That is a whole lot of warning! People have showed up to work here only to find the place shut down overnight- or were alerted in the email that night not to come to work because the restaurant is closed as of the morning. So they gave plenty of warning to you.
I don't think there's anything you can do, except present any information the state asks for as quickly as you can.
My understanding is it's not unusual. I wouldn't go as far to say "normal", just not unusual.
I mentioned it upthread some time back, but it probably wouldn't hurt to take a look at the regulations in your state regarding constructive discharge, which is exactly what your circumstance seems to my mind.
It's so tough. I was denied unemployment and had to appeal during Covid even though I could easily explain why it was initially denied because some low level employee misunderstood the classification of my job. My company wasn't even opposing it. It took almost a year to get a hearing and I finally got all my back pay after literally a five minute hearing with someone who had some critical skills and wasn't just trying to process an unmanageable amount of applications. It was the scariest time of my life and I don't understand how they can expect people to last that long waiting for benefits they are entitled to receive.
They expect you to give up. Don't. You are entitled to these benefits even if you get a job before the hearing. You have a witness. They just don't expect you to hang in there. I know it doesn't help financially in the moment, but I think this can come out in your favor if you stick it out.
I've seen these actually wind up in court when the bureaucratic process gets it wrong. Judges typically have little trouble sussing out which side deserves justice, be it the employer or the employee. While states do have different particulars of law about many things, overall legal standards tend to be fairly similar, so I would expect constructive discharge to be in play. I'm not an attorney, but it seems painfully clear from the facts you've laid out from the beginning that is what your situation boils down to. If that is the case I do believe you will prevail, hopefully without actually needing to proceed to a legal challenge in a courtroom. It's simply not credible on its face to accept that the move is entirely irrelevant in the situation. That's a big hurdle your employer will have a heck of a time persuading anyone to believe, whether it's a bureaucrat or a judge.
