Companies Who Fight Unemployment: Are You a Victim?

Have you ever been a victim of an employer? Before you answer, listen to this:

I worked for Target for nearly 7 years. Because of a personal problem I had with another employee, I was terminated because this employee decided to make false complaints to an executive at the store and without investigating the complaint, just decided to terminate my employment. The matter stemmed from an incident where we were unloading trucks and this employee, decided to make a derogatory remark to me, which the same executive who terminated me had engaged in this same behavior toward me.

I decided to stop speaking to the co-workers who made the original derogatory remark because I decided that if he wants to act stupid, then I don't have to speak to him. Well, he overheard me, telling a customer who had came back to electronics, that if he brought his hand held gameboy back to electronics that he could download some add-ons for certain Pokemon games directly to his handheld: it was a promotion that Target had going on at that time. Well, he turned around and made it sound like I was telling somebody how to hack into Target's computer network.

After my termination, I filed for unemployment benefits and was approved for them, after Target tried fighting it, arguing that I was fired for misconduct, violating company policy. Only thing was, Target couldn't provide proof that I violated company policy. Well, since I had been collecting, all the way through the initial 26 weeks, and continuing through Tier 1,2,3,4 and EB, the Michigan's unemployed agency kept sending me letters claiming the same thing but kept getting turned away because they couldn't provide proof.

Has this ever happened to you? Someone you worked for who kept trying to appeal the decision for your unemployment because they simply didn't want to pay it? I do know that every employee who collects unemployment from an employer, that employers unemployment fees increase. The more employees who file for unemployment, the more that employer is charged.

Is this your actual story or just one you are relating? I had a similar thing happen to me except they didn't fight my unemployment benefits. I was a victim of the "get rid of the guy making the most money" plan.

lendmeflight2 wrote:Is this your actual story or just one you are relating? I had a similar thing happen to me except they didn't fight my unemployment benefits. I was a victim of the "get rid of the guy making the most money" plan.

I was a victim of the "get rid of the over 50 guy making more money than the under 40 guys plan".

I worked for JC Penney for almost 5 years. I was fired on June 30th, 2009 because I was "rude" to a customer. Long story short I had just closed the cash room and secured the area, headed downstairs to go home (keep in mind I WAS NOT the MOD that evening). Store closed at 9PM. It was now 9:45. A recovery employee comes to me and tells me that a customer was walking around the store. Not knowing who she was nor her intensions I did not approach her but yelled for her to exit at the door I was pointing to (thinking the alarm would go off). She ignored me (talking on her cell phone). After 3 attempts I called LP. She then attempted to exit the store (out of my line of sight) and the same employee who pointed the customer out grabbed her and pulled her back into the store (that employ was fired the next day). The alarm had not been set but at that late of an hour should have been (MOD's fault). This customer had been in the hair salon and the MOD knew she was there plus according to every manager I spoke to afterwards it was the responsibility of the MOD to escort her out when her hair was finished. The store manager who untimately fired me was on vacation that week. I was basically blamed for the whole incident and the MOD was allowed to skate for the moment but then sent to another store 2 months later.

Anyway, I filed for unemployment immediately. After 3 weeks I get a letter from FL AWI saying I was being denied benefits because it was determined that I had "violated a known company policy". I immediatedly hired an attorney and filed an appeal which I won. The store manager who had fired me was the only representative of Penney's and he made a complete idiot of himself (he didn't know how long I had worked for the company, didn't remeber the date he fired me, nor did he know what policy I had violated). Yelling at a customer is not considered gross misconduct. I also had been denied COBRA ARRA but filed an appeal and won that also.

A manager at Penneys who has since retired told me that Penneys is "lawyered up" and they fight most every unemployment claim (I'm sure Target does also). My understanding is when a company loses an appeal they are penalized by the state where the appeal was filed. Anyway, these companies are all cheap. You can tell by how much they pay their employees. Plus, the way they are treated during and after employment is sometimes appalling. BTW...I worked for Target just over a year before I went to work at Penneys. Hard job!!

lendmeflight, how could say that? Of course it's my personal experience. Matter of fact, I get letters periodically from the state unemployment agency about Target's desire to continue fighting my unemployment eligibility.

Kemcha,

I couldn't tell if you were relating your own story or an example of a story to show how employers can fight unemployment benefits. No one else had responded responded so I didn't want to burden anyone with my personal issue if you weren't telling your story.

In retrospect, I guess what I'm saying doesn't make any sense.

I didn't see your story so I don't know if you're making sense either.



But, I do get these letters periodically, from time to time. Target keeps trying to fight it. I don't what they're hoping for, to get their money back? I have no job AND I'm unemployed. It's like trying to squeeze ketchup from a bottle that is already empty.

I actually didn't relate my story but I will now.

I worked for almost 5 years for a home improvement store. I was a landscape consultant so I really was only needed in the spring and the fall. The rest of the time I was a basic associate and helped customers. In July of 2009 I got really sick all of a sudden. I could still go to work but my voice wouldn't work. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before. Turns out I had allergies but I had never had a problem before so I was really worried about it. I went to work everyday and did my best to help customers without having a voice. So, one day I was stopped by my direct report and asked if I was ok and I said "yes, I'm just worried about something I probably shouldn't be worried about". He said "ok" and that was that. Two days later, he and another supervisor called me into an office and told me that on the day he asked me if I was ok that he had saw me miss talking to a customer. He didn't mention this on the day he asked me if I was ok. I told him I didn't remember not talking to someone but I would accept that it is possible. At that point, the other supervisor said "So do you remember anything from when you were having crazy thoughts". I never said that, I said I was thinking about something I shouldn't be thinking about, meaning my sickness. His statement made me sound like I was going to shoot the place up or something. So, we talked about it and that was that. Two weeks later my store manager called me into her office and told me that they had seen me on the security cameras not talking to two customers and that they had to terminate my employment. I am supposed to have three strikes before I am fired but they said I took 20 minutes on a 15 break a few weeks before (which they didn't show proof of) and a minor forklift accident a year before (no one was hurt) to produce my first two offenses. I was never asked by losing my voice, I was never asked by a manager for my side of the story, I was never shown the video footage of me being in a break too long or not talking to customers. The ironic thing about it is that in all my previous reviews the only negative thing was that I spent too much time with customers. One of those reviews I had just received a month before. I am a relationship based sales person. I do my best work when I spend a little time developing a rapport with a customer. They told me that they wouldn't fight my unemployment, I thanked them for the opportunity and that was it. I made about 25% more than anyone else in my department and I was only needed about 6 months out of the year. They replaced me with someone making barely over minimum wage who has no idea what they are doing.

So, that is my story. Anyone else want to be next?