unemployment appeal hearings

[purr]

Anyone has any information on these for me? I have a hearing tomorrow, and the atty I wanted to go with was charging $700/hr and I couldnt afford that, so I'm going in myself.

Any advice/what to expect type of thing? It was a voluntary quit on the basis of sexual discrimination and I even have a report w/ the eeoc.

Been looking up information on the internet, but info from someone whos been there is better.

[madrchsod]

1. i`d say you have a solid case if

you have a favorable report from the eeoc. each state may have different rules,etc but if you resigned because you were sexually harased and have proof i really see no problem. 700 dollars was total bullshit. if there is/was a pattern of sexual harressment where you worked there maybe more than just unemployment issues to deal with.
have you looked in your states unemployment website and the states sexual harresment laws or rulings in regards to the companies responsiblities in such cases-did the company do anything to resolve the issue to your satisfaction and to the letter of the law- that is the key to your unemployment hearing...good luck

[purr]

8. I havent heard back from the EEOC yet..

I just mailed it out a couple days ago. I was waiting for the unemployment meeting to come up. My boss basically told me he "was going to make an example out of me and get rid of me", to giving me shitty hours where he knew it was dead, treating me like shit, and giving the other employees high ticket sales and not giving me any or if any, low dollar sales.

I've been doing my hw this morning.. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they dont show up

[myrna minx]

2. I can;t offer any advice, but I can kick your thread.

:hi:

[purr]

9. Thanks :)

:hi:

[Lisa0825]

3. I was an employment counselor for two years until I transferred...

and I never saw anyone have an attorney for the appeal. I am sure it varies state by state, but here in Texas, they did them by conference call. A mediator who works for the state would ask questions of you and of the employer, and then all information would be considered and a ruling given. If you disagreed with the ruling, you could appeal again. You could also have witnesses and/or have evidence faxed to the office, but those things had to be arranged in advance. Have you made the UI office aware of the report already?

I would agree that if you have a favorable ruling from the EEOC, that would give you a definite edge. The majority of appeals (in Texas) are not won, but most people do not actually have much going for them. A lot of people either failed to comply with the process or have no evidence, so it's a he said/she said deal. With your report, I think you have very good odds.

Good luck!

[purr]

10. I'm in PA

I have a face to face hearing with a referee. I have witnesses that he discriminated against me but i KNOW they wont go in fear of losing their jobs.

The atty I was going with said I have a strong case to win, but the $700 price tag when I'm living on just my husbands wages and trying to pay bills and keep food on the table just wasnt feasable right now..

[RebelOne]

4. A long time ago, I had an unemployment appeal hearing.

I don't remember why my former employer was contesting my benefits. But they didn't show up for the hearing, so I was awarded my unemployment.

[purr]

14. I'm hoping thats the case here !!!

If I go there and they're not there I'm going to feel so much better. If they're there I'm going to be a nervous wreck.

Should've seen me at my child support hearing. Thank god I had an attorney for that or I would've had a heart attack in the waiting room.

[RebelOne]

28. I wish you luck in that they don't show. n/t

[Tsiyu]

5. I appealed and won

in a similar situation.

Have as much documentation as you can get your hands on. Write out events in a notebook- as many dates and details as you can remember. I found the Unemployment folks to be sympathetic and not easily duped by my less-than-ethical employer.

Good luck.

[purr]

11. I hope thats the case here too..

The atty told me the referee I have is more employee oriented. I'm hoping thats true!!

[Tsiyu]

27. I'm sending good mojo

Employers often fight claims, not because the money comes directly out of their pockets, but I believe because their unemployment insurance premiums go up if they have too many claims against them.

Again, Good luck to you.

[Modem Butterfly]

6. I handle these for my company (I'm in HR)

Much depends on the state. Most folks represent themselves, though. Are you having a telephone hearing or a live hearing?

[purr]

12. My dad is in HR too!

Hes a manager of benefits/payroll and the only thing he can tell me is to tell the truth?? I love my dad but geez.. :)

I'm in PA and its a live hearing.. me, the referee, and my employer. I hate confrontations so this is making my anxiety go out the roof!

[Modem Butterfly]

19. Good basic advice, but geez is right!

Okay, number one: DO NOT BE LATE.

Number two: Make sure you're presentable. Dress as you would for a job interview. It shows respect to the adjucicator and gives you extra credibility.

Number three: Be exceedingly polite and professional at all times. Do not interrupt anyone, even when they're telling a blatant falsehood. You'll get your turn to talk. Do not get emotional, and moderate your language. Instead of saying, "She's lying" say "Ms. So-and-so misunderstood the situation" or "Ms. So-and-so may not recall this..."

Number four: Make sure you have all your ducks in a row. I don't know why your claim was denied initially, but whatever the reason, be prepared to respond to it. Careful notes, whatever documentation you have, etc. Do not make any unsubstantiated claims, like "They did this because I'm a woman" unless you have some sort of proof.

[purr]

21. heres some info..

I was the only female there. The orginal reason why I was denied my benefits was because the UC reviewer thought I quit solely on the fact that I was pregnant and they cut my hours because I was pregnant and I quit.

Which wasnt the situation at all. I even had a typed 1 page document of what happened and I assume he didnt read it.

:scared:

[Modem Butterfly]

23. You need to show that you didn't quit for that reason

Proving that your hours were cut because you're pregnant is putting the cart before the horse in this situation, IMHO.

Why exactly did you quit? And what can you prove?

[purr]

24. PM'd you

a rundown of what happened.. this was my first typed up letter before I revised it and my atty went at it.

[RagingInMiami]

7. I went through the same situation just over a year ago

I was working for a newspaper in arizona and I got on the wrong side of the metro editor, who took it upon himself to make my life hell for the next two years.
He ended up placing me on probation for not producing enough when the archives clearly showed I had more stories than most of the other reporters in that newspaper. So it became a long battle and I had a terrible attitude about it (who can blame me?) but I kept doing my job.
Finally, I learned from one of the editors who was a friend of mine that they were going to fire me that Friday. He told me this on a Wednesday, so I went in there on Thursday and resigned. Then I applied for unemployment, which was initially denied because I had "voluntarily resigned". I went to a lawyer and he was going to charge me the same thing, $700, which now that I had no job, I could not afford.
So I appealed and went into the hearing by myself. And I won because we were all required to testify under oath, and when it came time for me to ask my former boss questions, I asked him if it was true that they were going to fire me that Friday.
He said yes.
I won because in the eyes of the state, I voluntarily resigned to avoid termination, which to them, was the same thing as "termination". It was a very sweet moment for me.
I think in your case, if you have eeoc documents, then you should have no problem. You should write out a set of questions before hand that will force your former employer, under oath, to admit that they are in the wrong.

[purr]

13. The only EEOC documents i have right now are

the copies of what I just sent in to them couple days ago. I have a similar situation where I was given bad reviews when I was one of the top sellers of the store, then after my pregnancy was announced i was getting the bad hours and in turn my sales went down the drain.

Did you feel intimidated at the hearing? I'm petrfied!

[RagingInMiami]

16. What helped me out was that I before I quit

I went back two years and did byline counts of 20 reporters in the newsroom. I ranked in the top five throughout all the years even though they kept putting me on probation for not meeting the quota they had imposed on me.

The bastards.

I wasn't intimidated because I had been bashing heads with them for so long, that I was already used to it. And I was really prepared.

I did find some info on the internet that helped me out, so you should keep looking. And I did talk to one lawyer on the phone who gave me a couple of pointers free of charge.

So maybe you should call around asking for rates and see if they give you a couple of pointers because it might help.

Do you have any documents that show you were one of the top sellers?
It really sounds like you have a good chance of winning, now that you mention the pregnancy.

I would suggest writing down the questions, prepare answers to what you think they might ask you, and just keep going over them.

[purr]

18. I wish I had documents that showed I was a top seller

BUT.. according to company policy, they cannot be taken out of the store.

I'm glad you came out on top, it sounds like you were given the shaft BIG TIME. I bet seeing his face after you won was priceless!!

This whole thing is making me so nervous.. I dont know what to ask them as far as questions go. This company is known for not telling the truth even in litigation. I should dig up some of their court records that prove they lie.

[RagingInMiami]

20. You should go down to the unemployment administrative office

and dig up those records. They should be public record. What state are you in?

[purr]

22. Pennsylvania

Can I do that???

[RagingInMiami]

25. It doesn't hurt trying

And if you have copies of previous work evaluations or reviews that state you were a top seller, that also helps.

ALSO: You can get the judge to subpeona any of those documents your former employer says cannot be taken out of the store. You need to do this quickly cause there's a deadline. The subpeona will override any "company policy".

And there might be some state or federal laws that associated with maternity leave and working hours, so you should look into that.

[purr]

26. My u/c meeting is tomorrow!!

I didnt know I could subpoena information like that. Of course, I'm sure it would've been done but alas, no money = no attorney :)

I'll try and bring it up at the meeting and see what they say... I have a bad feeling about this. Real bad feeling.

[RagingInMiami]

31. Good luck

Think positive. They depend on people getting intimidated. It's really a mind game.

[purr]

34. Thanks :)

I'm trying to clear my mind and line up my cards for tomorrow. Heres to my nerves!!

[purr]

15. ALSO!

I was admitted into the hospital the same day this went down w/ my ex boss for heart palpitations/anxiety from what he did to me that day. Should I get medical records?

[RagingInMiami]

17. Anything helps

in my case, the judge looked at all my documents and decided he was going to accept some, and not accept others. But the ones he did accept helped me win my case.

[graywarrior]

29. Some states have Legal Aid offices that help people who

have no money and sometimes if you have a good case, they will step in immediately and assist.

[purr]

30. I make $3000/yr more than their baseline

for income.

[Sanity Claws]

32. On a voluntary quit

you have the burden of proving that you took all reasonable efforts to correct the situation before leaving. This is a general rule and you should see the exact standards for your state. Also, because you have the burden of proof,you will still have to make a showing, even if the employer fails to show up for the hearing.
As for the EEOC complaint, many employers will not show up for the unemployment hearing, if they know that you have filed an EEOC complaint. Why? because you could use the hearing to develop evidence against them. However, it sounds like the EEOC complaint has not yet been sent to the employer. Too bad.
As for the $700 an hour, you went to the wrong attorney or misunderstood. How did you ever get in touch with him? Local bar associations sometimes have lawyer referral services and could have connected you with someone who would do it at a reasonable rate.

[purr]

33. my EEOC lawyer told me to wait

until after I filed for unemployment. He later told me that he charged $200/hr and travel expenses since he would be coming from downtown into a suburb. I figured this was going to be a pretty penny.

The atty I visited was a recommended atty that a close friend in the legal system refered me to. I trust her word and if she says hes a good atty, I better damn believe her.

His paralegal called and stated a 700/hr charge and it was a discounted rate because of who referred me. I was floored. I think she stated 700/hr knowing it wasnt going to be going over an hour.

I'm not sure if they got the EEOC complaint, but by what you said, it could be used against them and it'll help me out on the EEOC point of view.

The local bar association wanted 30 bucks for a referral to an attorney, even then she stated that they dont know their rates before they give the referral. I probably would've been given to the same guy with my luck.