My question is... I am totally confused about how everything went down the day I was let go from my job. The only way you will understand what I am talking about is if I explain everything in detail about the day I was let go from my job. I used to work for a company and I was a driver who delivered portable storage units to customers homes. On June 15, 2011 I went into work like a normal work day, a couple days before that I had put my newest work truck in the shop to get it inspected so I could get in registered in PA. Well on June 15th I received a call from the shop saying that the truck needed a new fuel pump and that they would have to replace it in order to continue with the inspection so before I went ahead and said yes to the work I wanted to talk it over with my boss first. Well my boss said he wanted to see something that said how much the part and labor was going to cost before it was done, so I asked the shop to fax over something to me that said how much it would cost so I could show it to my boss. So I was waiting upstairs near the fax machine waiting for the fax to come through and it seemed to be taking longer than usual so meanwhile I was walking in and out of the 'traffic department' (where they answer the phones) and I was making small talk with another co-worker. After waiting a while I noticed that it was getting later in the day and I had to still make a delivery to Pottstown which was about an hour away. I decided to leave so I could make the delivery. Before I left I informed another co-worker about the fax I was waiting on and asked her if she could keep an eye out for it. I proceeded to go down stairs and walk outside to get into my work truck and go make the delivery. After driving about 15 mins I get a call from a lady from the office telling me to stop off at another center so I could pick something up. Even though I knew that would put me behind even more, I said ok. When I get to the store, the manager at the location told me that there was nothing there for me, so by this time I am totally confused and I called back the co-worker who told me to go there. She begins to tell me that she thinks I need to go home for the rest of the day because she believes that I can not continue on and that she is sending someone there to pick me up. By this time I am extremely frustrated and very confused. I continue to ask what is going on and I keep getting the same answer, that I don't seem right and that I seem tired. I figured the only way to solve this was to contact my boss and let him know what is going on, well I tried calling him several times and I got no answer, so then I tried reaching him by text messages. After several attempts to get in contact with him and receiving no answer I became very upset and sent another text message that read 'I've been trying to get a hold of you and you are not responding, I am very upset with what is happening right now, please answer me, if this is how you are going to run your company then I might as well quit.' Hoping that would really get his attention and then he would call me back. Still no answer from him. Well when the other co-worker shows up to take me back to my car I told her no that I was not getting in the car with her because there is no need for anyone to drive me anywhere because there is nothing wrong with me. So I had the guy who showed up to take over driving my truck drop me off at my shop so I could get a cargo van to drive myself back. After getting the van at the shop, I decided that since there was no reason that I could not continue working I drove over to my warehouse and continued to work. I worked at my warehouse for about 45 mins until I finally received a call from my boss asking me where I'm at, I proceeded to tell him, I am at the warehouse working, he said stay there I'm coming over to talk to you. So I waited for him to come over and when he finally arrived, he walked up to me and said 'give me your keys and your phone, I have to let you go.' I was very upset and said why? what do you mean you have to let me go?? For what?? And he said, 'well, you sent me a text message saying you quit so I have to take that as your resignation.' And I responded 'No I don't want to quit, I was just upset because all this was happening and you were not responding to me, I don't want to quit at all' I proceeded to cry and tell my boss how I can not afford to lose my job and how hard I worked to get where I'm at and that I could not believe that he was doing this to me. After they let me go, I decided that this was not going to be the end for me, that I was going to fight to get a real answer on why they let me go and if there was a chance that I could contiue to work for the company. I sent several emails to all different superiors in the company. I even wrote one to the CEO of the company. Out of about 6 people I wrote emails to only one responded and the only thing he said was that he would look into it and that it was up to my boss whether or not I could still work there and when he got back to me he told me that my boss is sticking to his decision and that I am no longer employed by the company. Well I went and filed for unemployment and they denied me because my ex-employer said that I 'voluntarily quit' which is not true so I appealed the decision and I am now waiting on a court date. Can you please give me some advice on how to approach this matter when I go to the hearing?
08/18/2011 |
Category: Employment ยป Benefits |
State: Pennsylvania |
#25363
The Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Law at 43 P.S. §802(b) provides that an employee shall be ineligible for unemployment compensation benefits for any week “in which his unemployment is due to voluntarily leaving work without cause of a necessitous and compelling nature….” Unemployment Compensation referees and the Pennsylvania courts have been called upon repeatedly to interpret these three key words – “necessitous and compelling” – and in doing so have developed a number of significant precedents of interest to employers and employees alike.
Once it is determined that an employee voluntarily terminated her employment, the employee bears the burden of proving a necessitous and compelling reason for quitting. The reasons offered can be many and varied, but the following scenarios are instructive.
In Pennsylvania, when the Department of Labor & Industry has made an Unemployment Compensation (UC) eligibility determination both parties, claimant and the employer, will be sent a copy of the determination. Presumably that has already happened for you since you have said that you were denied.
The claimant or the employer may request a hearing before a UC Appeals Referee by appealing a determination issued by the Department within 15 days of the mailing date of the determination. When the 15th day of the appeal period falls on a day on which the Department is closed (i.e. Saturday, Sunday, or holiday), the appeal period is extended to the next business day. If an appeal is filed after the 15-day appeal period has elapsed, the UC Referee will rule on the timeliness of the appeal.
Follow the appeal instructions on the determination.
If the claimant or employer disagree with the referee's decision, the claimant or employer can appeal to the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review. The appeal must be filed within 15 days of the referee's decision. Reconsideration of the UC Board of Review's decision may be requested within 15 days of the Board's decision. However, any appeal of the UC Board of Review decision must be filed with Commonwealth Court within 30 days of the mailing date of the Board's decision. Appeals to Commonwealth Court must be filed directly to the Court, not to the Board of Review.
Failure to file an appeal within these time frames will result in the determination becoming final. It is extremely important that the employer act promptly if he/she wishes to challenge an individual's receipt of benefits. An appeal of a Department's determination on a claimant's eligibility is different from an employer's request for relief from charges and must be filed separately. An employer who does not appeal an eligible determination may not later dispute that determination in a relief from charge proceeding.
If a claimant is appealing an ineligible determination, benefits will be paid only if the decision is reversed.
