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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Posts
    8

    Default How to Determine if an Unemployment Claim Was Mishandled

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

    I was a NYS employee working at a state agency for years. The building had a major water-related incident and continuous water issues thereafter. Following that, employees began experiencing various allergic reactions, which raised concern about air quality problems including mold. I developed severe respiratory issues that went dismissed in spite of complaints until I got the union involved. The union had tests done confirming the air quality issues and wrote up a report of findings including what the employer should do to bring the building and air quality up to code.

    My employer wouldn't pay for remediation due to budget. My condition declined until I couldn't even breathe while in the building, obviously interfering with both my work and my health. I was diagnosed with an allergic respiratory condition and advised to stay out of the place causing it. I went on sick leave until I recovered. Problems returned immediately upon returning to work and worsened again. Employer still had no plans for remediation to improve air quality. I resigned. I left a lot out of that for length.

    I filed an unemployment claim stating I quit for medical reasons. They started sending me questionnaires. I filled them out as they came and indicated on them that I had supporting documents but it would take a while to get all of it together so I'd be sending them in as I received them. I also indicated that I was willing and able to work and actively looking for employment. When I had all of the major documents, I emailed them in using the DOL's secure messaging system.

    About three weeks later, I got a reply saying my documents were received and my claim was under review and to keep certifying my benefits. A few weeks went by and I got nervous because I have no money. I signed into the DOL account and it said my claim was still pending. I emailed asking how long it might take to review my claim. A week or two later, I got a response saying it would take about six weeks if they didn't need any more info from me or my employer.

    I continued certifying benefits and applying for jobs (including at all of the local stores/restaurants). A month later, I checked in again asking if they needed anything else from me and if it was typical for it to take this long or if it was just because I quit for medical reasons? I got a response a week later saying that my claim was denied three months ago for quitting without good cause, they'd send me the determination letter, and that if I don't agree, I can ask for a hearing.

    I said that didn't sound right because I've been in touch with them over the past three months about my claim being ongoing and it even still says it's pending in the system. I didn't hear anything back yet, but I did just get the determination letter from them (with my address handwritten which I thought was odd because everything else I got from them had printed envelopes). It said quit without good cause, didn't show a compelling reason for quitting.

    How do I go about finding out if my file was mishandled, like if someone jumped the gun and put in a denial for me while someone else was still handling the claim? Also, I've been concerned from the beginning that my claim wouldn't be approved regardless because my employer (the state) is basically the same one making the determination. Do you know if state employees have a harder time having unemployment claims approved?

    After I get a response to that, I'll ask the question I was going to ask about the justification of the determination. Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    18,340

    Default Re: Nys Denial: Possible Mishandling/Conflict of Interest

    Sorry, but I think you blew it.

    To collect unemployment you have to be able to work and actively looking for work. If you are ill and can't do that you don't qualify.

    Your proper claim should have been under workers compensation for a job related illness.

    I suggest you consult with a workers compensation attorney. You might be able to qualify with the proper legal assistance.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Nys Denial: Possible Mishandling/Conflict of Interest

    Quote Quoting adjusterjack
    View Post
    To collect unemployment you have to be able to work and actively looking for work. If you are ill and can't do that you don't qualify.
    The inability to work in one particular job site due to air quality issues and allergies does not automatically translate into an applicant's being unable to work at the overwhelming majority of alternate work sites should a job become available.

    A delay in the response to an unemployment claim is most often the result of the agency's being backlogged.

    If you want somebody to review the details of the denial, it would be helpful to have some details about the basis for the denial, not just the conclusion.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Posts
    8

    Default Re: Nys Denial: Possible Mishandling/Conflict of Interest

    Thanks everyone! Yes, my illness was solely caused by and tied to exposure to the conditions of that workplace, so I'm both willing and able to work as indicated. Just not at that job. Any thoughts on the questions I asked? I don't want to proceed in acknowledgment of the denial before I know there wasn't a disconnect in handling my claim that resulted in someone saying I was denied months ago while someone else is saying my claim is still being reviewed. I just don't know how to inquire about that.

    Also, how would I get more details about the basis for the denial? Will they actually tell me if I ask? Because the letter doesn't say anything more than Determination: You quit without good cause. Reason: You have not disclosed any compelling reason for quitting your job.

    By the way, to make it clear, I have no money and no resources, so until I land some source of income or receive those benefits, I can barely afford food let alone consulting with attorneys. That's why I'm on the web looking for free advice lol

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Nys Denial: Possible Mishandling/Conflict of Interest

    Generally speaking, when you call an agency and ask somebody the status of your case, they punch your name into the system and read you the information that shows up on their screen, no need for a greater conspiracy. We have no reason to suspect that the system showed your case as anything but "pending" through the date that the decision was approved for mailing.

    You may be able to get more information if you appeal.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Posts
    8

    Default Re: Nys Denial: Possible Mishandling/Conflict of Interest

    I'm not sure if I'm explaining myself well, sorry. That's the part I'm waiting to hear back on, which communication was right: This person saying that my claim was denied three months ago or the persons throughout the last three months saying it's open and still being reviewed.

    If they just look in the system to see the status, there would be no reason for anyone I've spoken to in the past three months to tell me my claim is still pending determination if the determination was already made months prior unless it takes months for their system to show that. That's why I'm confused and hope they'll shed some light on where the disconnect is.

    As of now, my claim still says pending in the system and the letter they sent isn't a determination from now, it's the determination this person said they made three months ago (and they dated it three months ago) as if the communications I had with the DOL over the past three months never happened. I want that cleared up first. If they say the people I've been communicating with recently were mistaken and my claim wasn't under review, then I'll address the determination.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Oh, also, I asked about someone jumping the gun because the date they said the determination letter was sent was in the middle of when I was still sending/receiving the questionnaires and documentation. That's why I was wondering if there might have been someone who maybe handled one or two documents received in the mail and made a determination based on it not realizing someone else was still sending and receiving other documents from me via the post as well as online.

    Everything I've received in the mail, via email, and in my account throughout the process stated my claim was pending from beginning to now, so I just want to be sure this denial letter I never got that's only being mentioned and sent now isn't a mistake before I accept it as the intended determination by appealing it.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Posts
    1,360

    Default Re: Nys Denial: Possible Mishandling/Conflict of Interest

    Quote Quoting hyperphoncs
    View Post
    Determination: You quit without good cause. Reason: You have not disclosed any compelling reason for quitting your job.
    Whether your claim was handled correctly or not, doesn't matter. You have your decision, and you have to live with it as unhelpful as it is. Submit an appeal REQUEST, and get this in front of a hearing officer/ALJ. All you need to say in your request is: "the determination dated mm/dd/yy is wrong. I want an appeal hearing scheduled."

    Thing is, you quit, and so few quitters get UI, the UI workers don't bother. Also, you didn't send all your documents together. They were spaced out, and someone didn't want to wait. I think you have what it takes to win on appeal, but it's really tough to get UI from an overworked UI work when you quit.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Posts
    8

    Default Re: Nys Denial: Possible Mishandling/Conflict of Interest

    Thanks Chyvan. My issue is the chronology. I want to make sure before I proceed that the final decision is that I was denied. Not that it was the initial decision one person made off the cuff and someone else realized they jumped the gun, so it wasn't upheld internally, explaining why I never got a notice of determination, why my claim status never said it was denied or closed (I checked in on it regularly), and why everyone I spoke to said my claim is still being reviewed for determination.

    This person's response is the first I'm hearing of it out of half a dozen responses from the DOL since the date this person is saying the determination was supposedly made. I'm not going to appeal until I'm sure their wires didn't get crossed. Once I hear back, I'll request a hearing (keeping within the time frame allotted to request one).

    Also, my documents were spaced out but coincided with the questionnaires they were sending me. I didn't file a claim, then send paperwork one sheet at a time over the span of three months. I sent the main documents upfront when I first filed, then got everything else the questionnaires indicated I'd need in one go and sent it all together. If someone was premature in their response because of that gap, fine. I just want them to confirm that the currently active determination is that I quit without good cause. I'll update once I get an answer!

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