by cheryl
(PA Unemployment Benefits)
I was out of work for two days. Our employee handwork states doctors note is required after three consecutive days of absence. But my employer told me I would be dismissed if I did not have a drs note. I took an old note and changed the date on it. She did call my doctor so she confronted me and fired me. I was wrong to do that..in my defense I knew that I was getting fired and felt I didn’t have a choice.
I am a single mom and receive no child support. I did go into work on my first day that I was sick and my face was swollen and my boss agreed that I leave and go home. That was a Thursday, so I was off Friday also and returned on Monday. She had me work the entire day and did not fire me until it was time to leave for the day…to be honest, I had an addiction problem and went immediately into rehab after being fired. Do I have any chance of winning this appeal at all? I am so stressed I don’t know what to do. Thanks
Hi,
Of course you should now know that you did have a choice to alter a previous doctor note.
I would say though, that you skipped right over the most relevant part.
That you had been on a final warning for attendance and that the final warning probably also stated that any further absences from work would require supporting notes from a doctor.
I suspect that your boss allowed to leave work to go to a doctor .. which you chose not do.
Even at that .. you could have retained some measure of credibility by pleading your case saying you couldn’t afford to go to a doctor, but that the employer was well aware you were ill that day you were allowed to leave work .. and the subsequent second day you were gone.
Instead you chose to falsify a document and then hand it over to an employer .. which in turn .. called to verify you had seen a doctor.
So .. the question is .. will your attempt to deceive the employer this way amount to an act of “willful” misconduct .. worthy of termination with good cause and denial of benefits .. I’d say yes, it will.
As far as I know, PA Unemployment law does not provide a provision where rehab for an addiction problem could pose any possibility of collecting unemployment .. such as is the case in CA and some other states.
Chris