Can you get unemployment if you were fired for wrecking a company vehicle?

by DAVID
(BRADENTON,FLORIDA,USA)

I wrecked a company truck and was fired the very same day. I did not mean to get into the accident. It was raining and the tires on the truck were worn. I was on a ramp entering the interstate when the truck began to hydroplane and slammed right into the guard rail. I went home and called my boss. He came to my house and brought a police officer friend of his. He collected the vehicle and fired me on the spot. The officer asked me a range of questions and wanted to arrest me for leaving the scene of a accident even though I was the only person involved, he couldn't because It happened out of his jurisdiction.

My former employer then held my last pay check from me and told me that the money was being put toward fixing the vehicle. Now I am filing unemployment and I was denied for being fired for misconduct. I am appealing it but don't know how I should word it or if I will win. ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
THANKS

Hi David,

I'm not holding out much hope for you collecting unemployment because as I see it, you were not fired for wrecking the company vehicle, but for failing to report an accident.

David, it is an illegal act to leave the scene of an accident whether anyone else was involved or not. This is what you did wrong. If you had called the employer or police or waited for the police to arrive whether a passerby called them or they just eventually showed up...it would be different story.

The only hope might be if the employer does not have a written policy regarding what you need to do when you are involved in an accident and if the area you had the accident in was on some sort of accident "alert", but like I said, the accident was not your misconduct, it was leaving the scene and your failure to report the accident.

You'll need to check Florida's Labor Laws to find out if the employer had the right to withhold your check.

Chris