Am I eligible for unemployment?

[cbg]

They contest BY responding to the letter. They can respond and say they are not contesting, but they cannot contest without responding. Why are you so determined to believe that they are going to contest, even in the face of evidence that says they are not?

 

[CSantelli1985]

They contest BY responding to the letter. They can respond and say they are not contesting, but they cannot contest without responding. Why are you so determined to believe that they are going to contest, even in the face of evidence that says they are not?

I only say that because the HR department is so disorganized. It's possible she never got it. That's all.

 

[cbg]

If she never got it, then she cannot contest.

If she did get it and hasn't responded, then she hasn't contested.

And with all due respect to commentator (and commentator gets all the respect I have when it comes to UI issues) I have failed to respond to a number of UI requests if I didn't intend to contest, and rarely if ever got a phone call. Maybe that's a new rule or maybe it's state specific, but as the person who was, for several years, responsible for responding to UI notices, this is the first I've heard that they're required to follow up by phone.

I will grant that it has been several years since I have been responsible for UI.

 

[eerelations]

HR didn't respond to the letter. Maybe she just didn't get it. The HR department is very disorganized. I wonder if the claims examiner will be able to get a hold of her.

Good golly.

 

[commentator]

I'm sure it is different in many states. I'd suspect that it's also sort of based on the amount of time they have available to do it in. In other words, during the height of the recession, I suspect they weren't being overly concerned with doing follow up contacts on their initial decisions, as all quality and benefit accuracy measurements sort of went by the wayside.

But when some employer gets the notice that during this quarter Joe Blow drew unemployment insurance charged to their employer account after Joe Blow was fired, they tend to raise heck and announce that they never got the notices and that they never received their promised opportunity to contest the claim. And sometimes, if there's no record of a follow up call or contact attempt in the claim history, they get a do over (at the state's expense, not the claimant's).

And I still emphasize, if you do not want to contest the claim, that's one thing. But not contesting it, even telling the unemployment agency you don't want to contest it, does not necessarily guarantee that Joe Blow gets approved for benefits. If the employer wants to be sure Joe gets to draw benefits, they need to give him a lack of work separation.

If he tells the unemployment system the circumstances of his termination and it sounds to them like old Joe richly deserved to be canned, they could very well decide he didn't qualify, even without the employer's feedback. I've actually seen this happen, when Joe tried (unsuccessfully) to firebomb the office, and the employer was concerned he would retaliate if they fought the claim, and they specifically stated that they did not want to contest the claim. But Joe was terminated, and he proudly came in and confessed his wrongdoing, told the claims taker how he showed that jerk a thing or two, told him where to go and then there was that little episode with the firebomb! Guess what? Joe no draw. We made it a point to tell him it wasn't his employer's fault, it was his.

But this OP seems to be one of the master overthinkers of the universe, and he'll parse and re-phrase and agonize over every aspect of this issue until he gets another job anyhow. I think he has a pretty good chance of approval, whether the employer responds or not, but he seems convinced that they have to fail to respond or he is in danger of being disqualified.

 

[cbg]

if you do not want to contest the claim, that's one thing. But not contesting it, even telling the unemployment agency you don't want to contest it, does not necessarily guarantee that Joe Blow gets approved for benefits.

Not arguing this at all. I have had employees denied when I didn't contest. But in this case, I can't see the poster being denied benefits even if the employer contests, which it does not appear that the employer is planning to do anyway. This poster is making himself miserable over his own imaginings.

 

[CSantelli1985]

I checked my claim status online. It just says "Your claim has been pended."

 

[cbg]

The day after your telephone interview, that is to be expected.

 

[CSantelli1985]

Update. I logged into the NJ unemployment website this morning to check the status of my claim. The "Your claim has been pended" message was removed and it was showing that I have been paid for the last 5 weeks. I guess my claim was approved at the end of the day yesterday. It still hasn't been deposited into my account. I guess it will on Monday. I want to thank you all for your advice. See, I told you I'd be fine, didn't I?

 

[cbg]

I'm glad to hear it.

Next time we tell you to relax, will you save a lot of wear and tear on all of us and just believe us?

 

[eerelations]

I'm glad to hear it.

Next time we tell you to relax, will you save a lot of wear and tear on all of us and just believe us?

i.e., we told you. Good golly.