Hi, my name is Kirsten Krueger and two years ago, I was in a car accident. I was stopped at a stop sign when the driver behind me slammed into my car. Due to my injuries, I had to spend a few days in the hospital and I was unable to work for two months. My medical care was expensive and without being able to work, I couldn't pay my bills. The car accident was stressful enough and then I had to worry about how I would pay my bills. After speaking with a car accident lawyer, it wasn't long before I was compensated for my medical bills and lost wages from work. I'm writing this blog to help others who have been a car accident and haven't received any compensation. As you read my posts, you'll learn how an attorney can help you if you're in a vehicle accident.
If your unemployment claim gets denied, all is not lost. All states have an appeal process you can use to challenge the decision your state's unemployment department made. The biggest issue you will face is creating an argument to overturn their decision. There are essentially four reasons why your claim would be denied: you quit, you were accused of misconduct, you didn't work enough hours or make enough money to qualify for unemployment benefits, or the unemployment agency feels you are not actively looking for work. During the appeals process, your job is to show them that whatever reason the unemployment agency used to deny you benefits does not actually apply to your situation, and the decision should be overturned. Here is how you can convince the appeal hearing officer that you should be able to collect unemployment benefits.
Documentation
Keeping good records can help you win your case. For instance, you can quit your job if you are being mistreated or placed in inappropriate danger (a firefighter can't quit because they have to fight fires, but a construction worker can quit if they are told they have to work on a tall scaffold without any personal protection gear to protect against them falling), but you have to show the appeal hearing officer proof that these types of situations existed that lead to your resignation. Copies of any emails or other forms of communication that you made to your employer or supervisors alerting them to your situation should be kept by you. If you can show that you made your company aware of problems and they did nothing about it, or if they started treating you differently once you informed them of problems, you have a good chance of winning your appeal. A good rule of thumb when you find yourself in an untenable situation at work is to make sure you keep private copies of all communication between you and your employer in case you need to refer to it later.
Witnesses
Not all problems at work can be properly documented. Having witnesses appear that have intimate knowledge of your situation can help you if you don't have any documentation. A witness who can tell the hearing officer that your supervisor began to mistreat and harass you because you wouldn't climb on top of the scaffold unless there were protections put in place to keep you from falling might convince the hearing officer to rule in your favor. Another rule of thumb: When a supervisor acts inappropriately towards you, make sure you pay attention to which co-workers are around who are witnessing this poor behavior – the supervisor could be also be mistreating other employees the same way as you who will testify or make a statement on your behalf, which would increase the validity of your argument.
If you find that your unemployment claim has been denied and you don't want to go through the process alone, you should contact a lawyer who specializes in unemployment laws in your state. A lawyer like Law Office of Matthew J Brier can explain how everything works and can help prepare you to answer the hearing officer's questions in the best way possible.
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