Being laid off
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Being laid off
During my maternity leave I asked my job if I could go back to full-time after maternity leave was over at that time I had someone who would be picking up my daughter they said yes I never signed anything that I was going from part-time to full time, I was full-time when I started but had to go down to pet time during pregnancy and left my job part-time, during maternity leave my person who was supposed to pick up my daughter had no vehicle anymore so I called my job and let them know that I was able to do part-time but from 8:30-2:30 and I could work Monday through Saturday I just needed to pick up my daughter whos school is 45 minutes away and she gets out at 3:25. The HR manager said she would talk to new manager about the schedule. She called back about 2 days after and let me know that schedule was not going to work she apologized and said they were going to have to let me go due to my availability. I applied for EDD unemployment and got denied due to my old job saying I quit, I appealed and sent them the letter of my job letting me know my job was being ended due to my availability. Can I win this case? What Can I say during hearing?
Asked on November 1, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Did your termination violate the terms of an employment contract or union agreement? Did it constitute some form of legally actionable discrimination? If not you were an "at will" worker which means that your former company could have fired you for not being available for the hours that they needed to scheduled for. In fact, you could have been discharged for any reason or no reason at all, with or without notice.
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Unfortunately, your availability restrictions are not your employer's concern: if you cannot work the hours they tell you to (employers, not employees, have 100% control over the hours of employment), that is the equivalent of quitting or resigning--you are refusing to go to work when required, which is resigning by behavior, not words. You most likely are not entitled to unemployment benefits in this situation.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.