to the facts -- you don't get a chance to argue the facts again. Because of this, the CUIAB only reverses ruling maybe 5% or 10% of the time.

In any event, there's no use worrying about things until you hear back from the appeals judge. Remember, your employer has the burden of proving misconduct, and if they failed to meet that burden, then you will win.

So how can I get him to prove the witnesses?

Did he not bring the witnesses with him to the hearing?

Can I get a re-trial?

You can appeal if the judge rules against you. See above. However, you will not get a chance to retry the case in front of the ALJ.

 

[eliasmyangel]

No he did not bring any witnesses with him. He does not have any. That incident never happened and he knows it. I have not heard anything back yet.

 

[Beth3]

elias, you are focusing on the wrong aspect of the UC denial. Whether your fiance came into the store is not particularly relevant.

You had a serious lapse in judgement when, as a manager, you had a "make-out" session (and in a public place as well) with a subordinate, thereby exposing the store to a complaint of sexual harassment from this employee and seriously impairing your stature with other employees who saw it or heard about it (and you can bet everyone did.) That alone was sufficient to terminate your employment and challenge your eligibility for UC benefits. As it was, store management gave you a break by limiting their actions to requesting your fiance no longer contact you at work and transferring you to another store.

The other thing is that they did not fire me for making to many phone calls, They fired me for Julie calling the store. If they were so against me recieving a phone call from my fiancee, They know her voice, why did they get on the intercom and say "Mike line 1" they should have asked Julie not to call or they should have intercepted the call. Nope. It was YOUR responsibility to see to it that your fiance quit calling you at work.

I earned that unemployment money. They took money out of my checks for 11 years No they didn't. Unployment benefits are funded exclusively by employers who pay a payroll tax to the State.

You are free to file an appeal of the hearing decision but frankly, it doesn't look promising.