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Moms Suicide

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MizzIndependent

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? MD

My mother committed suicide at the beginning of April. She left behind a note, along with a 6 page description of something that had happened with her previous employer, the reason that led to her committing suicide.

She worked for an armored car company.One day she was pulled in the office by 2 males, They asked her to hand over her cell phone, the work cell phone, and her keys. They locked her in a room. When they returned, they accused her of taking money out of the bags and sealing them back up. They said she was doing this within a 2 minute time frame, because she was only left alone for 2 minutes. She asked for her cell phone. They refused to give it back. She asked to call the cops, they refused to do that. She asked for water, they refused to give her water. She asked if she could call a lawyer, they wouldnt let her. She asked if she could use the bathroom, one of the guys walked her to the bathroom and stood right outside the stall. After she was finished, they walked her back into this room. They had a letter they typed up, saying that she was guilty of this, and they told her as long as she signed this, they'd let her go and they wouldnt pursue it further. She refused, and they said they werent letting her go until she did. Her wanting to leave, she signed it. They walked her out to her car, when she opened the car, they pushed her aside and went through her car. When they were finished, she got in and drove off.

The reason she committed suicide is because she was out of work for almost a year after this, they were fighting her on unemployment, and she eventually ran out of money, and I guess she felt that was her only option. In her suicide letter to the family, she gave names and asked we pursue this to the fullest extent possible.

I talked to a few people, and they said its a violation of her civil rights what they did. I want to honor my mothers wishes, but I dont want to go into anything, when she's passed on and all I have for her side is a letter. Another issue is she resided in Florida, and I'm in Maryland, and I'm pretty sure that if I pursue anything, I'd have to go to Florida for this?

Do I have anything to stand on? Do I have anything I could pursue, or should I leave it alone?
Any information would be appreciated
 
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Hot Topic

Senior Member
I'm very sorry for your loss.

I would not pursue the incident your late mother describes. I suspect it would be difficult to prove because certain things don't hang together. Most of all, I think such an investigation would only cause you more pain.
 

MizzIndependent

Junior Member
I'm very sorry for your loss.

I would not pursue the incident your late mother describes. I suspect it would be difficult to prove because certain things don't hang together. Most of all, I think such an investigation would only cause you more pain.

thank you for your reply. Ironically, she got a letter recently stating she won her unemployment case, and is now owed all this back pay.

People say me and my sister are entitled to this money. I dont care about the money, because in the end, my mother is still gone, but I dont want the company keeping it either.

How would I go about even getting this? I dont have much family left, and never had to deal with something like this, and I'm at a loss as to what to do.
 

commentator

Senior Member
If she was certifying for her unemployment each week as it passed, while she was waiting for the claim to be approved or denied, yes, she (or her estate) is supposed to receive this back pay. It should come to her, delivered to her last address within a week of the time the decision to approve was made. She has now, of course stopped filing for weeks as they pass, so she will not receive further benefits, but the backpay is weeks of unemployment she was eligible for at the time they were certified for, and she should receive them. The claims system does not keep issuing checks when the person stops certifying for weeks, but this does not mean they know her current situation.

If she doesn't get it, which I can't see what would keep her from getting it except one of you calling up and explaining to the system she is now deceased, and that you didn't want the money now, this money would still go into the state's general unemployment pool, it would not be given back to the company's account. Even if the employer calls the unemployment office and complains that she is now dead and should not receive this back pay, that wouldn't matter, because she was eligible for it at the time she received it and it was taken from their account legitimately.

As for the circumstances of her termination, she perhaps could have gone immediately and filed a complaint against her employers for false imprisonment and assault, but as for the whole matter of a civil rights suit because they drove her to suicide by fighting her on her unemployment or because she ran out of money, that's nothing that anyone could be prosecuted for doing.

Justified or not, the employer has the perfectly legal right to protest a person's receiving unemployment benefits, and to present evidence that she was terminated for a good misconduct reason, just as she had the right to appeal the termination and try to receive benefits. But unemployment at its very best is precious little money, will end quickly, and is not designed to be what a person counts on to try to live on. So even if it is approved, it may not be soon enough, as in this case. Such a shame to reach the end of your rope over this terrible turn of events. I'm very sorry for your loss.

But if you do receive a check for this backpay from her claim within a few days, I think you can keep it without any problems. Her estate representative should be able to help you cash it. If you do not receive it, I think you should call and talk to someone fairly high up in the unemployment system, not just a local office or interviewer, but someone in the commissioner's office, or through your state government services like your state representative's office and ask them to help you resolve the issue of whether her estate can be paid this backpay and how to go about it.
 
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