Can I Win an Unemployment Appeal

My question involves unemployment benefits for the state of: New York

I posted a note in the breakroom saying the job sucked on Sunday. I was called into a meeting on Wednesday. I was sent home for the rest of my shift and told to come back on my next scheduled workday which was Friday. In this meeting I specifically asked if I was being fired and they responded "No. We are just sending you home to think about if you want to remain employed here. From here on out its up to you." During the meeting I was also told that I seemed remorseful and they understood it was a mistake on my part and they appreciated my apology. On my next work day I legitimately was not feeling well so I called out and said I wasnt feeling well and wouldnt be in that day. I called out 3 hours in advance and I had plenty of sick time to use. About 4-5 hours later I was called and told that I was being fired. It seems to me I was being fired for calling out, since I was already told I was not being fired for the note. I never had any other disciplinary problems at this job. Should I appeal?

You're talking about an appeal - so your initial application for benefits was denied?

Not initially. I got 3 unemployment checks. Then I got a phone call yesterday from the DOL and was told that my employer missed the deadline to dispute my unemployment. But eventually my employer did respond and said I violated company policy by posting the note. And today I got a letter in the mail saying I was fired for violating company policy, so I have since had my benefits cut off.

Yes, you should appeal. Writing a note of that type while not the smartest thing to do is hardly misconduct and neither is calling in sick.

And I forgot to mention 2 things that make me believe I was fired for reasons other than posting a note. I was the newest guy there, but I always spoke up about things I thought were wrong or unsafe. I feel like because of this I was singled out and they wanted to get rid of me. 1 reason being that we had employees who committed much more serious infractions and were never let go. We fueled private and commercial aircraft. We had someone drive a fuel truck into a plane. We had 2 guys who got into 2 physical altercations at the work place. We had another guy back a truck into a helicopter. Yet another guy backed up over, and destroyed, a 600 dollar fuel hose. Not only did this particular guy not get reprimanded, he got a promotion 2 weeks later. All of these things were in direct violation of company policy, as was me posting the note. It seems to me that something else might have been in play. And one other thing. A few months before I was fired, I attempted to contact our district manager about some severe safety violations since whenever I raised these issues with management in my building nothing was done. I was only able to get the email address for the VP of sales. So I exchanged a few emails with her asking her for our DMs email information. After that I received an email from our DM and he gave me his phone number to contact him. We spoke for a few minutes on the phone, and he said he would look into the things I brought to his attention. I still have the emails, but our discussion of the safety violations was over the phone and thus I do not have any proof. They do however prove I did attempt to get in touch with him. I feel that my manager may have found out about this and that this could have played into my dismissal but I have no proof of this. Would raising either of these points during my appeal help at all?

Too soon to plan a strategy, but I don't think you'll have to say much at the hearing.

Even though you're filing the appeal, the issue should be "were you discharged for misconduct"?

That means the employer will have to do most of the talking to "prove" their case. You don't have to disprove meaning you don't have to propose an alternate reason for the terminition. At this point, you don't really know what the employer said to the UE office, you only think you know. When you get your hearing paperwork, the notes from the deputy should be attached and hopefully some paperwork filled out by the employer so you'll have a better idea of what the employer is going to say. That's the time to do your planning.

Is that deadline a mandatory deadline? Post the text of the statue or regulation that states a deadline.