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Unemployment Claim

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jc8024

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? FL

Hello, I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this but here goes...

I was employed full-time with Company A from 06/08-05/09. I quit Company A in order to take a job with Company B (higher pay). I worked at Co. B for a month and a half and was then terminated because I wasn't catching on (no misconduct). I haven't been able to find a job since, so filed for unemployment on 09/13. I received an initial determination letter, dated 09/21, stating the weekly amount I would receive and that I was eligible (assuming there isn't an appeal from former employer). I registered online and claimed weeks for the first time on 09/28. I haven't received a final determination or deposit (to be fair, I didn't expect this to be a quick process), so I called the Unemployment office today to check the status of my claim and they said it was still under review and to continue claiming my weeks until I get a response.

Two questions:

1. Am I eligible even though I was only with Company B (who terminated my employment) for a month and a half, and voluntarily left Company A?

2. Is there any limit to how long a claim can be "under review" before making a determination? In other words, is there a general response time on this?

Apologies for my ignorance (!), I'm pretty uneducated on these matters. However, I did read the '09 FL Statutes on unemployment and it said something along the lines of: if, after 20 days, the initial determination is uncontested it becomes final. So that's another 4 days away. But if it is contested (my termination from Company B was pretty clear cut, so I don't see how that could happen -- unless Company A comes into play), do I find out soon after the 20 or could it end up a mystery for any length of time?

Thanks in advance!
 


ecmst12

Senior Member
Why on earth didn't you file as soon as you became unemployed? That is likely what was complicating the claim.
 

jc8024

Junior Member
Why on earth didn't you file as soon as you became unemployed? That is likely what was complicating the claim.
Good question. I never considered unemployment, just started looking for a new job. It wasn't until recently, when a family member made the suggestion, that I even looked into it. Unemployment always seemed like a faraway statistic to me, and something my Dad received in the 80s. Surely not for the likes of lil' ole' me! :eek:
 

commentator

Senior Member
Well, lil ole me, you can't receive anything for weeks you were off before you filed.And because unemployment is not a needs based income support program, you can't sue them for causing your financial ruin by not getting your money to you timely enough after you did file.

It is a very common misconception that unemployment is a "welfare thing" and that you should not file until you have tried and failed to find another job. I'm glad someone cued you in before you lost the quarters monetarily necessary to set up a claim. You received notice that you had enough wages to set up a claim, and that a claim had been set up for you for x amount of money, for x number of weeks, not that it had been approved.

Under the very best of circumstances, for a simple claim due to lack of work, it takes about three to four weeks to get your first check. Your claim, because of the fact that you were terminated for performance issues from your last employer, will take longer. This is perfectly legal and appropriate.

You have a claim set up. You have begun to file for weeks of unemployment as they have passed. Continue to do so. If the claim is approved, you will be back paid for all but the first week you have filed for. (Florida is a waiting week state.)

You should hear from someone in the unemployment office soon, asking you a series of questions, such as, "had you been trained on your job?" and "did you do your job to the best of your ability?" and "did you receive any warnings that your performance of the job was not up to par?" This should be an approvable claim, because if you did the job as best you could, and your performance was not up to snuff, but you did not quit, they terminated you, this will usually get you approved. Of course, they verify this with the employer, too. If the employer has not responded to their inquiries within a certain number of days, they assume the claimant's statement of reason for termination to be accurate.

But...this is going to take some time. In the best of times, the goal is to get an initial decision out within a certain number of days. However, in this economic situation, most of the delay due to heavy work load has been pretty much overlooked. They just do it as best they can. Six to eight weeks wouldn't be uncommon. Keep doing those weekly certifications. You should receive an "initial decision" pretty soon. And then, backpay, and the regular weekly pay for weeks filed for will begin.

Either you or the employer has the power to appeal this first decision. If the employer did lay you off due to performance during the early stages of your employment, they probably won't appeal the claim ( if approved.)
 

jc8024

Junior Member
Thanks for the quick response, commenter! Lawsuit? Never. Only the most grievous injustice could pry one of those from my person.

My curiosity has been satisfied. I will continue to file and wait it out... Thanks again!
 

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