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UI benefits?

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mycarlb

Member
What is the name of your state? New York

My best friend was terminated for violating a company rule on August 28th. She received no verbal, written or any other warning, and I know that NY is an "at will" state to fire so I know that was perfectly legal... but on the cobra paperwork she received, it states as the qualifying event : resignation?

Now, she applied for UI benefits on Sept. 6th, and has not heard back from them. She did receive a handbook, and her determined $ amount for her benefits, but her status is still pending.

My question is, if her employer put she resigned, and she put that she was terminated, what will happen to her UI case? We don't know if she should call and ask, or simply wait to see if her claim is accepted. Any suggestions??
 


Beth3

Senior Member
Your friend needs to wait and see what the disposition of her UI claim is. There's nothing else she can do. I don't know why the employer put "resigned" on the COBRA notice but obviously that's an entirely separate matter than how they may handle her UI claim.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Hang on a little longer. I know it seems like forever to her, but from September 6 to September 16 really isn't all that long. In my state, a perfectly straightforward claim which the employer is not contesting and for which all the paperwork was submitted perfectly the first time and for which there is no question of the employee's eligibility, a "perfect claim" will still take four full weeks to process.

IF the employer claimed she resigned then that could affect the claim. In that case she will have the right to appeal. But I wouldn't worry quite yet. It's not unusual for an employer who has terminated an employee for a minor offense to put "resigned" on the COBRA paperwork. This is to prevent any questions from the insurance company about their eligibility, since an employee who was fired for gross misconduct can have their COBRA declined. While it's rare for it it happen (many companies will offer COBRA even when under the law they don't have to) by putting "resigned" on the paperwork it forestalls any question. It doesn't mean they're going to say the same thing to the unemployment office.
 

mycarlb

Member
Thanks...

I will call her tonight and pass along this info!! Thank you all for your quick and informative advice!
 

mycarlb

Member
I just wanted to get back on here and let everyone who helped me before know that my friend still hasn't been given a decision on her benefits. I spoke with her today, and she said it still says "status pending" on the website for unemployment. Should she call Unemployment and ask them? I did here somewhere that if an employer does nothing with a claim, then it defaults after a certain time and the claim is paid?... is that true?
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
If an employer does not respond to the request for information, the strong likelihood is that the claim will be accepted, but it's not a 100% guarantee; it depends on the state and the reason the employee put down. For example, if the employee says she quit with no explanation, the claim's going to be denied regardless of what the employer does because quitting is not a valid reason to collect except in very extreme circumstances. But it's quite likely that if the employer does not respond, the claim will be accepted.
 

mycarlb

Member
Thank you cbg... she put down that she was fired... for breaking a policy... she told me the claim asked her if they gave her warnings or if she knew she broke a policy and she said no to both...

Do you know how many weeks before they default the claim and pay? This Sunday she claimed for the 6th week in a row. Thank you again for all your knowledge and assistance!
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
I have no idea what the time frame is in NY, but it is not open ended. The employer has x number days to respond; if they have not responded within x days, that's the end of it unless they are able to come back later with a VERY good reason why they should be allowed to respond later than the regs state. This DOES occasionally happen - for example, if they were initially willing for the employee to have UI but they receive information later that changes their mind. Example (I am NOT talking about your friend); they do not discover until after the response deadline that the employee diverted company checks for his/her own use.

But as I said, she is not GUARANTEED benefits because they do not respond. That is by no means the only reason benefits can be denied; I had an employee whose benefits were denied when I did not contest and was willing for her to have them, because the state determined that she was fired for a disqualifying reason under the state regulations anyway.
 

mycarlb

Member
I have an update that my friend has asked me to post... I guess that Friday she called NYS Unemployment, and was told that it's reaching it's deadline because the employer had contested the benefits... I don't know what that means, and when she asked, the person told her someone would call her this week to speak with her. Does that mean that it's denied? Or simply that her employer was fighting it, and ran out of time (IE deadline?)

Thanks again everyone... I appreciate it
 

mycarlb

Member
Ok... this is new to me now... when I received unemployment in NY after 9/11 their was never a phone inquiry. But today, Jenny got a call from someone at NYSUI and they had her fax a copy of the company's policy which was the grounds for her dismissal... see, the company policy said the rule she broke was grounds for "disciplinary action" and below this, other policy violations (stealing, drug use, etc) were grounds for "immediate termination, under gross misconduct"... so they questioned her as to whether or not she was given any other warnings or write ups, which she was not.

They told her that because of her copy of the signed policy and procedures, they would give XYZ company 48 hours to reply or he would be making his determination based on her information.

I thought she would have to go before a judge, but I guess her benefits haven't been denied yet? Does she only go to a hearing if the person she spoke with determines she is not eligible?
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
No, a hearing is to establish whether she IS eligible. Her employer is saying she is not; she is saying she is; a hearing will establish who is right.

However, it sounds as if there may not be a hearing; it will depend upon what information her employer provides and how the adjudicator factors it into the overall equation.
 

mycarlb

Member
Well, I guess we have to wait until tomorrow, or most likely Monday to find out what happened... No one called her today, and her former employer was given only 48 hours to rebut the info she supplied to the adjudicator.

You have so kind and helpful! I appreciate that very much! Stay tuned to see what happens... :D
 

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