Honestly it sounds like they knew the answer when they asked the first time and you didn't admit to it and pushed the meeting later. And at that point since you didn't seem to "check your records" and respond, but waited for another called meeting..... where they then had time to gather facts from their side (and they can state they gave you a chance to answer both at the original meeting and before the next one)..... You probably had a chance to 'come clean' in the first meeting or very shortly thereafter, but you chose not to do so.
I think they might have enough to back up a term for good cause if you truly falsified reports -- and falsifying timesheets no matter when or if the work gets done at a different time is enough of 'good cause'.... I don't see you winning an unemployment case, but like someone else said, you should at least try!
I don't see what you said to them a week before you were fired as being any sort of problem, as you were on the job at the time of your termination and they were the ones who instigated your leaving, regardless of what you'd said in the past. Don't even bring it up, and I doubt if the employer would try to say you quit the job. But there's no way we can adjudicate this claim from a distance. You have some chance of approval, and that's worth taking and your signing up for benefits and trying. Do be sure that you are making certifications for weeks that pass as you are waiting for a decision on your approval or denial. If you are approved you will only be back paid for weeks that you have certified for as you are supposed to. If you are denied, keep certifying, (until you have found another job of course) and appeal the decision to the next level.
I'm 100% with "hr for me" on this. She wrote almost exactly what I would have written.
Every UI agency I've ever dealt with understands "falsifying employer records" because it is one of those things that can get a state employee fired pretty quick.
I understand. I will try, and I am aware of the possible courses of action that might follow. All I am saying is that I felt that they just wanted to find any excuse to let me go, since I wasn't in the work spirit they were looking for. But I am just guessing here, because I really don't know what went on in their minds. And even in the worst case scenario, assuming someone lied (not saying I intentionally did) to HR about a date, I am not sure if lying about an entry is enough of a cause to terminate someone. I guess I should ask for a copy of my contract. no?
You don't need it. If the contract has something to do with your firing and is the basis of a bad act (lying, data entry error, or one-time isolated occurrence), then the employer best submit it for the hearing as evidence.
The point is, if you do NOT have it and it's crucial for the employer to submit it to meet their burden and they don't, then lucky you. Do NOT ask for evidence that has the potential to hurt you. If the employer is going to present it, you'll get to see if BEFORE the hearing so you can figure out how it ties into your termination.
got it, ok, will do as such... thanks so much!!