My question involves unemployment benefits for the state of: Massachusetts
I have been working at a small company for little over a year when I got pregnant with my second child. I work in a highly physically demanding field and am constantly exposed to chemicals that are absorbed into one's blood stream, I had to train my own manager how to proper operate and maintain the heavy machinery I ran. As well as train him how to prepare the jobs by post office procedures, on top of combating with the now on-call basis that I was working because we have hit our slowest season. I went from working anywhere between 25-45 hours a week to working between 6-15 hours a week. My employer, controller and myself agreed that it would be in my best interest, both medically and financially, for them to lay me off temporarily until after I have the baby and when the work picks back up again.
After two weeks of no work I made my first call to unemployment, after calling everyday and being disconnected because it just wasn't my day, I finally reached a woman on Friday. She asked for my info then proceeded to tell me she couldn't help me with my questions because their networks were down so to try again next week then hung up. I repeated this process for six more weeks getting empty promises that they would get my claim to the adjusters and they'd get back to me soon. The controller at my work submitted all of the forms they sent her, she called and even filled out a questionnaire and told a supervisor they weren't fighting my claim, which the person who took it failed to save. And the week later they told me I was disqualified from receiving benefits because work was available to me, which it is not, and when I filed my appeal I was contacted by someone looking to clarify some things. Instead of allowing me to finish a sentence she would cut me off give me attitude and she got so fed up with the fact that "I was being uncooperative" that she told me they would send me a customized questionnaire to fill out and send back. After calling DUA several times since, I had to actually go to my doctor whom put me on bed-rest for the next two weeks at least, because of all the stress I'm experiencing with the constant run around and piling up bills, I withdrew my appeal because the constant run around they are giving me is part of why I am so stressed out.
My fiance wants me to contact an attorney for the fact that I went nine weeks without benefits before they even got my claim to the adjuster and then it was another two weeks without benefits before they just disqualified me. I filed for temporary medical leave of absence with DUA, having little to no work and becoming a liability to the company. I'm fully capable of working, but there is no work available for me with my former employer, and have looked for other jobs. So my questions are as follows:
-Am I entitled to the eleven weeks of benefits that they held before disqualifying me?
-Is it possible to file a complaint with someone about the lack of work done on my claim those first nine weeks?
-If I am entitled to those first eleven weeks, and can get medically cleared to work again, am I entitled to my unemployment benefits until I am either re-hired by my former employer or find another job?
-My fiance wants to know if there is any legal action that can be taken against DUA?
Thank you for your time.

