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Fired for Missing Work When My Car Wouldn't Start

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  • 08-04-2015, 12:57 AM
    Neckername
    Fired for Missing Work When My Car Wouldn't Start
    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: New York

    I worked for a franchise of a major chain of pizza delivery restaurants (one of the big three, not sure if I am allowed to publicly disclose of the employer), and was fired on the day of February 9, 2015. It was about -10 Degrees Fahrenheit outside and even schools were closed due to the low temperature and wind chill. I couldn't get my car to start even after banging on the starter and I was on the phone with the assistant manager and she said one person had already called in due to medical issues and that it was unacceptable if I could not make it in. I could not afford a cab for the 21 mile drive (about 30-40 minutes) and there is no public transportation. Being the only person in my household with a vehicle my only option was to ask my in laws, who informed me their vehicle wasn't working either. I informed both the assistant manager, and the owner via phone of this information. I had one write up, and it was because of an Irritable Bowel Disease episode and neither I nor the manager could find someone to cover. I admit that I was late 5 times by a few minutes, but that was months before my termination, and I was never written up or even spoken to about it. I figured they overlooked it since each time I was late by less than 5 minutes and I always called ahead to warn them.

    I had a part time job for about 3.5 months with another pizza delivery place closer by but I ended up having to put my notice in as they kept adding tasks for my position but refused to increase pay. I filed for unemployment (first time in my life) and now after claiming my $0 week I was served papers saying that I was "separated under a possibly disqualifying condition" for the employer that fired me.

    With that being said I have these questions:

    1) In legal sense, would the situation with my car be considered something that is out of my control and therefore allowing me to qualify for unemployment?

    2) Does the fact that schools were closed due to temperature help anything?

    Also, another issue I had with the employer that terminated me was that I had shifts that were usually 8 to 10 hours a day, and always crossed at least one meal period. I was listed as part time but often worked 40+ and sometimes 50+ hours a week. I never got a break, and even when I had to go to the bathroom for my IBD my boss would constantly nag me from outside the door if I took longer than 10 minutes.

    3) Could the fact that I never got a legal break void the fact that my boss is saying I was fired for a potentially disqualifying condition to claim unemployment?
  • 08-04-2015, 01:19 AM
    Dogmatique
    Re: Low Temperature, Car Wouldn't Start
    Here's the info regarding breaks. Expect your employer to fight you on that one. http://labor.ny.gov/workerprotection...dards/faq.shtm

    The temperature was beyond your control, yes - but getting to work on time was your responsibility outside of extreme circumstances.

    Standby for other answers though.
  • 08-04-2015, 09:17 AM
    comment/ator
    Re: Low Temperature, Car Wouldn't Start
    Car not starting is considered a personal reason. You should have, according to general unemployment law and leaning, have had some form of back up way of getting to work, or alternative means of transportation to use at work.

    The breaks issue had nothing to do with your firing, and thus nobody is going to consider it a valid issue when they are looking at the reason this previous employer terminated you.

    This was a what sounds like unsympathetic employer who wanted rid of you and grabbed this as an excuse. If the schools were closed, and the situation was desperate and unusual, they had the choice of accepting your circumstances or using it as an excuse to terminate you. Nobody will care that it was your only means of transportation or that you had been late or tardy a lot of other times. This was not why you were fired. You were fired for not showing up on a very terrible weather day. You had not, in the past, failed to show up. You didn't have write ups for anything except perhaps one previous absence due to illness. You tried to give as much notice as possible, and explain the circumstances to your boss but were fired for this one offense. That is what you should say in your appeal of this particular situation.

    Now, as to whether you are approved on the voluntary quit from your most recent employer, that's a whole nother kettle of fish. Good luck.
  • 08-08-2015, 09:05 PM
    Neckername
    Re: Low Temperature, Car Wouldn't Start
    Thank you, I had filled out another form for unemployment mailed to me later. It asked of my duties, and how I was notified of my termination, what I was specifically told when notified, etc. However, I have not heard from NY nor have my claimed benefits ever been above $0 so far. I sent it in the day they expected to have the form since that was when I got it in the mail. Otherwise they said they would come to a decision on my unemployment for me. It also asked if I knew I could be fired for said reason, if there is a termination appeal process at my employer or if I am in a union (which I was not). This is getting really old as I am now completely broke and have only gotten two jobs to call me for interviews so far and the first one said someone was better suited for the position. Keeping fingers crossed. This, quite frankly is bologna.
  • 08-09-2015, 11:42 AM
    comment/ator
    Re: Low Temperature, Car Wouldn't Start
    I hope you are making the weekly certifications for benefits as you are supposed to be doing after each week that passes. GO TO THEIR WEB SITE AND READ HOW TO DO THIS. Make sure you are doing it!!!

    If you are approved for benefits, then each of these weeks since you filed (excluding a waiting week) will eventually be paid if you have made the weekly certifications for them, whether you have found another job or not. But it isn't a quick thing, ever. Unemployment insurance is not by any means supposed to be immediate and is not going to keep you from going under, especially when you have quit a job in the base period, which created a situation where there will have to be a lengthy appeal process before you could ever begin drawing benefits, even if you are approved. Six to eight weeks would be a pretty good estimate of the average amount of time it would take to get the first decision made and get regular weekly unemployment checks coming in.
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