Is Disputing Elderly Unemployment Denial a Waste of Time?

[judgediatl2]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

My mother, who is almost 70, was forced out of her job back in July (due to a change in the scheduling at work that no longer allowed part-time employees). She had been with the company for 30+ years, and dismissed with not so much as a fruit basket or card. 2-3 others were also let go, but none had been there as long as her.

She was more or less told that if she left quietly and didn't make a stink for them with the client (they worked in a major corporations building), that should would qualify for unemployment and could draw that benefit for the next little while.

So we did that, and went through the application process. Problem is (and what they didn't tell her or anticipate), is she was denied due to "...not earning enough weekly during the claimed period of 2022-2023." Basically they said she had to make at least $360 a week, and she never earned more than $240 (she cleaned bathrooms for a living, working part-time two days a week after my father passed away). It's a pathetic story really, but now she's left with no benefit she was promised (like a dangling carrot, to get her out-of-sight, out-of-mind) and unable to return to her previous work.

Is there anything we can do to appeal it and try and get it approved somehow?

 

[Zigner]

The employer doesn't determine whether or not one qualifies for unemployment compensation. If she didn't have enough earnings, then she didn't have enough earnings. She is, of course, free to appeal.

 

[cbg]

The employer has no say in whether she receives unemployment or not. The employer may well have honestly believed that she would qualify. They don't necessarily know the minimums to qualify. I didn't when I was doing HR Generalist work.

You are free to appeal the ruling with the state but it's a pretty black and white issue. Either she meets the state requirements or she doesn't. The employer's "promises" are not binding on the state.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

My mother, who is almost 70, was forced out of her job back in July (due to a change in the scheduling at work that no longer allowed part-time employees). She had been with the company for 30+ years, and dismissed with not so much as a fruit basket or card. 2-3 others were also let go, but none had been there as long as her.

She was more or less told that if she left quietly and didn't make a stink for them with the client (they worked in a major corporations building), that should would qualify for unemployment and could draw that benefit for the next little while.

So we did that, and went through the application process. Problem is (and what they didn't tell her or anticipate), is she was denied due to "...not earning enough weekly during the claimed period of 2022-2023." Basically they said she had to make at least $360 a week, and she never earned more than $240 (she cleaned bathrooms for a living, working part-time two days a week after my father passed away). It's a pathetic story really, but now she's left with no benefit she was promised (like a dangling carrot, to get her out-of-sight, out-of-mind) and unable to return to her previous work.

Is there anything we can do to appeal it and try and get it approved somehow?

If your mom doesn’t qualify for unemployment benefits because she didn’t earn enough, there is nothing to appeal.

That said, following is a link to an Ohio unemployment guide that your mom might want to read through. There is a section on the appeals process.

https://www.odjfs.state.oh.us/forms/num/JFS55213/pdf/

I agree that your mom’s situation is sad - but she can check out other resources that might be available to her in her area.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

My mother, who is almost 70, was forced out of her job back in July (due to a change in the scheduling at work that no longer allowed part-time employees). She had been with the company for 30+ years, and dismissed with not so much as a fruit basket or card. 2-3 others were also let go, but none had been there as long as her.

She was more or less told that if she left quietly and didn't make a stink for them with the client (they worked in a major corporations building), that should would qualify for unemployment and could draw that benefit for the next little while.

So we did that, and went through the application process. Problem is (and what they didn't tell her or anticipate), is she was denied due to "...not earning enough weekly during the claimed period of 2022-2023." Basically they said she had to make at least $360 a week, and she never earned more than $240 (she cleaned bathrooms for a living, working part-time two days a week after my father passed away). It's a pathetic story really, but now she's left with no benefit she was promised (like a dangling carrot, to get her out-of-sight, out-of-mind) and unable to return to her previous work.

Is there anything we can do to appeal it and try and get it approved somehow?

No, that is not the sort of thing that can be appealed. However, if she is in decent health it shouldn't be that difficult to find another part time job earning at least $240.00 a week. All kinds of places are hiring workers and many of the jobs would likely be better than cleaning bathrooms.

 

[quincy]

For services available to your mom, the information provided in the following link can be a starting point:

https://aging.ohio.gov

 

[commentator]

Sometimes an appeal just is NOT worth the time and effort. In this situation, unless she could produce evidence that some wages were not showing up in the system, there is no appeal. They may not have known she would not qualify, but even if they did, it appears there was really no stink you could have raised. If a company makes a business decision to do away with part time positions and lays off several employees because the positions were eliminated, there'd be no reason to argue that she was laid off due to her age and that it was discrimination.

Even if your mother had qualified for unemployment insurance, she would have had to meet job search requirements which have lately become extremely more stringent than in the past. At her age, the chances are excellent that she would have been selected for 'Profiling' so in order to receive those benefits IF she had qualified for them, she would have had to not only report she was able and available for work, she would probably have been one of the "one out of ten applicants who, by virtue of some characteristic, (such as age, educational level, etc) been least likely to return to work." Thus she would've been profiled and required to do extra things to receive benefits.

This profiling is a federal requirement, going on in every state, even claimant friendly ones, and she'd have had to show up regularly at a career center for career counseling and job search assistance. It would not, at her age, have been worth it, even if she did qualify, as she would've been cut off if she in any way indicated to them that she was not very actively interested in re-employment. And as someone said, there are a lot of jobs out there for this sort of work. Check into the other benefits. Given the way people feel when they are 70 plus, (speaking from experience here) work of this type becomes very hard on a body. Is she receiving social security retirement if she is financially qualified for this or SSI if she is not?