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  1. #1

    Default Can You Get Unemployment After Drinking at Work Due to Stress

    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: California

    I am really afraid of having my unemployment denied. I was at work. I was having an extremely emotional day as my husband got extremely intoxicated the night before and punched me int he arm because I was trying to move him over and he didn't realize it was me. he also broke my window by throwing yhis phone and just in general was acting obnoxious. That same morning he got all of his things and left our house. My dad also a week prior had almost died and had just returned home. I was extremely emotional and distressed and I had no more time off at work and I didn't want to get fired.

    The day I was fired, I spent a good amount of time arguing with my husband on the phone and basically having a borderline emotional breakdown. there was some beers leftover from the night before when my husband went out. so as I sat in my car I drank two (extremely stupid) I guess someone saw me and ratted me out. I was an extremely good employee for over a year and I'm very embarrassed. Would it be possible the "single isolated incident defense?" and what should I say in my phone interview? I have a child and family to support and this is was the worse decision I have ever made. Please give me any advise , please no judging or sarcasm. They may not fight my unemployment, I really have no idea. Any help would be greatly appreciated! If your best advise is that I will be denied, please say so as well. Thank you.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Can You Get Unemployment After Drinking at Work Due to Stress

    If you're denied, that's when you start thinking about an appeal.

    Others will comment too but, if it were me, I'd fight you tooth and nail on the UI issue. Sorry, but drinking on the job is never acceptable behavior unless it's actually part of your job. It's not just the alcohol issue (though that's enough of a concern by itself), it's the implication that you can't handle stress.

    That's not saying that you WILL get denied though. Not by any means. I'm sharing how I'd feel about the situation.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Can You Get Unemployment After Drinking at Work Due to Stress

    If any state were going to let you get away with drinking on the job and still give you unemployment, it would probably be California, which is so employee-friendly as to be ridiculous sometimes.

    However, it is also true that drinking on the job is something that you shouldn't have to be told not to do; you should know without being told that it can get you fired. Which is one of the criteria for denial. So I guess I'd have to say that anything can happen.

    That being said, I hope that you've gotten yourself into a safe place and are getting counseling. Some things are more important than jobs, or even unemployment.

  4. #4

    Default Re: Can You Get Unemployment After Drinking at Work Due to Stress

    Yes i know. I really appreciate the feedback. I will get another job either way. I'm smart and usually a great employee. It was just the worst day of my life. Thanks again everyone

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Can You Get Unemployment After Drinking at Work Due to Stress

    Quote Quoting anonymouscalifornia2016
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    Yes i know. I really appreciate the feedback. I will get another job either way. I'm smart and usually a great employee. It was just the worst day of my life. Thanks again everyone
    Please take care of yourself, first and foremost. The rest can wait.

  6. #6

    Default Re: Can You Get Unemployment After Drinking at Work Due to Stress

    Quote Quoting Raster
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    Long ago in a law seminar by a top pro from a name university made the point a single act of willful misconduct can get you fired...but a problem of abuse of alcohol or drugs may well trigger a host of legal protections . I'd not rush to volunteer confessions ..best to be truthful but not volunteer answers to questions not asked ....listen before you jump in.

    What supposedly was the reason you were fired ?
    IF you were assaulted by drunk husband that might be a pretty good reason for a bad day ....not that employers are supposed to put up with bad days ....they may not rise to gross misconduct or whatever standard is on CA books .

    IF you were operating machinery it may be a different story.

    BTW as to whatever you did in car was it on the clock or before you were in work ? A no show witness may be mere hearsay.


    I do a customer service type job. Yes it was awful because he had never laid a finger on me. i had a HUMONGOUS bruise on my arm . he got kicked out of the house by my roommate. it was just a nightmare. i drank in my car on a break. the write up is very detailed and lenghty. so basically they accused me of drinking and driving and not working when i was supposed to me. man how i wish i had just called in sick

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Can You Get Unemployment After Drinking at Work Due to Stress

    Quote Quoting Raster
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    Long ago in a law seminar by a top pro from a name university made the point a single act of willful misconduct can get you fired...but a problem of abuse of alcohol or drugs may well trigger a host of legal protections .
    Once again you are making leaps you ought not to make. Firing an employee simply because he/she is an alcoholic would violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the California equivalent law. But that is not what happened here, and you ought not inject irrelevant things into the thread; that just muddies things up. The OP did not mention alcoholism at all. If you read the post carefully you will see that she drank some beers while sitting in her car, evidently in the parking lot of her employer. The ADA expressly states that it does not protect drinking on the job or coming to work intoxicated. If she was drinking alcohol just before or during work, she may be legally fired for that and there is no legal protection for that, let alone a “host of legal protections” as you suggest.

    As for unemployment, it may well be that unemployment would be denied in this case. We don’t have all the details of it to know. All the OP has to do is apply for it. The OP need only state that she was fired by the employer. It is up to the employer to decide whether to challenge the grant of benefits or not, and if it does the employer can try to make the case the employee was fired for misconduct and explain the reason for the termination.

  8. #8

    Default Re: Can You Get Unemployment After Drinking at Work Due to Stress

    Quote Quoting Raster
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    THat does not bode well for you. Reads like they can make the points .....but then again I agree with cbg...sometimes the employee friendly attitude borders on absurd ...stick to the truth....showing up to work after being beaten and bruised by husband may in hindsight have been bad judgement ...but you apparently compounded it . OUCH .
    I know

    I wouldnt say beaten he woke up after going out with friends to me shaking him and he was so intoxicated that he just woke up and socked me. he just definitely acted like a maniac. then he got all of his stuff and left. i got zero sleep, i was stressed out, embarrassed, and feeling sorry for myself. i really wish i hadn't made such a moronic decision. hopefully i wont even need unemployment. i am a pretty skilled person and like i said im a very good employee. Basically they accused me of driving to work drunk which is completely false. but if i get denied, I definitely deserve it, obviously. Thank you so much everyone for your assistance and not being judgmental. It was very embarrassing to tell my family. My boss even cried and gave me a hug and said she was so sorry but they didn't have a choice, and I completely understand.

  9. #9

    Default Re: Can You Get Unemployment After Drinking at Work Due to Stress

    Quote Quoting Raster
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    WHoa....if employer advances a set of reasons to discharge you ...and comming to work drunk/impaired is a good one to get the exit door....but the employer bears burden to make that point ...and if you rebut/discredit the reasons employer claimed you were dismissed ..you may have good odds in CA IT is not you job to confess to reasons not originally claimed by employer...be care to listen carefully and give honest answers to question asked ..and if you don't understand a question its smarter to ask it be repeated or explained before you run off ... The employer is supposed to address the reasons it claimed were the reasons for your firing..not some new list they come up with later ......one of your post says they had a well laid set of issues...and another suggests you were fired because you drove to work drunk.....which version is correct as to one employer used ...stick with the correct one and be prepared with honest answers or rebuttal.


    Well i think not working when I am supposed to be working and seeing me with a beer in my car are good reasons. Thank you I definitely will be honest. Like I said, hopefully I won't even need it. I really appreciate all the feedback!

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Can You Get Unemployment After Drinking at Work Due to Stress

    Quote Quoting anonymouscalifornia2016
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    I guess someone saw me and ratted me out.

    Would it be possible the "single isolated incident defense?"

    and what should I say in my phone interview?
    Assuming when you applied for UI, that you only said, "fired," then the next step would be to not to take the phone interview and see what happens. You can't control what you employer will say to EDD, but you can keep your mouth shut.

    If denied and you did NOT admit to anything, a very likely scenario is that the employer says that you were fired when it was reported to them that you were seen drinking in the parking lot. The problem with that is that it's a lot of hearsay. It's possible that the employer will bring the witness that actually saw you do the drinking, but it's sort of rare. Besides that, most CA appeal hearings are still in-person hearings, and there seem to be an inordinate number of employer no-shows which is pretty much a win so long as you only said, "fired," without some bad sounding narrative to go with it.

    That one-time thing probably won't help you, and it's premature until you know exactly what you're being accused of, and in the UI process for CA, that doesn't happen until you've submitted an appeal REQUEST and get access to the hearing file or packet. That's why you just don't want to take that call. You'll be sick and mad at yourself if you spill your guts, and then get access to the hearing file and find that because it was Christmas that maybe your employer submitted nothing to EDD, and it was you talking too much that got your UI denied.

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