First post -- NYS -- question in regard to claim (collecting, receive)

[Golo]

Hello. I was recently let go for "unsafe driving resulting in damage to company vehicle". Long story short, I was doing a job inside of a warehouse in our work/box truck and, when pulling out of a somewhat tight space that I had backed the truck up into, scraped the side of the fiberglass box on a metal clipboard attached to the wall causing approx. $500 dollars damage.

I would assume that this would fall under the "no fault of your own" category since the "accident" was an accident (not trying to be funny) but I wanted to ask what you all think about the situation. Is this an offense that should yield benefits or could I be in for a lengthy appeal process? Thank you so much for your time, appreciate you all.

[Ariadne22]

From NYS Code:

1115. Accidents and damage

1. An avoidable motor accident caused by lack of judgement but not by an act deliberately prejudicial to employer's interests did not constitute misconduct. (A.B. 850-39)

Section 1100

Hopefully, NY will see it your way. $500 isn't worth talking about. They shouldn't have fired you for that. Oh, well.

[Golo]

Thanks a lot for your reply.

I agree, the firing came as a surprise. I had been written up twice for other "offenses" as well that felt like a bit of a reach to reprimand. One being sending a brief text at a stop light in a company vehicle (not illegal in NYS) and another for driving the same company box truck to drop off some goods with a small crack in the windshield which was deemed unsafe. Both felt like things that should have constituted verbal warnings but my (previous) workshop was just big on discipline, i suppose.

This is the first time I've went through this process tho and reading this forum has been a great tool to educate myself while I wait on a determination. Appreciate y'all.

[Golo]

I was just informed today that my previous employer was contesting my claim. I am curious what the next step will be. I was told by the phone rep. that the ADJ was going to talk to the my previous supervisor as well as myself to gather facts and make a decision. If this is the next step, any tips/pointers (what to say, what not to say, etc.) in regard to the best way to go about this interview in order to put me into the best position to get benefits.

A quick backstory on the reason I was fired. Last month, when doing some work in the company box-truck, I scraped the side on the fiberglass box against a metal clipboard hanging off of the wall of the warehouse I was in resulting in approx. 500 dollars damage. My boss deemed my firing "unsafe driving resulting in damage to company vehicle".

Seems like a clear case of this:

1115. Accidents and damage
An avoidable motor accident caused by lack of judgement but not by an act deliberately prejudicial to employer's interests did not constitute misconduct. (A.B. 850-39)
Section 1100

Anyways, thanks in advance for your help.

P.S. The claim is a New York State claim.

[Chyvan]

I can't tell where in the process you're at.

When did you apply?

Are you currently collecting?

Did you say you were "discharged," and what else have you admitted to?

Did you receive a notice of hearing or is this just a phone interview?

You can most likely get benefits, but if this is a hearing, then you need to do it right because there is no second chance. If this is a phone interview, then not the end of the world unless you talk too much.

The flow is like this:

1. Establish that you were discharged. Avoid at all cost talking about why you were discharged (you probably already did though when you filled out the application). It's not your job no matter what the deputy tells you or the paperwork makes you think.

At this point the burden shifts to the employer. These are the things that can happen and why keeping your mouth shut early on can pay off because you want the process to get shortcircuited if at all possible.

2. The employer might not return the paperwork. The person that fills it out is clueless as to what happened, or just a lot of things that will make your life easier.

At this point there is on evidence of misconduct, and you get benefits, Not because there was not misconduct, but because there is no proof. Nothing from you, nothing from the employer. This is the place to start. Most people want to fess up and then say, "but it's not misconduct." Why lop off the hardest prong for the employer to prove when you don't have to? The "it's not misconduct" prong is just a little too subjective for me, and the one making the decision has a lot of say. Take that power away from them by keeping the proof out.

If the employer wants to talk about the accident, that's their right, but make sure they have brought it up before you spill your guts. The employer will have to prove that you delibrately damaged the truck. However, if you admit to this accident, it just makes it too easy for the adjudicator to stop at you just deny you or call the employer and ask leading questions so they can still deny you. Then you end up having to appeal, not because the employer was out to get you, but because you said too much, and the deputy is trying to save the state money.

[Golo]

Applied: 7/27

I am "collecting" but still pending. I have certified benefits 4 times.

I filled out the all necessary paperwork and admitted to being discharged on said paperwork.

I have not received a notice of hearing or phone interview. I called yesterday and spoke to a rep and was told that my previous employer was adjudicating and that they would be speaking to my previous employer as well as myself.

My question is more or less, what is the best way to go about this phone call in which I'm sure the ADJ is going to be trying to get both sides of the story?

[Chyvan]

You're at the first stage. It'll be a phone interview. Your employer will not be on the line with you. However, I think they're taking way too long. If things don't go well here, you can have a hearing and can fix things, just don't talk too much so your words can't be used against you.

[Golo]

When you say "don't talk too much" what should I try to focus on if asked to explain? Any other things that I should mention? I remember reading a thread where a mod mentioned to always reiterate that you "tried your best" and "worked to the best of your abilities".

[Chyvan]

You don't explain. You can say, "I don't know why I was fired," "it wasn't clear to me," "you'll need to ask the employer that," or "I'd like to know that too." This assumes that the deputy calls you first and starts asking what you did. If she shifts gears and says something like, "what were the events leading up to your termination?" You can say, "it was a day pretty much like any other, and I got called into an office and fired."

Anecdotally, you'll get called before the employer. To back that up, my questionnaire only gave me 5 days to return it, but the employer's version of the same form gave them 10. Not all adjudicators are bad, but on this site we only hear from the people with problems, so I got jaded. I just want people to avoid the unnecessary appeal.

Now, if she starts asking specifically about the accident, that can mean she's reading it or she actually called them, and you can still keep from admitting to it by asking questions back like, "who said that?" and when she tells you and it's no one that saw you do it, you can say, "that person works in the office and would have no first-hand knowledge." Don't get the idea this will for sure happen. Some employers don't submit the paperwork, are late, or say the wrong things on the form, so just try really hard not to admit to anything so you can still go into the appeal with none of your own words against you if it comes to that.

The "tried my best" comes into play when you're being accused of being a poor worker. You're being accused of damaging a vehicle. You "trying your best" might be taken the wrong way as in, you tried your best to scrape up the truck. You'd be amazed how what you say gets transcribed by an interviewer in these cases. My deputy notes (because I had to appeal and got to see them) says she called me. She didn't. Everything about the so called conversation she had with me was pure fiction.

[Golo]

So me, in effect, lying to the ADJ (as I obviously know why I was let go) and being aloof won't come off as sketchy?

Another thing I'm worried about is, the day I was fired I was brought into the head of HR's office and talked to by her and my site coordinator. They grilled me in there asking me what I did and how it could have been prevented -- all while taking notes on what I said. I'm thinking they may have been doing that to prepare for UI so that they could have me denied. You think there's any chance that's what that was?

Thanks for all of your insight btw. Appreciate you.