Legal Question in Employment Law in California
I was working at a restaurant, that was owned by a mother and daughter. They had to be close to the worst people I have ever worked for. The daughter was rude, and needy. And the mother was never really there. They are fighting my unemployment, by lying, so they wont have to pay for it. The reasoning behind firing me was because, "I annoyed another employee". On Dec 23, it was a very busy night. I worked shifts all week that I wouldn't normally work, and that night was my early night. Where I would finally get off relatively early. I walk in, my schedule was changed, and I was in a section I wouldn't normally work. I knew that the influence of the "annoyed coworker" caused this to happen. She continuously caused problems with not just me, but other employees and that was by changing the schedule, causing conflicts, and flat out lying to the daughter about all of us. So, I said something to her. We got into an altercation in front of the on duty manager. The following day, she went in to the owner and twisted the story so much, that when I showed up to work on Christmas eve to work, I was told to grab my things clock out and come back in the following week to discuss my job. When I did go in, the mother said she would speak to the "on duty" manager about what happened and call me later that night.. She also mentioned already hiring someone else. But, she never called, and needless to say, the manager and follow employees defended me. I was denied my unemployment and now unsure what to do?
2 Answers from Attorneys
If you have been denied benefits by the EDD, the first thing you must do is appeal the decision within the 20 days they notified you of. Attend the hearing and give your side of the story to the ALJ. Based on what you have written, you should not be denied benefits as it does not reach the level of misconduct as defined by the EDD. Make sure you are as prepared as possible for the hearing, so you know how to challenge the employer's story and present your own. Good luck.
The employer is entitled to set and change hours, duties, titles, compensation, benefits, leaves, vacations, holidays, policies, rules, etc. just not retroactively. Employees have the 'right' to pay and employee benefits per the state wage and hour laws, and formal company policy as agreed, to be provided a 'safe' workplace to minimize risk of injury, and sometimes are entitled to certain medical/pregnancy leave rights. That's about it. There are no laws against 'unfair treatment' or poor management. In general, unless an employee is civil service, in a union, or has a written employment contract, they are an 'at will' employee that can be disciplined or fired any time for any reason, with or without �cause�, explanation or notice, other than for illegal discrimination, harassment or retaliation under the ADA disability, Civil Rights [age, race, sex, ethnic, religion, pregnancy, etc], Whistle-blower, or similar statutes. The employee's goal should be to keep the employer happy. You apparently did not.
You say you were denied EDD, so your remedy is to file an appeal of that and go to the hearing to present your case to the judge. If you can show the 'confrontation' did not amount to misconduct, you might win. If you want to hire an attorney to help you in that appeal hearing, feel free to contact me.
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