Unemployment Benefits Appeal Hearing **UPDATE**

[Mickeys.friend]

I really appreciate all the input here! i really was not expecting that much....my OP was sooo long! Thanks for reading and sharing your opinion. My hearing is in person at a local building in town. I am hoping that my employers do not even show up, but if they do i am just prepared to tell the truth. I do feel I am entitled to the unemployment. I paid into it for years. Ultimately, either way, I am glad to be gone and so is my daughter. She's only six and I would never want her to go on thinking school was not a safe place, and it worried me that she began to think that teachers can't protect you! I will update again when the hearing is over....
LIZ

 

[Thats_for_Shore]

I do feel I am entitled to the unemployment. I paid into it for years.
LIZ

I wish you all the luck in the world, I hope it works out, and I hope I've been helpful.

But I wanted to point out that the above statement is wrong. Very wrong.

Unemployment is not something you pay.

That is something that your employer pays. They pay unemployment insurance, not the employee.

 

[Chicago526]

I have no advice, but good luck! Let us know how it goes!

 

[Mickeys.friend]

That is something that your employer pays. They pay unemployment insurance, not the employee

I did word that wrong...I do realize that I do not pay into it. But, they pay into it for just these reasons.....so hopefully I get it. It sure would help out while I am still looking for another job....Thanks again...

LIZ

 

[HelenePA]

I wish you all the luck in the world, I hope it works out, and I hope I've been helpful.

But I wanted to point out that the above statement is wrong. Very wrong.

Unemployment is not something you pay.

That is something that your employer pays. They pay unemployment insurance, not the employee.

actually in Pa we pay into some type of unemployment insurance each paycheck. I got no clue what its for I just see it on my W-2 each year. Good Luck OP!

 

[Thats_for_Shore]

actually in Pa we pay into some type of unemployment insurance each paycheck. I got no clue what its for I just see it on my W-2 each year. Good Luck OP!

I pay my companies Unemployment Ins. through the state, so I'm guessing that each state can/does it differently.

I've done some research, and it looks as though Pennsylvania employees pay 0.09% for unemployment insurance, with the employer paying a much higher percentage.

Interesting to know. Learn something knew everyday!!

 

[Kycha]

Op, I just wanted you to know that my DH appealed when his unemployment benefits were denied and he won. Plus, I worked in the payroll dept of a construction company and had many employees win benefits even when the employer appealed. In my case, my employer didn't want to take the time to attend the hearings. So those employees would win by default. IMO, your case, I think you have a good chance of winning. I wish you luck. Let us know how the hearing goes.

 

[m&m's mom]

There are a very few number of states that do have an employee contribution to Unemployment insurance (UI) . Alaska, California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island all have either deductions for Unemployment Insurance or Disability.
I will tell you it is in the best interest of your former employer to fight this as UI claims will increase the amount they have to pay for their remaining employees.

 

[Mayl]

Sorry but you don't deserve it when you quit. You quit and it was not due to anything that would qualify as a hardship, no matter how you cut it.

 

[HelenePA]

Sorry but you don't deserve it when you quit. You quit and it was not due to anything that would qualify as a hardship, no matter how you cut it.

not getting paid is not a hardship?? How about if your boss didn't pay you the right amount for months? How is that not a hardship, people dont work for fun, they do it because they need money.

 

[Kycha]

Sorry but you don't deserve it when you quit. You quit and it was not due to anything that would qualify as a hardship, no matter how you cut it.

Hardship is not a qualifying factor for unemployment compensation.

OP, I would definitly push the minimum wage thing. That is ridiculous that they denied you benefits because the school doesn't have computerized records and that it is too difficult to prove their case. Right there should be enough, in my mind, to prove your case.

 

[doxdogy]

Go back and read the original post. She was having pay issues and when she started rocking the boat, her daughter became the scapegoat of some of the nuns. So how is she out of luck regarding not being paid correctly? So it really isn't right for you to make such a blanket statement that she won't win. Other posters have stated that they quit and appealed and won.

You won't win.

You left over something that had to do with the teaching ability of the nuns with your daughter. It had nothing to do with your job, job performance, working conditions (ie safety or such).

By quitting, you are already behind the 8-ball in regards to getting benefits. If the reasons you stated are true (no reason to doubt you), then you honestly are out of luck.

You might be able to work an angle with being under minimum wage vs the tution reimbursment, but that would be it. Even that might be very hard because you quit. Not like they stopped providing the education or something.

 

[Kycha]

In the state of Pennsylvania, you can voluntarily quit a job and still be eligible for unemployment benefits. Here is a lift of some qualifying voluntary quit situations:

• Health Reasons
• Transportation Problems
• Spouse Following Spouse
• Leaving Work Due to Personal Reasons
• To Attend School
• Due to Unsuitable Work
• Job Not the Same as What was Anticipated

Leaving Work Due to Personal Reasons

To be eligible, the claimant must show that he/she quit due to personal circumstances that left him/her no reasonable alternative. The claimant must show that, prior to quitting, he/she made a reasonable attempt to maintain the employer/employe relationship. The claimant must also be able and available for suitable work.
http://www.dli.state.pa.us/landi/cwp/view.asp?a=357&q=236064#tp
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva][/FONT]

 

[Cindyluwho]

Do yourself a favor, don't even mention your daughter's treatment. I know for you it's a big thing, but legally it's irrelevant. Your legitimate appeal is that you were not paid at least minimum wage. Stick with that. If you bring your daughter into it, then it looks like a personal issue. Bring every pay related piece of information you ever received, too.

ITA!!

 

[barkley]

I do have pay stubs, but I was a "per diem" employee. They paid me only $51.50 per day. My pay stubs read like I worked 9 hours instead of 9 shifts. The school did not have a time clock. We signed a book. When you divide the amount i earned per day by the actual amount of hours i had to work, many days it was not minimum wage. I had to be in (per the principal) an hour before the other Aids and I had to stay and do bus duty. I was the only non salaried employee to have a bus assignment! I think because I am a capable person, I was taken advantage of by the principal. I think her and her fellow nuns grew nrvous and angry because it was the principal that was extending my hours so it did not average minimum wage.....it was not the desire of the administration for me to work that much. This is just my opinion, but it's what makes the most sence here. I just do not think administration is going to take responsability for the principal....

i think one of the issues that will come up is how your salary was structured and weather that is legal in your state. since it sounds like you agreed to be a per deim employee it may be that your former employer is not required to follow the minimum wage laws in your state and is covered under the salaried laws (and many salaried employees if they were to crunch the numbers find that they make much less per hour than their hourly counterparts). the other issue you may face is that religious schools and institutions can be under a whole different set of employment rules and exemptions that traditional employers are not (i did payroll for a christian school years and found it very illuminating).

if you have any record of speaking personally or in writing to your employer about the EMPLOYMENT issues (payroll, hours of work vs what you were originaly told) you would do well to have those in hand at the appeal-but then again, if they are not violations of employment law it may not be deemed by unemployment as good cause for a quit.

my dh was able to avoid an unemployment hearing when he quit his former job by virtue of providing the pertinant facts with the initial application. in his case he had been on medical leave and had exhausted his fmla, his employer stated they would not retain the job and his choice was to return on a specific date or be terminated. dh and i knew that if he was fired it had a detrimental effect on his future retirement benefits, and, if he wanted to go back to work for that employer at a future date (gov. agency) a quit vs. a firing held the provision that if a position in his classification was open and available in the next calendar year they HAD to give him preference in hiring. we documented that he quit in order to (1) follow his doctor's instructions to stay off work for the immediate future,and, (2) to protect his retirement and re-hire status. got a call from edd and they advised that despite his employer appealing the granting they had already run the info. we sent past their appeals people and dh was eligible.

 

[Mickeys.friend]

Update! This afternoon was the Appeal hearing and NO ONE from my former Job showed up to represent the school system! The ref. took my testimony. I was very matter of fact. I submitted pay stubs and a typed timeline of events along with dates. He seemed impressed with that...but I am not sure. It seemed to go well and I will have to wait around 15 days for a determination! Thanks for all your help!! I'll update again when I get my determination......

LIZ

 

[HelenePA]

Sounds good!! Good Luck! How is your daughter being treated now?

 

[Mickeys.friend]

Thanks Helen...my daughter is "in love' with school again and loves her teachers too. She has no more fear of being taken from her class unexpectedly and being told she's in trouble. She's in a higher functioning Kindergarten with other children ahead in reading and math etc., and she is very happy. Like I stated earlier on, it would be great to get the unemployment, but no matter what it was the right decision for both of us.

LIZ

 

[Kycha]

Update! This afternoon was the Appeal hearing and NO ONE from my former Job showed up to represent the school system! The ref. took my testimony. I was very matter of fact. I submitted pay stubs and a typed timeline of events along with dates. He seemed impressed with that...but I am not sure. It seemed to go well and I will have to wait around 15 days for a determination! Thanks for all your help!! I'll update again when I get my determination......

LIZ

In my opinion, that looks very good for you. In my experience, when an employer doesn't attend the hearing, the employee always wins. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.

 

[DVCsince02]

Wishing you luck and subscribing.