Contract position through an agency and unemployment?

[Torakki]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA. I worked in a contract position from 12/15/14 to 05/20/16. The original end date of the contract was supposed to be 05/16/16 but they extended it for 2 more weeks. Before they extended it, I had postponed a jury duty summons to after the original end date (05/16) to 05/24/16 so I wouldn't lose pay from not going to work for the jury duty days. When I found out it was extended the extra 2 weeks, I called the agency and asked if it would effect my unemployment if I wanted to end the contract on the original date and they said "no". So, I did work the extra week past the 16th to the 20th, one extra week past the original date. Also, you are only allowed to stay in a contract for 18 months before they have to end it (is this true in CA.)? Three more weeks would have been 18 months. The agency asked me what I would be doing before my next job and I told them I would fix up an old car and sell it.
Now, I get two phone calls from unemployment, (EDD) saying that they talked to my employer and that I had "turned down work". The next call, they said my employer told them I would be "self employed" earning an income. I explained both times what was actually said but am still a little concerned, I will be denied unemployment benefits. Will I be OK?
Thanks for any info.....

 

[Zigner]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA. I worked in a contract position from 12/15/14 to 05/20/16. The original end date of the contract was supposed to be 05/16/16 but they extended it for 2 more weeks. Before they extended it, I had postponed a jury duty summons to after the original end date (05/16) to 05/24/16 so I wouldn't lose pay from not going to work for the jury duty days. When I found out it was extended the extra 2 weeks, I called the agency and asked if it would effect my unemployment if I wanted to end the contract on the original date and they said "no". So, I did work the extra week past the 16th to the 20th, one extra week past the original date. Also, you are only allowed to stay in a contract for 18 months before they have to end it (is this true in CA.)? Three more weeks would have been 18 months. The agency asked me what I would be doing before my next job and I told them I would fix up an old car and sell it.
Now, I get two phone calls from unemployment, (EDD) saying that they talked to my employer and that I had "turned down work". The next call, they said my employer told them I would be "self employed" earning an income. I explained both times what was actually said but am still a little concerned, I will be denied unemployment benefits. Will I be OK?
Thanks for any info.....

You're jumping the gun. Wait until you get the determination.

 

[commentator]

Agree, the former agency can say almost anything in the world. But what you explained to the unemployment system that you were doing, and the conversations you had with them about the work still available to you will also be considered. From here, we can't tell you what the agency will decide. But no matter what, it will be an initial decision, which means both parties will be notified and either party can appeal this decision and you will have a hearing with both parties participating and then a second decision will be rendered.

Even if you are denied, keep making the weekly certifications for benefits, and immediately submit an appeal (which needs to say only, "I wish to appeal this decision." No arguments or evidence needs to be presented with the appeal request.) If you are approved, the employer may or may not decide to go on and appeal the decision further. After all, you were pretty certain to be approved for benefits at the end of the contract, and this little side step on their part is not highly likely to keep you from being approved, though it could. Our crystal ball is in the shop.

 

[Chyvan]

I called the agency and asked if it would effect my unemployment if I wanted to end the contract on the original date and they said "no".

Never get your employer involved in your UI matters. They either won't know, or just plain mislead you so you'll screw up your claim.

they talked to my employer and that I had "turned down work".

Be glad your employer is only saying this, but because you're clueless, you probably said enough to turn this into a "left work early" situation which then gets adjudicated by EDD as a quit. Things do not look promising for you.

http://www.edd.ca.gov/uibdg/Voluntary_Quit_VQ_135.htm#LeavingPriortoEffectiveTime

You need to make sure that your version of events looks more like option 1. that has a chance of approval rather than option 2. which is clearly disqualifying.

Will I be OK?

You need to study up on what is happening to you so that you don't say the wrong thing. This can very much be a costly lesson to you.

 

[Torakki]

OK, so if I have to appeal, how can I prove my side? I have my time sheet that shows start and end date of the contract (12/15/14 to 5/20/16) which is exactly what I worked. I have my jury summons which has an appearance date of 5/24/16 (which is why I told them I wanted to end contract a week early and a week after the original date). Also, there is absolutely no evidence of me being "self employed", such as they said but I do have a car in my garage in 100 pieces, such as I said. And yes, " but because you're clueless," I was clueless so that's why I "did" ask if it would effect my unemployment. I wanted to do everything correctly.
My thought is to write an e-mail to the recruiter that lied to me and try and get it in writing. But as Chyvan says, "Never get your employer involved in your UI matters." The recruiter always thanked me for the great job I did and hopes to find me work in the future, (his words).
As a side note. The position I had was with a major bank and before my end date, I tried to apply for a permanent position and was told it was only for internal applicants. I also gave my resume to one of the managers for future consideration. I was well liked in this company.
Anything else I should do?
Thanks for the replies.

 

[Chyvan]

OK, so if I have to appeal, how can I prove my side?

You need to wait for the determination, or you'll just waste countless hours playing "what if." Right now, you don't even know if EDD is going to treat it as a quit, a refusal of work, or a discharge. Different types of determinations require different things from you.

I have my time sheet that shows start and end date of the contract (12/15/14 to 5/20/16) which is exactly what I worked.

There is nothing special about 5/20/16. You can be sent by a temp agency to work a two week job. If the client says, "hey, you're awesome. You just keep coming in." If you say, "I only signed on to work for two weeks," you just caused your own unemployment.

I have my jury summons which has an appearance date of 5/24/16 (which is why I told them I wanted to end contract a week early and a week after the original date).

That's great. Here's how you should have handled it. You provide your jury summons to your employer. If the employer refuses your time off or fires you because you miss work to attend jury duty then that is qualifying. You quitting to attend jury duty and ending your contract and the possibility of going back there to work after the jury duty is over, is a very different scenario.

Anything else I should do?

You wait.

You won't really know how to prepare for the appeal until you get the determination, file an appeal REQUEST, and get access to the hearing file and evidence.

 

[cbg]

Also, you are only allowed to stay in a contract for 18 months before they have to end it (is this true in CA.)

This may be agency policy. It is not law in any state.

 

[FlyingRon]

Were you being contracted out to the feds? The 18 month is the limit that a federal contract can place the same employee on certain "temporary" contracts, you then have to be off for 90 days before they can reassign you to the same contract. That doesn't mean your employer has to fire you (they could place you elsewhere or carry you on overhead).

 

[Torakki]

I've been patiently waiting for any word on my case and today I received an automated phone call for another phone interview on Friday. I guess, I will just have all my documentation in front of me (about positions I tried for within company, jobs applied for, who I talked to and handed resumes, what I said, what the agency said, etc...). The first two phone interviews, they must have been happy with what my answers were and maybe the agency is adding more to "their" misleading side of it? It was not a fed job but with a major bank through a temp agency.
Thanks for the input....

 

[commentator]

If this employment was through a temporary agency, that's another issue all together. The bank was NOT your employer, and they do not have to pay unemployment taxes on whether or not you are approved for unemployment benefits. This is all about the agency. You informed the agency that your contract was ending, right? You were in contact with them. And they are the ones who now are fighting your unemployment approval. They are going to be the ones paying in the unemployment taxes, and they are the ones who will be answering all inquiries. Did you present yourself to the agency immediately after you left the job to inform them that you were no longer working for the bank and that you were available for other work? Do you have cell phone records of when you talked to them and discussed this issue? Try to remember exactly what was said and when, and keep your story consistent. Asking the temp agency about the "self employment" wasn't the best idea, but that doesn't mean it is so or that it will affect your unemployment benefits once the unemployment system understands what you did and why.

 

[Dandy Don]

Go in with confidence--all you can do is to tell the truth and give your side of the story. The people on the unemployment board have experience in being able to recognize that sometimes employers give misleading or deceitful, lying information and they can see through that. And if your unemployment is not approved, register with other temporary agencies and get work from them.

 

[Torakki]

I realize, the bank has nothing to do with this and all my communications were with the agency. And, I never told them, I would be self employed. Those are "their" words. I told them, I would fix up an old car I had and try to sell it while waiting for my next job.
I was in touch with the agency on an ongoing basis. And do have phone records to show this. They knew exactly what was going on.
And I did talk to a few people within the bank about employment. One position that I was qualified for, I talked the the "big boss" that I would apply and was told, it's only for internal applicants. On my last day, I gave my resume to one of the supervisors for anything in her department.
Today, I got a letter for a phone interview. It has some of the questions, I will be asked. Such as: "Was I warned that my actions could result in being fired?" I wasn't fired, my contract ended. And: "When was I warned?". Also, "What info on my claim may have been incorrect?" and "Why did I give this information?" Everything I gave was correct so I'm not sure what there talking about.
Oh well, I'll know within a few hours.
Thanks for the input.

 

[Torakki]

Well, today's phone interview was kind of a waste of time. EDD reached out to the agency for info and say they have 48 hours to respond. So, EDD did not know the latest reason to dispute my claim. But they did question me on what I did in my job and was I terminated.
I did talk to one of my former co-workers and he said that they would go to bat for me to debunk any kind of accusation like that. So, 100% of my co-workers are on my side.
It seems to me, that the agency is changing their story to see what works. First phone interview was about turning down work and seemed happy with my side of the story. Second was that I would be self employed, and again seemed happy with my side of the story, now the third that I was fired. If I was fired, why would they have offered me more work? (as they said in the beginning).
OK, I'm done venting.
Thanks for reading.

 

[commentator]

I did talk to one of my former co-workers and he said that they would go to bat for me to debunk any kind of accusation like that. So, 100% of my co-workers are on my side.
It seems to me, that the agency is changing their story to see what works. First phone interview was about turning down work and seemed happy with my side of the story. Second was that I would be self employed, and again seemed happy with my side of the story, now the third that I was fired. If I was fired, why would they have offered me more work? (as they said in the beginning).
OK, I'm done venting.
Thanks for reading.

Stop worrying about what they are saying. Continue to tell your side of the situation the same way, each time, and DO NOT worry about refuting everything the agency may think of to tell the unemployment system. It is NOT necessary that you do this. If they want to clarify something with you about what the agency says, they'll call you back and ask you about it.

There is no necessity that your former co-workers back up your story or "go to bat for you." In the first place, the unemployment system doesn't give a hoot about what the opinion of your former co-workers is about what happened. The system workers are only listening to you and to the employer, in equal parts, to determine which of you is the "most believable" in describing the circumstances of your ceasing to work.

In the second place, they may say they will go to bat for you, but usually, they will not, even if they said they would and it was necessary for them to do it, because without a subpoena, they will be hanging themselves out to be terminated by the employer who is fighting your claim. No whistleblower protection applies. As I said, they wouldn't be questioned anyhow. You stop talking to them and investigating what the unemployment system is being told or is doing. Do not have any contact with the employer yourself at this point.

If the agency is changing their story to see what works, they have probably hit upon the worst possible way to do it by claiming now that you are fired. Being fired means the employer has the burden of proof to show that they had a valid misconduct reason to terminate you, that you were warned and then refused to do what they asked of you or cooperate. Remember, you just keep repeating what you said from the beginning. This is your version of the facts of the case. It does not need to change. That enhances YOUR believability.

Besides, don't you think that the unemployment adjudicator can notice if the other side is changing their story? It's not your job, as I said, to counter whatever they decide to tell the unemployment worker. You don't argue your way into be approved for unemployment benefits. They listen and fact find, and then make a decision. If either party doesn't like that first decision, they have the right to appeal, and then there is a second hearing with another decision. You or the employer has several appeals, prescribed by law, no matter which way the initial decision goes.

Be sure you are making the weekly certification for benefits for each week that passes. If you are approved you will be back paid only for weeks for which you have made the required certifications.

 

[Torakki]

Thank you commentator. Yes, I worry too much about what might happen. I just want to do the right thing. I try and site back and wait patiently. Thanks again.....