Originally Posted by
Tellafriend
Be careful, In a typical unemployment situation if you are fired for cause then you are not eligible for unemployment. No idea whether that applies here.
Don't know about other states, but in California that's not true. This is one of the big myths of unemployment insurance. Many people fail to get approved because they lie in order to hide their fault in getting fired, and those lies end up being their undoing.
I have advised various friends (including Master Scalir) the exact correct things to say during the unemployment phone interview, and I'm batting 1.000 in them getting approved. (This was all before the COVID-19 thing.)
In California, the basic standard is that you can't have left voluntarily, and you can't have intentionally induced firing.
So, here are some hypotehticals:
Laid off - APPROVED
Quit - DENIED
Stopped showing up for work - DENIED
Told boss "Suck my dick, you pathetic loser" for no reason - DENIED
Couldn't handle the work / incompetent - APPROVED
Couldn't get along with co-workers the entire time - APPROVED
Ongoing lateness or spotty attendance record - APPROVED
As you can see, sudden actions getting yourself fired (no-showing for work, creating a disturbance) are seen as a form of quitting, and get denied. Ongoing problems are considered "fired for cause but not intentionally ending employment", and get approved.
I'll give you two examples from people I know in real life.
"Kevin" had a history at a particular job calling in sick frequently and showing up late. However, Kevin did a good job when he was there, so they tolerated this behavior for 18 months. Finally, one day they warned Kevin that if this continued, he'd be fired. Kevin continued showing up late, and they fired him. I told Kevin to ADMIT he was routinely missing work and showing up late, but that he did this for ALL 18 MONTHS he was there, and thought they were wiling to tolerate it because he did a good job. Kevin was very hesitant to say this, but he reluctantly did, because I kept insisting it was correct. The UI agent checked with Kevin's work if it was true that this behavior went on for 18 months. When they said yes, he was approved!
"Randy" had a tougher situation. He had trouble with an obnoxious co-worker, and one day he snapped and called her the N-word. He was obviously insta-fired. I asked Randy to tell me the full story. He said that she was constantly harassing him and calling him names, and he finally couldn't take it anymore. I asked if he ever also instigated with her, and he reluctantly admitted to me that, yes, he had. This left him in a pretty bad spot. Then I asked him if she ever had used an epithet against him. He said that, yes, she had called him a "kike", and had done so on more than one occasion. I asked if this was before the N-word incident, and he said yes, but on different days. I asked if others heard her do that, and he said yes. I told him to ADMIT to the UI agent that he called her the N-word, but that he "snapped" after being subjected to a constant barrage of anti-Semitic language from her (and to name the witnesses to it). The UI agent called the employer and asked if it was possible that woman had called Randy a "kike" before, and the employer sheepishly admitted that he wouldn't be surprised if that were true. Randy's unemployment was APPROVED.
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