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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Posts
    1

    Default Falsely Accused, Terminated, and Unemployment Benefits Denied

    My question involves unemployment benefits for the state of: California

    After working as a loyal & dedicated full-time employee for over 4 years (the last 3 of which I was the owner/presidents right-hand gal, office manager aka executive office administrator, among other titles/duties), I was falsely accused of increasing my rate of pay (50 cents) and my PTO Hours (Paid Time Off. A combination of vacation & sick hrs.) in the companies payroll system and therefore I was terminated. I can only assume the changes were found by the accounting person while she was processing payroll (I taught this person how to process payroll and to check for discrepancies. I was the main payroll person, until I was promoted to another position, then I became her backup. Because this person was my backup, she had access to all my logins & passwords. I also had a binder that had all the employees computer & email login/passwords at my desk because I also did IT/Systems Support. ANYONE could have made the changes). I absolutely, 100% did not do what I have been accused of. There was no proof that I personally made the changes, nor further investigation. Said changes were made on a Monday night at 8:49PM. When I stated I was not there at that time, "they" said the changes could have been from anywhere. I offered my IP address and again, "they" said that with everything in the cloud nowadays it could have happened anywhere, and continued with something to the effect of since there was no criminal behavior or benefits from the changes there was nothing further to investigate. I was never told I was fired or that my services were no longer needed..."they" said "you leave us no choice" and then asked for my office keys & company credit cards. Needless to say, I was devastated and felt betrayed. How could she believe I could do something like that! Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. She/the owner said many, many times during my employment with her how she "only trusted me", and really appreciated my hard work and how she appreciated all my help with getting her out of bad situation, etc...

    I filed for UI, received a letter stating I would have a phone interview. The phone call didn't go well. I never got to tell my side of the story. There were too many gaps and I was called a liar when asked about a certain question I answered on the online application. I told her I was not lying, that I must not have understood the question. I realized later, after the call was over, I did answer the question correctly. A few days later, I received the Notice of Determination/Ruling stating Not Eligible. Here's why...

    1) Under CA UI Code Section 1256 beginning 04/14/13 and continuing until you return to work after the disqualifying act and earn $1,700 or more in bona fide employment, and you contact the office to reopen your claim. (I don't know what that means. I can only guess that they are only looking at the last pay period, which was only 3 days. Why would they do that? The UI application asked for my I worked fulltime for 4 years, why would I need to earn another $1700?)

    2) "You" were discharged because of errors on your time sheet(s). "You" were aware your time sheet(s) was incorrect. (This absolutely not true. No time sheets were involved and I did was not aware of the errors)

    I have until May 28 to process my appeal. I want to make sure I file my appeal properly. I want to win my appeal. I deserve the benefits. The way I was terminated, the reason why I was terminated, and the phone interview with EDD all did not go well. I want to make this right. I'm not sure what I'm asking for help with. Maybe some advice? Thank you for your time.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Atlanta, Georgia, United States
    Posts
    202

    Default Re: Falsely Accused, Terminated, and Benefits Denied

    Quote Quoting carobnty
    View Post
    My question involves unemployment benefits for the state of: California

    After working as a loyal & dedicated full-time employee for over 4 years (the last 3 of which I was the owner/presidents right-hand gal, office manager aka executive office administrator, among other titles/duties), I was falsely accused of increasing my rate of pay (50 cents) and my PTO Hours (Paid Time Off. A combination of vacation & sick hrs.) in the companies payroll system and therefore I was terminated. I can only assume the changes were found by the accounting person while she was processing payroll (I taught this person how to process payroll and to check for discrepancies. I was the main payroll person, until I was promoted to another position, then I became her backup. Because this person was my backup, she had access to all my logins & passwords. I also had a binder that had all the employees computer & email login/passwords at my desk because I also did IT/Systems Support. ANYONE could have made the changes). I absolutely, 100% did not do what I have been accused of. There was no proof that I personally made the changes, nor further investigation. Said changes were made on a Monday night at 8:49PM. When I stated I was not there at that time, "they" said the changes could have been from anywhere. I offered my IP address and again, "they" said that with everything in the cloud nowadays it could have happened anywhere, and continued with something to the effect of since there was no criminal behavior or benefits from the changes there was nothing further to investigate. I was never told I was fired or that my services were no longer needed..."they" said "you leave us no choice" and then asked for my office keys & company credit cards. Needless to say, I was devastated and felt betrayed. How could she believe I could do something like that! Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. She/the owner said many, many times during my employment with her how she "only trusted me", and really appreciated my hard work and how she appreciated all my help with getting her out of bad situation, etc...

    I filed for UI, received a letter stating I would have a phone interview. The phone call didn't go well. I never got to tell my side of the story. There were too many gaps and I was called a liar when asked about a certain question I answered on the online application. I told her I was not lying, that I must not have understood the question. I realized later, after the call was over, I did answer the question correctly. A few days later, I received the Notice of Determination/Ruling stating Not Eligible. Here's why...

    1) Under CA UI Code Section 1256 beginning 04/14/13 and continuing until you return to work after the disqualifying act and earn $1,700 or more in bona fide employment, and you contact the office to reopen your claim. (I don't know what that means. I can only guess that they are only looking at the last pay period, which was only 3 days. Why would they do that? The UI application asked for my I worked fulltime for 4 years, why would I need to earn another $1700?)

    2) "You" were discharged because of errors on your time sheet(s). "You" were aware your time sheet(s) was incorrect. (This absolutely not true. No time sheets were involved and I did was not aware of the errors)

    I have until May 28 to process my appeal. I want to make sure I file my appeal properly. I want to win my appeal. I deserve the benefits. The way I was terminated, the reason why I was terminated, and the phone interview with EDD all did not go well. I want to make this right. I'm not sure what I'm asking for help with. Maybe some advice? Thank you for your time.
    Under the at-will doctrine, unless your company has a policy that "outlaws" intentional dishonesty in the workplace and investigations--in which any violation of this such policy is something that must be handled internally--your employer/boss/supervisor can terminate you for a false allegation (if he/she thinks you were held accountable without hearing your side of the story). As for the disqualification of unemployment insurance, best advice I can give to you is to appeal the decision of UI disqualification. In the appeal process (as you may know), the employer has the burden of proof to show (via demonstrative evidence) how you violated a policy or procedure that existed prior to the date of your discharge. If he doesn't show to the hearing up or fails to meet that requirement (or you simply stump the employer or show that he/she failed to do so), then you may win your appeal. You might want to bring any documents, (legal) audio/video recordings, witnesses, and other forms of evidence to support your appeal. Subpoenas can be filed for documents you need from your employer, in case he/she tries not to give them to you voluntarily. Good luck to you.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    1,360

    Default Re: Falsely Accused, Terminated, and Benefits Denied

    When filing an appeal with EDD, you are not actually appealing. You are simply requesting an appeal date, and you save everything you currently feel like putting in your appeal for the actual hearing.

    Your appeal is simply: "The determination of deputy dated MM/DD/YY is wrong. I want an appeal hearing scheduled. Sincerely yours."

    You don't want to go into a lot of detail for many reasons. It locks you into a story, your employer gets a copy and can then be more prepared than you want them to be, and it won't make EDD grant you benefits any sooner.

    The $1,700 earnings requirement is a nice way of saying you won't be getting benefits. It means that you have to work, earn $1,700 or more, and then get laid off again. Seriously, if you end up getting another job, the likelihood of getting laid off percisely when you've earning $1,700 is about zero.

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