Twc denial of unemployment benefits appeal

[jbennett87]

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

I am appealing the APPEAL TRIBUNAL decision. I don’t feel like the hearing officer listened to anything I had to say and it’s evident in the “Finding of Facts” notes she submitted. My argument is that the employer “CITI” did NOT follow their own policy. The termination policy as stated in the employee hand book is to first be written up on an “Action Plan”. Then given a “Final Warning”, and then “Termination”. During my last Manager review, my manager advised me of the Steps to termination and he also CLEARLY AND DIRECTLY told me I was NOT being written up. This was just a verbal warning about my attendance. I faxed in the email confirming our conversation to the hearing officer, however, she did NOT admit it into evidence. I was also able to prove that the information listed on the timeline submitted as evidence from the “Citi” was inaccurate as well. Starting with my return from leave. I had vacation time that was approved by Citi in May that was coded no call no show. This is not the first time I have had time approved off and then deleted, I have also advised my manager of this error since all time was approved on the computer. Also, we were able to determine that the supposed conversations prior to my first manager review on June 22, did not happen and that the final point of contact on July 26 where I was coded no call no show, I actually came in that day and was asked if I wanted to take a 30 day unpaid leave of absence, which I turned down, advised of my termination, and asked to hand in my badge. I was then coded unplanned/ no call no show AFTER being advised of my termination. Two main things I want to point out, I was a victim of a domestic situation with my husband that involved a gun, and me suffering from injuries. I advised that at that time I had no protective order, BUT, it is active NOW. I had to go to court for it. As a result of the domestic situation, my husband was removed from the home. I have police report and court documentation. I had my three children with me and I don’t feel I was allowed time to rectify the situations at hand. I was already advised after my car accident on June 3, 2013 that Citi does not honor doctor’s notes. I would greatly appreciate it if I could have my case re-opened and re-examined. My former employer fails to note that prior to my leave of absence, I had not missed ONE day during my pregnancy since July 2012. Even after having my manager prior to Steven Nguyen, retaliated against me in front of the entire staff, I still did not miss a day. I have already expressed my concerns. What are my chances of winning the Appeal to the Commission?

 

[TheGeekess]

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

I am appealing the APPEAL TRIBUNAL decision. I don’t feel like the hearing officer listened to anything I had to say and it’s evident in the “Finding of Facts” notes she submitted. My argument is that the employer “CITI” did NOT follow their own policy. The termination policy as stated in the employee hand book is to first be written up on an “Action Plan”. Then given a “Final Warning”, and then “Termination”. During my last Manager review, my manager advised me of the Steps to termination and he also CLEARLY AND DIRECTLY told me I was NOT being written up. This was just a verbal warning about my attendance. I faxed in the email confirming our conversation to the hearing officer, however, she did NOT admit it into evidence. I was also able to prove that the information listed on the timeline submitted as evidence from the “Citi” was inaccurate as well. Starting with my return from leave. I had vacation time that was approved by Citi in May that was coded no call no show. This is not the first time I have had time approved off and then deleted, I have also advised my manager of this error since all time was approved on the computer. Also, we were able to determine that the supposed conversations prior to my first manager review on June 22, did not happen and that the final point of contact on July 26 where I was coded no call no show, I actually came in that day and was asked if I wanted to take a 30 day unpaid leave of absence, which I turned down, advised of my termination, and asked to hand in my badge. I was then coded unplanned/ no call no show AFTER being advised of my termination. Two main things I want to point out, I was a victim of a domestic situation with my husband that involved a gun, and me suffering from injuries. I advised that at that time I had no protective order, BUT, it is active NOW. I had to go to court for it. As a result of the domestic situation, my husband was removed from the home. I have police report and court documentation. I had my three children with me and I don’t feel I was allowed time to rectify the situations at hand. I was already advised after my car accident on June 3, 2013 that Citi does not honor doctor’s notes. I would greatly appreciate it if I could have my case re-opened and re-examined. My former employer fails to note that prior to my leave of absence, I had not missed ONE day during my pregnancy since July 2012. Even after having my manager prior to Steven Nguyen, retaliated against me in front of the entire staff, I still did not miss a day. I have already expressed my concerns. What are my chances of winning the Appeal to the Commission?

Slim to none.

 

[cbg]

Google, employment at will

 

[swalsh411]

I don't agree with either of the responses so far. Appeal the decision. The first-level examiner rarely even looks at evidence and just takes the parties for their word. At the next level, the evidence you present will be looked at.

So you are saying you were fired for a single no-call no-show? Even if they coded it wrong, a single no-call no-show is not misconduct.

Or if I am wrong, how many actual no-call no-shows did you have prior to this? (or other attendance issues or write-ups)

P.S. This isn't an "employment at will" issue. Don't let that confuse you one iota. Your termination was not unlawful. The issue is your eligibility for unemployment.

 

[commentator]

If this was the decision of the appeals tribunal, then the next appeal is to the board of review, whatever they may call this in Texas. And the look they give it is cursory at least, checking to make sure that unemployment insurance law was followed in the making of the decision, and that no new evidence has come to light.

OP, you are not understanding the issues involved here. If you violated the attendance policy, whether or not you were given warnings isn't a relevant factor. As long as you were absent the requisite number of times for them to decide to fire you, and you had reason to believe your attendance was making you vulnerable to termination, whether you got an oral or a written warning isn't important. The company does not have to follow its own policies in order to terminate you legally.

Regardless of where you were in the attendance spectrum, a no call/no show absence, even one, is considered misconduct. They do not have to accept either a medical excuse or a "domestic violence" excuse and not terminate you. There's no law anywhere that says they have to. Obviously, the appeals tribunal found your last absence to have been for a personal, not a medical excuse, and they agreed that you had been fired for a valid misconduct reason (attendance, I'm guessing.) Attendance is the simplest reason to terminate and have your former employee denied unemployment.

It's classic that unemployment savvy employers will catch you when you are out for a non medical reason and terminate at that point, regardless of where you are in their attendance/disciplinary process especially if you load up the gun and hand them a no call/no show chance to terminate you. Most common company usually policies state that no call no show can be considered grounds for immediate termination.

I don't think you have much of a chance at all of winning this argument in appeal to the board of review, much less any worth in carrying it beyond that, which would be the regular court system. You were absent, from the sound of it, the last time you were absent, you were a no call no show, regardless of reason. IF THEY WANT TO, they can legally fire you after an incident like this. That's at-will employment. The Texas unemployment system, very much at present, is slanted toward the employer and they are usually given the strong benefit of the doubt if there is any kind of leeway or decision call in the hearing. But I'm not even seeing one of those here.

 

[commentator]

By the way, the domestic violence protection provision that Texas was FORCED to insert into their unemployment laws as a condition of receiving some of the federal extension money would not have been relevant in your case, because it applies only if a person can document that they were forced to leave the job due to domestic violence issues that have been documented through the courts and medically (if there have been injuries).

Nowhere does it apply that you have to be given undiscipline-worthy time off from your work just because you said you were having domestic violence issues. And when the unemployment claim was taken, previous excuses and reasons for absences are not examined anyway. They are looking at the LAST absence from work, not the validity of the reasons or approvals or point counting of your previous absences.

 

[swalsh411]

I don't think a single no-call no-show would be considered disqualifying misconduct especially if the employee had a good attendance record prior. It's a fireable offense of course, but should not get you denied from benefits.

I think the OP should continue the appeal. They have nothing to lose.

 

[commentator]

In my experience with unemployment claims, "No call no show" is a poisonous term as far as the claimant's chances of approval are concerned. The example they use of one that might not be considered gross misconduct is if you were hit by a bus on the way to work and were actually in a coma or something at the time you should have been calling in (and your family members have not been called in yet so they can't call for you) then that'd be a pretty much justifiable no call no show.

I actually saw a case like this, where the person was supposed to be at work and was involved in a serious car accident. They were approved. This poor person was begging the emergency room staff to call in to her job for her so she would not get fired before they even notified her family.

But even if you tell your employer you were being held hostage by an abusive spouse (in an incident that was undocumented by an arrest or footage of him being shot down by police) I'd bet you'd be denied unemployment. And frankly, this OP does not have good attendance record prior to the last incident. It sounds like a classic poor-attendance-full-of excuses-dancing-on-the-edge-of-termination more-personal-problems-than-Carter-has-little-liver-pills type of employee, and though the problems may be genuine hard luck and fully deserving of sympathy, employers in today's world are not in any way obliged to care. Or have a raise in their unemployment rates if the person gives them a half-decent excuse to get rid of them. (especially in the super employer friendly states like Texas.)