My question involves unemployment benefits for the state of: California
I was unexpectedly called over into a room by my boss, told things weren't "working out" and given a paper that HE wrote saying that I was resigning to pursue other career options. Of course this is similar to termination. I'm still not sure exactly why I was asked to resign (other than I wasn't a "good fit" for the company) but I decided to sign the paper for future employment purposes (given the state of the current economy).
I had a phone interview with EDD where I had stated that that I had signed the resignation because of the current economy (didn’t know how a termination would look to a future employer) and also because there was unethical practices at my workplace. Since I didn't document any of this, I was told that I had no proof of my claim. After the phone interview, I received a letter saying I was not eligible because "you quit your last job with Company X rather than be discharged. Because the employer relationship was terminated at your Employer's request, the separation is considered a discharge. The reasons for the discharge meet the definition of misconduct connected with the work. After considering available information, the department finds that you do not meet the legal requirements for payment of benefits. Section 1256 provides- an individual is disqualified if the department finds he voluntarily quit his most recent work without good cause or was discharged for misconduct from his most recent work. Section 1260A provides- An individual disqualified under section 1256 is disqualified until he or she, subsequent to the disqualifying act, performs services in bona fide employment for which he/she receives remuneration equal to or in excess of five times his or her weekly benefit amount"
Although I filed an appeal and there is a date set for the hearing, I found out that having a lawyer would be ideal...but I can’t afford the money since I’ve been without work. Would it be worth my money to try to hire someone or is this case hopeless regardless?
It's important to note that I had only been working for this company for about 7-8 weeks. Before that, I had worked for a company for 2 years before getting laid off (because of the economy) and had positive reviews and a performance bonus because of my work. I had never sought unemployment with the company of 2 years because I landed the other job a week after getting laid off. Am I better off cancelling my appeal? Would I be able to get unemployment from my company of 2 years? What are my best options? Thank you for your time. I greatly appreciate it.

