commentator
Senior Member
Have you filed your unemployment yet? Do it now. Today. Even though you don't have any paperwork from your company. They do not have to give you anything. You are out of the company now. They do not control your life. That's what I'm telling you. They can, they did. You've been dumped like a bad blind date.
The letter you got was your COBRA notification. They are required by law to send that one to you. Don't waste a minute trying to get anything else. You do not need it to file for your unemployment. You will file the claim, they will ask you questions about what you were told, what were the circumstances of the termination. Listen very carefully to the questions, answer related to this day this time, what you actually did on the day you were fired, what your supervsior actually said when he fired you. It doesn't matter what your so called "termination papers" may actually say. Right now you tell the unemployment office the exact truth, as you saw it happen of what was done, what was said. Forget about what they may put on their papers.
Then the unemployment office will contact the employer's HR and ask for the circumstances of the termination. It does not matter if your version agree exactly what they say. They don't have to provide you with a copy of any termination papers. But usually, they'll tell the unemployment office some reason.
If there is some big issue or discrepancy, if they say they fired you for, say, bringing a gun to work or something off the wall that you haven't mentioned like this, the ajudicator will call you back and say, "What about this? Your employer said you were fired for bringing a gun to work. Did you ?" Anyhow, the unemployment system will then make what is called an initial decision. You'll be notified, the employer will be notified. Either party can appeal the decision and ask for a hearing. That's what you will need to do if you are denied at first. That's what the employer will probably do if you are approved.
Usually if you file a grievance about a disciplinary matter it is before you are actually terminated, and sometimes unions can stop you from being fired. Once you've been fired, told to go, walk, get off the premises, I have VERY rarely seen anyone, ever ever, union or non-union, reinstated with backpay or something like that. "Wrongful termination" is a rare animal. It exists, we hear, but you don't see a lot of them. But I meant what I said, you likely won't be reinstated, in my opinion.
So I am telling you, in the best of my opinion, move on. File all these complaints (with your union, with ADA and EEOC), get your unemployment,(do this first!) and go forth with your life. It doesn't seem right, and sometimes working in a close union environment for many years will cause people to believe they have more rights and protections under labor law than they actually do. There are always a few people around at a work site who know everything and will be glad to tell you how everything works, but you are out of that now, and you don't need their advice. If they are "outraged" and what to help you, maybe one of them would testify at your unemployment hearing, but I doubt it. They still work for a retaliatory jerk. You don't, and this is really a good thing for you, even though it probably doesn't feel like it right this minute. Good luck to you, you'll get through this.
The letter you got was your COBRA notification. They are required by law to send that one to you. Don't waste a minute trying to get anything else. You do not need it to file for your unemployment. You will file the claim, they will ask you questions about what you were told, what were the circumstances of the termination. Listen very carefully to the questions, answer related to this day this time, what you actually did on the day you were fired, what your supervsior actually said when he fired you. It doesn't matter what your so called "termination papers" may actually say. Right now you tell the unemployment office the exact truth, as you saw it happen of what was done, what was said. Forget about what they may put on their papers.
Then the unemployment office will contact the employer's HR and ask for the circumstances of the termination. It does not matter if your version agree exactly what they say. They don't have to provide you with a copy of any termination papers. But usually, they'll tell the unemployment office some reason.
If there is some big issue or discrepancy, if they say they fired you for, say, bringing a gun to work or something off the wall that you haven't mentioned like this, the ajudicator will call you back and say, "What about this? Your employer said you were fired for bringing a gun to work. Did you ?" Anyhow, the unemployment system will then make what is called an initial decision. You'll be notified, the employer will be notified. Either party can appeal the decision and ask for a hearing. That's what you will need to do if you are denied at first. That's what the employer will probably do if you are approved.
Usually if you file a grievance about a disciplinary matter it is before you are actually terminated, and sometimes unions can stop you from being fired. Once you've been fired, told to go, walk, get off the premises, I have VERY rarely seen anyone, ever ever, union or non-union, reinstated with backpay or something like that. "Wrongful termination" is a rare animal. It exists, we hear, but you don't see a lot of them. But I meant what I said, you likely won't be reinstated, in my opinion.
So I am telling you, in the best of my opinion, move on. File all these complaints (with your union, with ADA and EEOC), get your unemployment,(do this first!) and go forth with your life. It doesn't seem right, and sometimes working in a close union environment for many years will cause people to believe they have more rights and protections under labor law than they actually do. There are always a few people around at a work site who know everything and will be glad to tell you how everything works, but you are out of that now, and you don't need their advice. If they are "outraged" and what to help you, maybe one of them would testify at your unemployment hearing, but I doubt it. They still work for a retaliatory jerk. You don't, and this is really a good thing for you, even though it probably doesn't feel like it right this minute. Good luck to you, you'll get through this.
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