EDD Lag Test Question (reapply, appeal, telephone, requirements)

[Calicoast22]

Rabrrita and Chyvan,
I cannot thank you both enough for the time you have taken with me.

Since I already answered the availability question as "yes, 100 %" should I continue with the second interview? I feel like I am in the hands of a fair interviewer and it will go to appeals for sure if I don't. My past employer knew I was having trouble with emails for months and that's why they said they would hard copy the forms and I seriously never got them, don't they have to prove they sent it? I am looking at 2 past forms and they state "there is no guarantee of work as staff required depends on enrollment". What is the rule of thumb on 'bonafide offers"? Thanks again.

[Chyvan]

Originally Posted by Calicoast22

"there is no guarantee of work as staff required depends on enrollment".

This statement alone does not meet the requirement for a bona fide offer.

Originally Posted by Calicoast22

What is the rule of thumb on 'bonafide offers"?

In it's simplest, a bona fide offer looks like this: We want you to start on Monday. Your hours will be 8 am to 5 pm. You'll get one hour for lunch. You'll work Monday to Friday. You will answer phones and respond to emails. You will be paid $10/hr. Do you want the job?

Once the employer starts throwing in contingencies like "depends on enrollment," that completely negates the offer because there was NO job for you.

Thanks for providing that little tidbit that completely changes things to your favor.

I can't stop you from talking to a deputy, not everyone that works for EDD understands these concepts. Some are very new that were hired during the recession. They have their own ideas of who should get UI that is out in left field.

YOU have to know why you are entitled to UI so that you answer things correctly. Look how long it took before you thought the "depends on enrollment" would be a relevant and useful thing to mention. Lot's of people or probably eligible for UI, but they just don't say things right because they don't know the rules or don't think it's meaningful and then take the first "no" because they don't know any better.

[Calicoast22]

Yes, I actually went to the employer section of the EDD website to see things from my past employers perspective, that was very helpful! Based on everything discussed I think I will take that 2nd interview, I feel a lot better about it. Thank you again. I'll update when it's over.

[Rabrrita]

Originally Posted by Calicoast22

My past employer knew I was having trouble with emails for months and that's why they said they would hard copy the forms and I seriously never got them, don't they have to prove they sent it? I am looking at 2 past forms and they state "there is no guarantee of work as staff required depends on enrollment". What is the rule of thumb on 'bonafide offers"? Thanks again.

As already mentioned, the "no guarantee of work" is a game changer. On one hand, if you take the call and stick to they never made an offer only a check in to see if there is work and you fax them the two prior forms, they may decide there was no work being offered so no issue with availability so you get benefits. The draw back is if the employer appeals they know they need to overcome the "no guarantee" and may come up with other items to show work was offered the last time. Essentially, they now know what you have and what they need to do to win the appeal.

If you don't take the call, odds are you will be denied and have to appeal. The thing is this time, your employer still has no idea what you have and what you will say. Often they are overly confident they will still win they may have nothing but what they said at the initial interview. Anything you produce to impeach their evidence/testimony will be a surprise to them and they may have noting to counter it. Heck they may not even appear because they just know they will win.

At an appeals hearing, if the evidence you present overcomes their evidence and the determination is ruled for you (very likely) your employers odds of winning at a BOR review is pretty slim.

[Calicoast22]

What a gamble! I am such a rule follower I just can't help it. The interview is scheduled for this week, I am going to keep it and keep it short. Sounds like I don't have to tell them much beyond;

From the EDD letter;
"During the interview you may be asked some of the following questions"
1) Why did you refuse the referral or job offer?
2) Were the wages, hours and working conditions of the job fully explained?
3) When was the job offered? Who offered you the job?

I can't get past number 1, so the interview should be the shortest ever and I am confident I'll be in the lucky 45% of claimants who win!

Is there a penalty to the employer for making unsubstantiated and clearly bogus claims?

[Rabrrita]

They can ask you as many questions as they think is necessary. Those are just the basics of the issue and they can ask as much or as little as they want. They will also ask questions that may not appear to be related to your direct reason for being unemployed but if the employer raised it, they can ask about it. You may also get hit with questions that have nothing to do with what you thought was the reason holding up you claim because the employer suddenly switched gears midstream and is saying something else as the reasons.

Part of the interview process is to probe to see if you were deceptive in your initial application and to hopefully get you to accidental say something that can be used as an admission of guilt. Many times the question is worded in a way to solicit a certain type of response where the claimant may not realize they walked into a trap. It also provides the employer with a heads up as to your strategy so if this goes to an appeal they already know what you are going to say.

However, these interviews are only stressful and harmful if your not able to think on your feet and evaluate the reason for the question before you answer. So long as you can immediately identify the intent of the question and answer only in a way beneficial to you, or know when to remain silent and push the answer back to the employer, you shouldn't have any problems.

[Ariadne22]

Originally Posted by Calicoast22

Is there a penalty to the employer for making unsubstantiated and clearly bogus claims?

No, they can lie through their teeth without consequence - and do - all the time.

[Calicoast22]

I heard EDD was very employer friendly, my 1st interview was postponed due to my right to know what they would ask etc... it totally defeats the purpose if they turn around and ask me anything they want to now. Some things about this process make no sense at all.

Hopefully I get the same interviewer, I feel like he felt they should not be challenging my claim based on how fast the first interview went (the availability question is now gone from the second letter I received).

My last claim overlapped the time period when they said they were sending forms etc...and they did not object during my last claim, should I raise that? I believe this claim goes through next year and they are now trying to challenge it based on the cost to them.

I hope I will be good on my feet so to speak, I feel strong and secure in what happened. I take it there is no penalty to them for raising bogus issues? In the employer section of EDD, it clearly states the criteria and there is no way they could have answered it legitimately.

[Calicoast22]

Thank you Ariadne22, I was typing and din't see your response.

It's a shame they can lie and suffer no consequences, meanwhile my benefits are held for weeks now. I noticed that I had to mail my last paper claim but this time there was no such requirement, I wonder why?

[Ariadne22]

They've changed the system and are trying to do as much online as possible. Further, EDD is not employer-friendly at the appeal level. Generally, ALJs bend over backwards for the claimant.