What counts as misconduct for NYS Department of Labor unemployment disqualification?
I got fired from my retail job last month and when I filed for unemployment, my claim got flagged for adjudication. My former manager told HR I was terminated for misconduct but I'm not sure what that even means in terms of unemployment benefits. I was always on time, never stole anything, and did my job. The only thing I can think of is that I got into an argument with a customer who was being really inappropriate with me and I told them they needed to leave. My supervisor said I should have called security instead of handling it myself. Is that really misconduct that would disqualify me from getting unemployment? I'm really stressed about this because I need these benefits to pay my rent.
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Sophia Clark
Misconduct for NYS Department of Labor purposes is pretty specific - it has to be willful disregard of employer's interests or deliberate violation of workplace rules. Simply defending yourself from an inappropriate customer probably won't qualify as misconduct unless you violated a clear company policy about how to handle difficult customers. The employer has to prove you acted deliberately against their interests, not just made a judgment call in a stressful situation.
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Ryan Young
•That makes me feel a bit better. I never got written up for anything before this incident and there wasn't really a clear policy about what to do if customers cross the line.
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Katherine Harris
I had something similar happen to me last year. Got fired for what my boss called 'insubordination' but it was really just me questioning a policy change that seemed unsafe. NYS Department of Labor approved my claim after the adjudication because the employer couldn't prove I was deliberately trying to harm the business. You should definitely appeal if they deny you initially - a lot of times employers just claim misconduct hoping you won't fight it.
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Madison Allen
•How long did your adjudication take? Mine's been pending for 2 weeks now and I'm getting worried.
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Katherine Harris
•Mine took about 3 weeks total. The waiting is the worst part but hang in there.
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Joshua Wood
misconduct is stuff like stealing, showing up drunk, fighting with coworkers, chronic tardiness after warnings, etc. defending yourself from a creepy customer isnt misconduct imo
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Justin Evans
If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor to check on your adjudication status, I used a service called Claimyr that helped me reach an actual agent. You can check them out at claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI that shows how it works. I was stuck trying to call for weeks and they got me through to someone who could explain exactly what documentation the employer had submitted and what I needed to provide for my defense.
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Ryan Young
•Thanks for the suggestion! I've been trying to call every day but can never get through. I'll definitely look into that.
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Emily Parker
The whole misconduct thing is so subjective it's ridiculous. I've seen people get denied for the most minor stuff while others who actually deserved to be fired somehow get approved. The system is a joke and employers know they can just claim misconduct for anything and make you jump through hoops to prove otherwise.
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Ezra Collins
•So true! My friend got denied because she was 'argumentative' with her boss but really she was just standing up for herself when he was being inappropriate.
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