Myths That Will Destroy Your Unemployment Claim

I cannot claim unemployment because I was fired.

Ohio allows an individual who is terminated to claim unemployment benefits, so long as the employee was not at fault for the termination.  The employer must show they had just cause to terminate.

My coworker got fired for the same reason and they got their unemployment, so I will too.

What might be just cause for one person might not be just cause for another.  The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services  decides your case based on your facts, not on someone else’s.

Let’s take two examples.  Sandy is a salesperson, and works from home.  She has no office, but is required to log 40 hours of work every week.  It doesn’t really matter if Sandy logs her hours from 8 until 4 every day, just so long as she gets the work done.  If she sleeps in fifteen minutes from her usual start time and gets started later, assuming no other issues, nothing bad happens to her employer.

Bob drives an armored car for cash pickup.  He has a strict schedule to obey.  If Bob is fifteen minutes late for work in the morning and doesn’t start his run on time, problems arise for his employer and the clients.

As a result, if Bob is tardy three times his employer might have just cause to terminate him, but Sandy's employer might not have just cause to terminate her for three tardies.  It depends on the facts, the rules, the work histories and more.

My boss was rude and mean, so I quit.  I will get benefits if I explain how rude he was.

While it can certainly play a role in quitting, this is an exceptionally high bar to clear.  You have to show your boss' behavior was so extreme that you could no longer work there, AND you notified your employer of the problem, AND you gave your employer adequate time to resolve the problem.

I will get unemployment because my employer said they would not contest it.

This can be tragic in two occasions.  First, people change their minds.  An employer who tells you that they won’t contest your unemployment may decide that they will contest it after they see what it could do to their tax rates.  While they may have made an agreement with you and you could conceivably take them to court for their breach of that agreement (assuming all contract formalities were obeyed), that doesn’t keep your electric bill paid and food in your pantry.

Second, it is the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services that determines whether you are entitled to benefits, not your old employer. Oftentimes, answers to simple, non-threatening questions can make your separation look like it’s a disqualifying one.  Claims can be denied even if your employer does not respond to ODJFS or contest your unemployment.

I have a new job lined up, so it does not matter if I get denied unemployment.

While a new job is certainly something to be happy about, one should be careful about things like probationary periods. If your new employer suddenly decides that they don’t like your work and you never filed for unemployment regarding your last job, you may find yourself in a tight spot where you can’t claim benefits from either.

Even worse, you could miss the window for filing your first claim and be barred forever from obtaining benefits through that employer, even if your separation was not a disqualifying one.

I have to quit to care for my ill spouse, but I worked many years so I will get unemployment.

In Ohio, resigning for family obligations is a sure way to find yourself disqualified for unemployment benefits, whether it is to care for an ill spouse, or even if your employer changes your schedule to one you cannot work because you need to take care of your children.  The rule is unfair and wrong, but it is the law.

I can handle the unemployment appeals myself and get a lawyer if I lose.

An Ohio unemployment case moves through three stages, and each stage is an appeal of the decision before it.

First, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services issues a Determination. You have 21 days to appeal it in writing, and the agency responds with a Redetermination.

Second, if you appeal the Redetermination, the case goes to the Unemployment Compensation Review Commission (UCRC), which schedules a telephone hearing. In almost every case, the hearing officer's decision is the final word.

Third, that decision can be appealed once more, but the Commission rarely disturbs it and almost never grants a second hearing, because it defers to the telephone hearing officer.

Because the telephone hearing is realistically your one chance to be heard, prepare for it as though it will decide everything, and if you want a lawyer, retain one before that hearing.