Was this a good reason to fire me? What about unemployment?
I started working On a Monday at a new job in NJ (at will state). Tuesday morning HR told me I had an appointment for a physical that afternoon at 1pm (the company offered life insurance but you need to have a physical first). I was really busy that morning & didn't want to forget so I took out my cell phone to set the alarm to remind me to leave at 12:30 to not be late. Well my co-worker came in to the office with what I thought was another employee and yelled at me. She said "oh no stop with the cell phone & put it away". so I did but was surprised how she yelled at me in front of another co-worker so when we were alone I told her that I didn’t like her yelling at me I’m not child and she should have spoken to me and not in front of another employee. She said "first off that man wasn’t an employee he is the VP of the company and has a right to know what’s going on in his company, and secondly just like every other company there are no cell phones allowed" (I have been allowed to use my phone at other jobs you just can’t abuse it). I told her I was just setting the alarm to remind me of my appt. but she still didn’t need to yell at me and her response was "well I can talk to you anyway I want cause I’m in charge of you" (first time I heard she was “in charge” of me).
Anyway it was only my 2 day there I never received an employee handbook so I didn’t know what any company policies or rules were so 1) was she right to yell at me? I left for my physical and when I left the dr office I had a message on my cell phone (from the same chick) to not come back so I went home. 2) Was is fair to be fired for a policy I didn’t know about? 3) Will this affect my chances at getting unemployment (Violating a company rule is considered misconduct)? 4) Was this wrongfully termination? 5) Because I bought up the way she spoke to me will unemployment see that as misconduct (mouthing off to a co-worker)? Thank you for any advice or information.
Termination of Employment
If this was an at-will employment relationship, they can fire you for unfair and unreasonable reasons (such as you talking on the cell phone, having the wrong color of car, burping loudly, as long as they don't engage in unlawful discrimination or violate state public policy). If you were fired for "misconduct" which was never described to you either as a violation of company policy or as a basis for termination, you may be able to collect unemployment. You can expect, from what you have said, that the employer will attempt to challenge any claim you make for unemployment benefits.