Unemployment benefits are not available to all people who are unemployed. Whether or not a former worker is eligible to collect unemployment benefits depends on a number of criteria, including the nature of their termination and whether or not their previous employer has filed a claim to deny them benefits.
This means that your company can significantly influence an employee’s eligibility for unemployment benefits. Your business must decide whether or not to challenge a claim filed by a former worker.
Obtain legal advice from a Paramus wrongful termination attorney who is experienced in handling your specific case.
Can They Receive Unemployment Insurance Benefits?
Unemployment payments are only available to those who have lost their jobs due to circumstances beyond their control. The circumstances under which this regulation applies vary depending on whether the worker voluntarily left, was laid off or was fired.
Employees who have been laid off may contest their eligibility for unemployment benefits.
Unemployment payments are always available to those who have lost their jobs due to layoffs or reductions in force.
Fighting Joblessness If a Worker Was Let Go
If you were laid off from your job due to budget cuts or because you were simply not a good fit for the position, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits. If an employer terminates an employee for cause, such as repeated tardiness to work, but the offences were small, inadvertent, or isolated, the employee may still qualify for unemployment benefits.
But in most places, unemployment benefits cannot be given to a former worker who was fired for wrongdoing.
What sort of behaviour would preclude a worker from obtaining unemployment insurance? In most cases, misconduct occurs when an employee knowingly and intentionally takes action that has a negative impact on the firm.
Does Your Business Need to Fight an Unemployment Claim?
The state unemployment office, not your employer, has the final say on whether a former worker is eligible for unemployment benefits. However, employers are given significant leverage if they can challenge an employee’s unemployment benefits claim.
Keep in mind that if an employee has been laid off, there is no justification for disputing their unemployment claim. Employees who were let go for less serious reasons, such as shoddy performance, carelessness, poor judgement, or an inability to pick up new skills, have no legal standing to dispute the claim even if they were not fired for misbehaviour.
