I’ve been fired, why can’t I get unemployment insurance?
The conversation always starts out the same, “I’ve been paying all these years, why can’t I get my money when I get fired?” The reason why the recently fired person is denied coverage when they apply is that the money is supposed to be used for people who are laid off, or their is job terminated according to the terms of the employment agreement.
Unemployment insurance is designed to help people who are, through no fault of their own, no longer working. The theory behind it is that it’s a safety net to help people through a temporary job loss. It was designed to protect the factory workers who were seasonally laid off or laid off when there was a downturn in the business.
To receive benefits an applicant must meet the following eight requirements: 1. Have received enough wages during the base period to establish a claim 2. Be totally or partially unemployed 3. Be unemployed through no fault of their own 4. Be physically able to work 5. Be available for work which means to be ready and willing to immediately accept work 6. Be actively looking for work 7. Meet eligibility requirements each week benefits are claimed 8. Be approved for training before training benefits can be paid By far the most important requirement is No. 3, “… through no fault of their own.” This is the part that prevents fired people from getting the benefits they feel they deserve. The policy behind not covering people when they are fired is that it is assumed if you were fired, you did something to deserve getting fired. The program is not designed to reward people for contributing to their own job loss.
The other way in which you can get paid is when the job you were hired for is completed according to its terms. For example, if you worked on a politician’s campaign for three months, once the election is over your job disappears and then you can collect your unemployment insurance.
Most employers would rather fire you than say you were laid off. The reason for this is that the number of unemployment insurance claims affects their contribution to the program and the fewer claims they have the less they have to pay.
The process of receiving claims is to file your claim form, the EDD will send a letter to your employer asking for verification and allowance of the claim. If they deny it, which most will, you have the opportunity to appeal their denial.
You will be sent forms for the appellate process, a hearing date will be scheduled and you will be asked to appear and state why you believe that you should be allowed to collect your unemployment insurance. At that hearing you will have the opportunity to provide evidence and state your case. You may have an attorney present to represent you and to cross-examine the employer’s representative.
You should always appeal a denial of claims, as it is not uncommon for an employer to be late, not show up, or to fail to convince the hearing judge that you were fired not laid off.
Once the hearing officer has heard all of the testimony, he or she will take the matter under submission, which means they are thinking about their ruling. The reality is that most times they already made up their minds. They just don’t want to make a ruling with the parties present to avoid any ugliness or continued arguing. You will be notified in writing, usually within three weeks of the hearing officer’s ruling.
So now you can see why the term “unemployment insurance” is really not what it sounds like, and why you are not likely to receive the monies back that you put in, unless you are laid off, or the job ends naturally. (David Pisarra is a partner in the Santa Monica law firm of Pisarra & Grist. If you have questions for this column, call (310) 664-9969 or by e-mail at)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 3, 2003. Read the original PDF.