thanks for the advice, i am going to apply tomorrow first thing in the morning.
I understand he has the right to fire me because it was illegal or discriminatory but I just wanted to double check on the unemployment.
Thanks for the assistance
Also-
Another question. My position is remote, so I do not go into the office. He fired me over the phone. Should I ask him to email it to me and should I log in for my normal shift tomorrow so he can't say that I just quit?
Also, I am returning the equipment back asap. What is an acceptable time frame as I was planning on going to my hometown in around 2 weeks and was just going to drop it off at the office or should I just mail it with a signature confirmation?
I suggest you mail the equipment in promptly, based on your verbal termination.
I have seen many employers withhold that last paycheck in an effort to punish people saying they didn't return their equipment. Yes it's not legal for them to do this, but it sometimes happens, and it is a real hassle to deal with anyhow. I have even seen irate employers press charges when equipment was not returned very quickly. Don't be overly saving, don't wait to get this stuff turned in, spend the money, mail it back.
BE SURE you do not indicate in any way that you quit the job. DO NOT try to log back in. This would not prove you didn't quit, but it might prove he didn't fire you. You do not want that. The understanding that you were fired was in place after your last conversation. I would not have any more conversation with him in which he might try to rescind the firing or trick you into quitting. You do not need email proof of it or any sort of written acknowledgement to file for unemployment benefits.
Since that conversation, he might have spoken to someone and decided not to terminate you, to simply let you keep working and make your life a living hell until you're compelled to quit. If you log back in and your workline is still up, your access is not terminated, and you don't go on and work, then it will look more like you quit. Quitting would greatly decrease your chances of receiving approval for unemployment benefits, as you are then out of work by your choice, not your employer's.
The first thing that will happen when you file is that they will make a monetary determination of whether you have a claim for unemployment. In order to have this, you must have had covered wages during the last 18 months from an unemployment tax paying employer. You cannot have been a 1099 paid contractor. You must have been a regular employee. If there are not enough wages to set up a claim, the whole deal is moot, you can't get one, no matter why you are no longer working.
But if you are eligible monetarily, then the next issue they'll address is why you are no longer working. You must be out of work through no fault of your own. Your employer, in order to "fight your unemployment" as he put it, would need to show proof that he had a valid work related misconduct reason to terminate you. Hint here, looking for other work while employed is not considered misconduct, unless you used the company's facilities or copy paper or something shady like that to look for other work. How did they find out you were? It's okay if you tell them, but it can very well result in what happened to you.
Performance issues are a very poor reason to use in terminating an employee for unemployment purposes. We hope he'll try to use this, and if he does, and he has no prior trail of progressive discipline and progress reports that he's given you, you've had no idea that your work performance was not acceptable, and had no opportunity to change your performance and save the job, he's not going to do too well with this.
If I were you, I wouldn't go into why you were looking for another job. You always have the right to do this. Simply say that you felt the promotional opportunities at this job were limited, or you wanted a larger salary.
When you file for benefits, they will want to hear
exactly what was said in the conversation you had with your boss that last time you talked with him. Your verbal memory of what was said will be considered just as believable as his feedback, which they will then ask for. Regardless of what he tells them, the two versions will be weighed, and the system will issue a decision about which of you is the most believable. If he submits made up evidence that he'd given you warnings about performance (this happens sometimes) you need to clearly state that you've never seen these warnings, that you did not sign them and that you had no knowledge that these warnings had been done.
In any case, you'll file for benefits, start certifying for each week that passes while you're not working. If you were to get the other job, do not stop filing for benefits until you have actually worked the first week. You're eligible for unemployment for each week from the time you file until the first week that you actually have wages. If they just call and tell you you're hired, that you start in two weeks or something like this, you do NOT stop filing for benefits as soon as you hear, rather when you actually begin work.
But it will take several weeks for a decision to be issued about whether your unemployment is approved or not. If you are approved in the initial decision, you will be back paid for the weeks you have certified for since you filed the claim. If you are approved OR denied, either party, either you or the employer can ask for a second decision. There will be a hearing at this point and both of you will be present or on the telephone, and another decision will be issued.
Warning: Even if you are approved in the first decision, and then quickly go back to work at a new job, if your employer files an appeal, DO NOT ignore it, thinking you don't need to deal with it since you're back to work anyhow. They could, if you do not take part in the appeal hearing, reverse the decision and require that you pay back any money that you have received. You do not need to have to do this. It would not be a legitimate good faith thing to do, as some have interpreted it.
Your employer fired you arbitrarily without notice. Unemployment benefits to you are the natural result of his getting to fire "at whim." This will result in his tax rate being raised slightly. He has the right to fire you for just about any reason in an at will state, but he doesn't need to be able to dodge your unemployment benefits when he chooses to do it.
Anyone who fires you for daring to look for a better job isn't looking for good employees, he's looking for subservient wage slaves.
I agree with everyone else here, there's never a reason not to file the unemployment claim when you're fired. Don't hesitate, don't wait, don't be apologetic about it. Unemployment benefits are not welfare, they are an insurance policy in place and paid for by your employer to make sure you have some sort of security if he can no longer employ you. You don't get them based on neediness, and you don't get them if you aren't out of work through no fault of your own and avidly seeking other work.