EDD appeal for wrongful termination - do employers need to prove allegations at hearing?
My spouse was terminated from his manufacturing job in November without any documented reason. Now we're dealing with an EDD nightmare because his former employer is fighting his unemployment claim with some wild accusations. They told EDD he had multiple verbal warnings (never documented) and even claimed they called law enforcement on him the day of termination (we checked - no record of any calls from that business address). We have reference letters from his former supervisor who left the company 3 months before the termination and statements from 2 coworkers supporting his good work history. Our appeal hearing is scheduled for February 10th. I'm freaking out about this whole situation. Do employers actually need to provide PROOF of their allegations at these hearings? Right now it's just their word against ours, but we've submitted actual documentation supporting our side. Has anyone been through an appeal where the employer made false claims? What evidence did the judge require from both sides? Could these false accusations possibly be considered slander?
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Ethan Brown
I went through something very similar last year. Yes, the employer absolutely needs to provide evidence at the hearing, not just make claims. The ALJ (Administrative Law Judge) will expect them to have documentation of any disciplinary actions they claim happened. If they said there were verbal warnings, they should have some kind of record - dates, who was present, what was discussed. Same with the supposed police call. Make sure you have all your evidence organized and submitted beforehand. The letters from the supervisor and coworkers will be VERY helpful. In my case, the employer couldn't produce any evidence of their claims and I won my appeal. The burden of proof is on them to show misconduct, not on you to disprove it.
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CosmicCrusader
•Thank you so much! That makes me feel better. We've been organizing everything. So does the judge usually expect employers to bring HR records or something official? Or can they just show up and make verbal statements?
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Yuki Yamamoto
this happened to me too!!! my former boss made up all this stuff about me at the hearing and i didnt know what to say i was so shocked. but then the judge kept asking for proof and they had none. make sure u bring EVERYTHING u have. the judge will want dates times emails anything u got
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CosmicCrusader
•That's reassuring! We have texts between my husband and his manager showing good relationships right up until the day before termination. We'll definitely bring everything!
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Carmen Ortiz
I used to work in HR and can tell you that in EDD hearings, allegations without documentation don't usually hold up well. The ALJ will expect the employer to present actual evidence. Without documentation of verbal warnings, performance issues, or police involvement, their case is weak. The recommendation letters from his former supervisor will carry significant weight, especially since that person was his direct manager.
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Andre Rousseau
•This is completely correct. I'll add that if the employer is making claims about calling law enforcement and you've verified no such calls existed, make sure you bring proof of that too - like a written response from the sheriff's department. The judge might view false claims very poorly.
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Zoe Papadakis
I'd recommend trying to get through to an EDD representative before your hearing to understand exactly what your employer has claimed. It could help you prepare better. I spent 3 days trying to get through to EDD when I was in a similar situation - kept getting disconnected or the "maximum callers" message. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through - they have this system that calls EDD for you and connects you when an agent is available. Saved me hours of redial frustration. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10?si=TSwYbu_GOwYzt9km Once I got through, the agent was able to tell me exactly what my employer had said in their response, which helped me gather specific evidence to counter each point.
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CosmicCrusader
•Thanks for the suggestion! I had no idea we could ask EDD what specific claims were made. We definitely need to do this before the hearing. I'll check out that service - we've been trying to call for days with no luck.
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Jamal Carter
THEY ARE LYING AND THE EDD KNOWS IT!!!! My company did THE EXACT SAME THING to me in 2023 and the judge saw right through it. They made up all kinds of stuff about me being late and having attitude problems but couldn't show ONE SINGLE DOCUMENT. If they really had all these problems with your husband they would have DOCUMENTATION. Companies know they need to document problems for legal reasons. No documentation = THEY'RE LYING. And yes it could be slander especially if it's affecting his ability to get benefits!!!
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Andre Rousseau
•While I understand your frustration with your own case, each situation is different. It's not automatically slander in legal terms - that would require proving they knowingly made false statements with malicious intent, which is very difficult. The good news is that in EDD hearings, undocumented claims often don't hold much weight regardless of intent.
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AstroAdventurer
Just had my appeal hearing last month (won!) and here's what I learned: 1) Be super organized, print multiple copies of everything 2) Practice what you'll say - be brief and factual 3) Let the employer talk first - they often dig their own hole 4) When they make claims, the judge will ask for evidence 5) Stay calm and professional even if they lie My employer claimed I had attendance issues but couldn't produce a single attendance record. The judge was not impressed. Your husband's former supervisor's recommendation letter will be gold in this situation. Good luck!
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CosmicCrusader
•This is incredibly helpful, thank you! We'll definitely let them go first and see what they claim. I'm going to help my husband prepare some brief, factual responses to what we anticipate they might say.
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Yuki Yamamoto
wait i just realized something important - did your husband sign anything when he was let go? severance agreement or anything? my friend got tricked into signing something that said he was resigning when he was actually fired and it messed up his whole case
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CosmicCrusader
•No, he didn't sign anything at all when they let him go. They just escorted him out and had someone else pack up his desk later. I guess that's one thing in our favor?
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Ethan Brown
One more piece of advice from my experience: during the hearing, make sure to address only what the employer brings up in their testimony. Don't volunteer additional information or try to refute claims they haven't made yet. Let the judge guide the conversation. Also, regarding your slander question - while what they're doing is frustrating and potentially dishonest, proving slander in a legal sense would be difficult. Focus on winning the EDD appeal first. If your husband wins his appeal, the EDD will essentially have ruled that the employer's claims weren't credible, which is what matters for getting his benefits.
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CosmicCrusader
•Thank you, that's excellent advice. We'll focus on the appeal first and let the judge guide the process. I appreciate everyone's help here - feeling much more prepared now!
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