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How can I win an appeal when I was fired and my claim was denied because employer said I quit?

by Janet

(Cedar Rapids, IA)

The owner of my former employer has mostly family and “good buddies” from years gone by as employees (approximately 17).

The owner lured me away from gainful employment by leading me to believe that there was a position created with me in mind and promising status in the company and high compensation.

The owner conducted lewd, overtly sexual presentations in sales meetings and also in private, directed at me, and verbally abused me.

However, I was willing to put up with it as long as possible to keep an income for my family. Two weeks and Two days into the position, the owner said, You’re not worth what I am paying you. You were hired only on a temporary, trial basis. I only hire on a temporary, trial basis so that I don’t have to pay unemployment. If you can’t come back a different person than I am looking at, then don?t come back. Don’t come back.
Write down your final hours and leave them on your desk.?

I only wrote down one week not two. I emailed the corrected hours to three different people within the company and called later to ask if one who received the corrected email version of my hours would take the misinformation from my desk and replace it with the corrected email version. I also asked this person if the owner or someone else would call me if there had been a change and my position was still active. I received no call.

I believe my claim was originally, automatically approved and the owner contested the claim. During the phone interview, the owner said I quit and was not fired.

I have now been denied benefits and have filed for an appeal. I have also formally requested to speak with an EEOC representative.

Hi Janet,

Here’s a link with resources that might help you figure that out. Won’t your emails that you sent to the employer be of good documentary use to show that you were fired?

Iowa Unemployment appeal information.

Comments for How can I win an appeal when I was fired and my claim was denied because employer said I quit?

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Jul 29, 2010
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Green Book Links & more…

by: Janet


I am truly sorry that it took me so long to find you & I?m dismayed that you believe it?s too late for you to help. I?ll check out fastcase.com. It?s financially permissive. Thank you! (As my nose, & the rest of me, is unemployed & in no way can pay out of it.(

You?re right; it was a ?fact finder? who was unable to find the facts. Both I & the owner were on the line with this ?fact finder?. I am certain that I rightfully qualify, am entitled & furthermore it would be an injustice if I don?t succeed in being approved. I am equally confident that in no way did I conduct myself in such a way for which I could be rightfully disqualified. The next step with the appeal is with an ?Administrative Law Judge?, I?m told. The title alone makes me feel a bit more confident of impartiality. (I hope it?s no kind of disadvantage to conduct this next proceeding in person & also worry about involving the EEOC. Are these realistic concerns?) I wish I knew what a search for decisions is; & name of precedent cases. I will call Iowa?s state Workforce Development Center headquarters tomorrow to see if I am able to obtain a transcript of the dialogue from the ?fact finding interview? tomorrow. The owner lied in this proceeding. The following 3 reasons that I provided such detail are: 1- There was no legitimate basis for which the owner fired me (I believe he tried to make me quit); so I thought I needed to cover everything 2- The detail includes many instances when the owner was outside legal bounds; simply operating in an illegal & haphazard manner. I used the website you offered along with the following website http://www.legis.state.ia.us/IAC.html & http://coolice.legis.state.ia.us/Cool-ICE/default.asp?category=billinfo&service=IowaCode for the content of my statement which you may want to add for your arsenal. I am quite confident that I am in no way lawfully disqualified & believe the statement is reflective of this fact. My final hours email does not say ?Per Your Request?. Could this be construed as my decision? It wasn?t my decision. Submitting my final hours was per the direct order of the owner. The email ONLY includes the hours. (Which, by the way, he did not apply proper overtime pay.) I am solely responsible for 2 children & have not had one late/non-payment in over 14 years. I wasn?t looking for a job when the owner perused me nor was I looking when the owner terminated my employment. I didn?t quit. I want to work, & maintain my reputation of integrity & being responsible but now I?m destitute. I see you?re taking a break from your website starting tomorrow. I hope you?re going somewhere fantastic! ~Safe passage & good times. I do hope to hear more of your insight & certainly don?t expect to carry on to a great extent ?for free?. I appreciate your correspondence & time. ~Again, genuine thanks. (All my quotation marks & apostrophes etc. show up as question marks. I?m not doing it. Really; I?m not!)


Jul 28, 2010
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You have to ask a search engine the right question to fine me.

by: Chris – unemployment-tips.com


And that’s the truth about it sometimes taking that long to find me. Unemployment-tips.com is not considered an “authority site” because I haven’t bothered as of yet to pursue back links to up my page rank .. although I have recently started a Facebook thingy .. which “social networking is just another challenge for me to understand.

But onto what I do understand .. unemployment benefits.

It is always helpful to not only know the details a person provides, but also what the state had to say .. since that is the “impartial judge” of the facts.

In other words .. the determination and/or hearing decision help to tell me what the problem is .. which of course if it’s the hearing decision .. I say it’s much too late for me to help and hire a lawyer for the appeal, but you live in Iowa, so despite the fact that you keep calling that woman with the state a “judge” .. I suspect that that, phone call was the “fact finder”. Iowa and Virginia commonly hold fact finders .. which are more like a formal pre-hearing. Most states just call one party at a time for “phone interviews” before issuing a determination.

I also see that Iowa has a search for decisions function, but if you don’t know the names of the precedent cases .. it would be hard to make it work for you.

I recommend the 24 hour free legal research trial at fastcase.com .

One concern I have is that in that lengthy documentation you provided for the fact finder. Might it have contained “disqualifying information”?

In my experience, people usually talk too much .. or not enough or put the focus of the information on the wrong thing.

Oh, and by the way .. if you could provide a link to that site with a “green book” .. I’ll take a look to see if I need to add it to my arsenal.


Jul 28, 2010
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Thank you

by: Janet


Thank you, Chris for your (prompt) suggestion that my hours can be an additional piece of evidence. I printed it.

For the first (and only interview, thus far) I complied a 13 page statement describing the day-by-day events which included a number of emails as evidence of proof (& a one page 10 bullet point sheet noting which page each point is referenced and also a 4 page summary of events all in effort to make it easy for the ?judge?). Though the ?judge? said she had read all of my material when she first called and introduced herself, I don?t believe she did. Otherwise, she would have seen that had I quit as the owner said and as she determined I did then she would have also deemed that I definitely had more than enough good cause. I had little opportunity to speak and the ?judge? actually told the owner to allow me to speak a couple times. To my surprise, she categorized the situation as a ?personality conflict?. Still I thought I would win my claim. (can I obtain a transcript of this dialogue?)

I have had no income for 6 weeks now but I believe in you and that you can help me. I requested the appeal hearing be in person (Oh, how I hope this was not a misguided doing) as per the recommendation of an empathetic Iowa Workforce Development employee (the same person who recommended I inform EEOC of the working conditions; which I have requested only a discussion for fear of long-term ?R?). The result is that I have some time to prepare. I am going to consult with some resources (family/friends) to see if I can obtain funding (loan) to donate to you; unless of course you have any other suggestions.

I was only with this company for a short time. (To quote you), ?the devil is in the details?. Much of the complexity is derived from the fact that this is a close knit company (blood relatives, husbands and wives, long-time best friends). This means that the likelihood of anyone from there supporting the truth is nil; even though they witnessed the events themselves (and voiced disagreement about conditions/actions to me)!

I have a deep appreciation for your website, Chris. I don?t know why it took me 8 weeks to find it (I?ve been absolutely scouring the internet for that long in search of help). I have already been all over the website for which you provided me the link and another related site that details some laws referenced in the one you offered, too (shows a green book). The truth is I am flabbergasted that I didn?t win this. I thought that the truth is all I would need?~and proper preparation.

Kind thanks?

Janet


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