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Terminated via Internal Ethics Policy-Is this "Gross Misconduct"?

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FiredinNJ

Junior Member
My question pertains to "gross misconduct" when being fired and if that language has to be used vs. breaking an internal policy.

I was recently terminated for mismanaging my PERSONAL bank account by overdrawn my account. The accounts were monitored by my employer.

I was called in one day to ask if i did this on purpose and i explained that on the 3 occasions it was NOT my intent to overdraw and that they were mistakes due to mismanagement of my checkbook and timing of transactions.

I was then called in and told my employment was being terminated and reminded that the internal Code of Ethics Policy requires that all employees effectively manage their personal accounts.

So my question is this: Is this this Gross Misconduct in terms of denial of COBRA and UI Benefits or does the employer need to explicitly state those words during termination and as termination reason on your file?

As i prepare for my non-monetary call with claims adjuster i wanted to know if they were required to say those words or is it determined by the state?

Hope to be back to work by then......
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
There is no legal definition of "gross misconduct".

Nor is the standard of gross misconduct for COBRA, and for UI, the same. This is definitely not gross misconduct for purposes of COBRA. In my opinion, it is not gross misconduct for purposes of UI, but that is less certain - it would depend on certain variable factors. There is no requirement that the employer "say the words"; who does and who does not qualify for UI is ALWAYS determined by the state.
 

commentator

Senior Member
In unemployment, it's a claims ajudicator who'll be making the decision on your initial appeal. And the employer doesn't get to decide whether you are approved for benefits, regardless of what term they use for the reason they terminated you. The state will make a decision, and then either party will be able to appeal this first decision and have a hearing.

What the ajudicator will attempt to determine is this...did the employer have a clearly stated policy about this sort of behavior? You said they were monitoring your bank account, which if they had some sort of arrangement that they monitored your personal bank accounts, I'm betting they probably had a lot of documented policies about how they expected you to maintain those accounts and what the penalties were if you failed to meet those expectations.

In other words, did you know that if you overdrew your account, did not practice good management of your finances, you were likely to be fired by your employer? Did you have any control over whether the account was overdrawn? In other words, was it overdrawn due to your own negligence, or was there an unavoidable reason, such as the bank losing a deposit or something? Mismanagement of your account and bad timing of checks, what they used to call "kiting checks", is something that you might actually have been considered to have control over and might very well be considered a good reason to terminate you, depending on what their definition of "good financial management" is.

Loosely defined, misconduct is something that the employer has set up as wrong, and that you have had warnings about and were fully informed about in the company's handbook and that was a part of the regular operating policies of the company. You knew what their expectations were, and did not meet them. A pattern of progressive discipline for this offense will strengthen the employer's case that you had control of your behavior and chose to do something you knew might lead to your termination.

Gross misconduct, loose definition for unemployment purposes, is something so bad that you knew that it probably would be a reason to terminate you, even the first time. Embezzling from the company's bank account, for example, or cursing out your supervsior or setting the building on fire.

But it does not have to be proved that you committed gross misconduct to keep you from receiving benefits, just that you did something that you had control over that you knew might lead to your termination.
 
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