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socrateaser, Lawyer
Category: California Employment Law
Satisfied Customers: 33374
Experience:  Retired (mostly)
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I was denied California Unemployment after being fired from

Resolved Question:

I was denied California Unemployment after being fired from my job. The reason my employer used was I was late multiple times and had very bad customer service even though neither one it's true. I got fired 3 days after requesting vacation time in May, so I gave 2 months notice for the week vacation. Seems odd to me that I was never written up for either one of those issues and all of a sudden I get fired for them.
Submitted: 1 year ago.
Category: California Employment Law
Expert:  Jack R. replied 1 year ago.

Thank you for choosing Just Answer.


The initial decision on your unemployment application 9is not necessarily the last one. You have the ability to appeal the decision. Herr is a link to the application you must file to initiate the appeal.



You only have 20 days from the original letter denying. Mail your appeal to the return address shown on the original decision notice.


The Office of Appeals notifies individuals of the time and place of hearing at least 10 days in advance. An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) conducts the hearing, giving employers and you a chance to present their evidence.


You should be prepared to discuss the evidence or lack thereof that was presented at the initial hearing. You should ask the employer to produce any documentation of evidence surrounding the alleged bad service. They should also produce the attendance record. If you have pay stubs showing your working hours accumulate, summarize and bring them to the hearing. This alone could defeat the credibility of your employer.





Customer: replied 1 year ago.

I knew that.

Expert:  Jack R. replied 1 year ago.
I am disappointed you rated this as bad service. Your discussion did not describe what you knew and did not know. We are not mind readers just attorneys offering a service. If you have a specific question on what you don't know please ask.
Customer: replied 1 year ago.
Relist: Answer quality.
Thats basic information that anybody can find by looking at tge edd website... I was looking for expertise...
Expert:  socrateaser replied 1 year ago.

Different contributor here. Questions re California employment law are required to be placed in a separate category from other employment law questions, and only California-licensed attorneys are permitted to answer the questions.

It's not clear to me why the other contributor answered your question -- moreover, after reviewing your initial post, I don't actually observe that you have asked any question.

In order to best assist you, can you please ask a direct question or questions, so that I don't start discussing something that you already know or about which you have no interest?

Thanks in advance.
Customer: replied 1 year ago.

ok, so, I am appealing the edd decision to deny my unemployment claim by basically telling them that I was never later, unless ut was pre-approved by my supervisor/owner of the place. Im pretty sure my discharged occurred right after I requested vacation time. I have witnesses of my customer service abilities and they all disagree with with the owners accusations and say that nobody ever lasts more than a year at that place and people if often fired... i dont know besides asking for clock records and write ups about the alleged complaints about my customer service

Expert:  socrateaser replied 1 year ago.
Are you asking me generally about how to prepare your case for the hearing?
Customer: replied 1 year ago.

how to appeal it and succeed since they made that up.

Expert:  socrateaser replied 1 year ago.
Okay, thanks. Here's how I would approach the hearing:

1. California unemployment insurance benefit hearings are the closest thing to "Judge Judy" as anything in the legal arena. The rules of evidence are almost entirely suspended. The only evidence that is not admissible is that which the administrative law judge (ALJ) finds to be obtained by a witness from a third party with whom the witness had no prior contact. This is in contrast to a regular court hearing where the evidence must be proved to have been made in the ordinary course of business by someone who had knowledge of its production (aka the "business records exception").

What this means is that you can bring practically any document and any witness to the hearing to corroborate your testimony, and the ALJ will consider it, because the employer cannot object to the evidence. Likewise, the employer can bring whatever it wants, and you can't object to that evidence.

In short, the hearing is a "festival of liars," and the ALJ must use his or her experience to try to determine who's lying the least (rather than who's telling the truth).

2. But, this also gives you a great opportunity. Because, whenever someone appears with really credible evidence, the ALJ will give that evidence far more weight than anything else at the hearing.

So, if you have any witnesses/coworkers who are willing to testify in your behalf, then you need to contact the ALJ's office and ask for the ALJ to issue a subpoena so as to ensure that your witnesses will appear at the hearing (or be available to testify via telephone, if you have a telephone hearing). If you don't get subpoenas, then what I generally find is that the coworkers usually are threatened with being fired, or they are worried about being fired to the extent that they will suddenly forget everything about your circumstances, and when the hearing arrives, you will find yourself all alone.

Thus, your witnesses are your best offense and defense.

3. All things being equal, if you testify to one thing, and the employer testifies contrary, the judge will through out both of your testimony on that issue, and you will win by default, because you are presumed to be entitled to benefits. So, you must have your story straight, and to the extent that the employer says anything to which you have not previously testified, you must contradict it directly when you have an opportunity to respond. Otherwise, whatever is not contradicted by you, will work against you (and the same for the employer).

Depending upon the character of the employer, you may find documents or testimony appearing at the hearing which is complete fantasy. You must call it for what it is -- call the employer's witness or evidence a flat lie, if it is one and don't mince words. You must behave as if the employer's story has absolutely "no legs," though you don't need to get angry. Sometimes, it's better to laugh and then state unequivocally that the employer is engaging in complete fabriacdtion.

3. Write down your testimony. If the hearing is on the phone, the ALJ won't know you're reading from notes (not that it matters -- though it's not permitted in regular civil court). But, you need to be able to read your testimony before the hearing and try to poke holes in it. And, you should have someone else read it and try to poke holes, because you're not objective -- and you want someone who will try to wreck your story, so you can fix it, before the hearing.

4. The botXXXXX XXXXXne is that the employer must show that you violated a reasonable rule of employment, or you were insubordinate. Showing up late is sufficient to deny you benefits. Whereas, poor on-the-job performance is insufficient to deny benefits. For example, if you did your best and it wasn't good enough for the employer, then you're still qualified for unemployment benefits.

If some of your witnesses have received similar treatment to you (previously terminated employees), then that would be extremely important evidence, because it would show a pattern of conduct by the employer which suggests that this is how the employer regularly gets rid of employees without having any liability for their unemployment benefits. That would be my central thesis, which I would try to get the court to believe.

I think that about covers it. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.
socrateaser, Lawyer
Satisfied Customers: 33374
Experience: Retired (mostly)
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