• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

fired, unemployement denied, appeal filed...looking for advice.

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

turdferguson

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

Hey guys, I'm hoping I posted this in the right section. I'm looking for some advice.

In May, I was fired from a coffee shop that I worked at for almost two years. The reason I was fired was because I gave a customer one free cup of coffee. This was a customer who came in there very regularly. On this particular occasion he had forgotten his wallet and didn't realize it until after i gave him his drink. Now this wasn't an uncommon practice at my job. He had promised that he would come back to pay for it. Most regular customers like this person have accounts on the store computer/cash register. This account usually contains the customers address/phone number/ and e-mail address so getting in touch was the customer wouldn't be a problem.

what makes this a little bit confusing is that in april, a month prior to this incident, I had requested two weeks of time off in May. This really upset my boss and immediately after asking for time off she said "she didn't know if it would be possible". So a month goes by and the day before I am suppose to go on vacation she confronts me about the free coffee incident (which happened about two days prior) outside of the store and then proceeds to yell at me and curse calling me a "****ing thief" and saying that I stole from her family.

So after being fired, I filed for unemployment benefits. 5 or 6 weeks go by while they investigate my claim for unemployment benefits. Finally i get a letter in the mail stating that I was denied unemployment because i was discharged for unemployment. I immediately filed for an appeal and I finally got a letter in the mail stating that my court date for the appeal is next Wednesday.

at the time that I was fired, the customer still had not paid for his coffee drink. So when my boss brought that up I even offered to pay for it myself.

sorry for the long post, but if anybody does read this I would just like some advice as to what will happen with my appeal or if I have any real chance at winning this appeal.

Thank you for your time.
 
Last edited:


xylene

Senior Member
Go to the appeal.

That is all you can do.

Be honest.

"I extended a small coffee credit to a regular customer and recorded it, in keeping with a company policy of doing so."
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
Let me clarify 2 points first.

First of all, the ruling was that you were fired for misconduct not unemployment.

Secondly, the appeal hearing is not a court proceeding. It's an administrative hearing with an appeals examiner.

Now as far as the misconduct is concerned, unless you are withholding something huge, your employer has a pretty weak case. For an employer to make a strong case for misconduct based upon a single rule violation, they either have to prove the conduct of the employee was egregious (like coming to work drunk) or that they had a zero-tolerance policy which they consistently enforced. Neither applies here as far as I can tell.

At the hearing, answer the questions directly and to the point. Do not repeat yourself if you can help it. (invariably some of the same information ends up being repeated). You will be given an opportunity to make a statement. State clearly but simply that you did the best you could, didn't realize you were breaking the rules since it happened all the time, and wanted to keep your job.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top