I Was Fired by Text While on a Plane to See My Dying Great Aunt

by Brandy
(Anaheim, California)

I worked for this company for almost 3 years and have missed in the three years 4 days. I often would stay late after everyone....ect...very dedicated employee.

The chain of command is not very distinct, and at one point earlier this year I had spoken to a manager who told me I could leave a couple of hours early on a certain day of the week due to the fact that on the two previous days I worked from 730am until 8pm or 9pm.

About a month in and someone said something about me leaving early, and I tried to explain but no one would listen. No more is said, no write ups , no disciplinary action.

Fast forward 6m On my birthday, well the day before I got news my great aunt is in the hospital dying 4 states away. Knowing I can't afford a ticket. I say a prayer.

At about 2am, my uncle calls. He bought a ticket, said my aunt was asking for me before they put her into an induced coma that she will likely not come out of.

It leaves at 545am. Now I think about work vaguely..and the fleeting thought is that my manager would kill me for texting at this hour. I make a mental note to do it before boarding.

At about 5000ft I recall the mental note. I mentally reschedule it to when I get off the plane.

When I get off the plane I have a text message from the owner terminating me from my position, basically calling me ungrateful and telling me I have been warned repeatedly (lies I'm assuming to cover somebody else's incompetencies as never, even once ever in writing, verbally or by any action has this ever been brought to my attention ).

I now see they are fighting my unemployment. Do you think they will deny benifits?

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Mar 02, 2016
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Can you share the reason the employer said you were being let go?
by: Chris - Unemployment-Tips.com

I'm not quite sure how to answer your questions Brandy, at least not about whether the employer has enough to convince the EDD (assuming this is Anaheim CA) to deny your benefits.

Your story is a little bit on the disjointed side in that it's not really helping me assess the likelihood of whether the employer would, once they thought about it, or had someone else think about it for them, choose to protest your benefits for a discharge for what is by your account, an unsupported and undocumented poor attendance case, or whether someone might think it better to go with a path offer less resistance, such as a voluntarily quit for the no call/no show, or aka quit by job abandonment, or discharge for taking time off from work without approval first .. or , or, or.

Did you get to talk to your dying great aunt, before they put her into the induced coma?

Has she died yet. Sometimes, a death notice can be used to prove there was an actual emergency and the employer might of been unreasonable to discharge you via text .. until they knew the reality of why you didn't show for work.

Moreover, when was the return flight (I'd assume that was paid for in advance by your uncle also) you were coming back on ..

For instance the number of days the return flight was .. from the date of your birthday, which was the day you left on the flight at 5:45 am .. right?

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