My Husband Got Fired

If he resigned they don't have to pay him unemployment, he will not be entitled to it if they say he voluntarily left.
Sounds like his "company" is being a cheapskate.

Yes, my take would be they don't want to pay unemployment.

He needs to call HR and discuss that with them, pronto.

That certified letter is your husband's former employer's attempt to deny your husband his unemployment benefits. Whatever you do, don't delete that text!

He needs to immediately fire off a letter to the boss taking exception to his characterization of your husband suddenly resigning. The boss did that to cover his butt because he knows he did something wrong. If your hubby does not respond to the letter, the contents will be deemed to be true.

I think your hubby should fire off a response clarifying that he did not resign, but was fired and then seek legal advice. Like I said, the boss surely knows he violated some sort of law or regulation and is trying to cover his butt with that letter. Have your hubby's response sent certified, return receipt requested.

What CoMoMom said. My thoughts exactly. His boss is trying to back peddle so he doesn't have to pay unemployment. I hope your husband kept his text.

ETA: Oh man, this is the same boss from the wedding! I remember now. I REALLY hope your husband kept his text from that wacko.

Your husbands boss is trying to cover his behind so he does not have to pay unemployment. Your husband should save the text message as proof that the text came before the certified letter. He should file for his unemployment and then if it is denied, appeal it and produce his proof. Unless he was fired for just cause like procedure violation, insubordination or attendance issues he should win the case.

Save the text because it's documentation that your husband was fired and did not quit. Of course this shouldn't shock you since you already know that his boss is a jerk.

Your husband's next step should be to file for unemployment and then he should dust off the resume and find another job with a company that is professional.

The boss doesn't want to have to pay unemployment plain as that.

I'd do a little research right now into the laws in your state and what to do next. Keep that text that says he's fired, that should be helpful. After reading your other post I think you should be really careful, you need unemployment while he looks for another job and his EX boss sounds like a real creep. Watch out.

OK - I may be wrong, but you don't get a letter FROM a boss saying you resigned. You send a letter TO your boss saying you resigned. I would call the employment office and ask about this, as it sounds completely illegal. SAVE that text message. See if the phone company can produce any records, printouts of that stuff.

Tell your husband to keep the texts and any documentation that his boss has sent him.

I might even go so far as to send an email (your husband) of "please explain to me why I am fired, etc" just to get the response email back.

Certainly, he is trying to evade unemployment. And ANYONE can send a certified letter, it is not the same as a notarized document where the notary looks at a person's ID.

Perhaps the guy is trying to prevent him from collecting unemployment.

I really think that your husband needs to go to a labor lawyer. In addition to getting the lawyer to help you all get unemployment, the lawyer needs to tell this jerk that if he prevents your husband from getting another job by giving a bad reference, that he will sue him.

I'm so sorry this happened. As hard as all this is going to be, when your husband is no longer working for this truly awful man, everything will be so much better.

Keep all documentation which includes text for your CYA file which you'll need for unemployment.

If you have the phone conversation recorded.. That's better!

Make sure you document every detail , no matter how minor it seems to build your case and get you going elsewhere.

Best wishes to you .

The company may be hoping to avoid paying unemployment. If DH plans to file for unemployment, he will need any evidence he has that he was fired - he should print/save the text. His boss will need to decide whether it is worth perjuring himself at the unemployment hearing to avoid paying.

It sounds like the man he worked for is unstable. That doesn't help, I know, but it is an explanation.

ETA: In some states, you can collect unemployment if you are fired, but not if you quit. The boss may be trying to avoid paying that. Also, the boss violated all kinds of policies, and possibly laws, by firing your husband via text and by screaming at him. Good riddance to the boss. And I agree with everyone else, your husband should draft his own formal letter stating facts and save the text.

In these trying times, the employer is saying that your husband resigned to avoid paying unemployment. because if you were fired you are eligible for unemployment, however if you resign you do not qualify. You could also call your states Unemployment workforce department for better answers.

Please go to your state web sites that lay out unemployment insurance and other details. There is some misinformation in posts below.

It sounds like the boss is trying to cover his backside legally in case your husband wants to sue for being wrongfully terminated due to discrimination, harassment, a vendetta, etc. If your husband "resigns," he can't claim he was terminated.

If your husband really wants to pursue it, get a lawyer. It sounds like his boss has no help like an HR department to defend him, so your husband might have a case IF there is cause.

While Gracie is *technically* correct, I know that there are plenty of cases in the Chicagoland area of people who were fired, contested it, and got unemployment.

Please do have your husband send a a certified letter to his boss stating his position and save the text message from his boss. Good luck!

Make sure your husband saves that text. If anything goes wrong with unemployment he will have that as evidence.

Pumpkinhead:

i'm sorry. that sucks.

Hopefully, your husband still has the text from his boss that said he was fired. That way - your husband can appeal an unemployment claim.

I would hope my husband knew why he was fired from his job. I hope he has his resume ready and is looking for a new job.

Good luck!

Print the text, now!

I see you have a lot of answers and perhaps somebody mentioned this already, but it seems to me that they are creating a paper trail so he cannot file for unemployment. If you resign, you are not eligible for unemployment benefits, something that your company has to pay for. I smell a rat for sure...does not sound like this employer is on the up-and-up. You may want to consult with an attorney unless you are not worried about collecting unemployment. This would be the only negative impact I could see regarding the difference between being fired and having resigned. Good luck!

Your husband needs to file for his unemployment. It's my guess his former crazy boss is going to fight against him receiving his due unemployment. I suggest your husband just go through the unemployment office's process and file his claim for unemployment while looking for a job or starting his own business.

This is time for him to do what he needs to do without troubling himself over this boss. Keep the text messages from the boss because he will need them to prove he was Fired and did not resign.

Keep the main thing the main thing and get to ME, INC. He needs to think about himself and his family and brush the stench off from his former working situation with the crazy, unprofessional, tacky boss.

The text is the ONLY proof your husband may have to claim unemployment. This "letter" is a way to get out of paying unemployment. At this point, you will have a difficult time claiming/collecting it.

Well, first save the text. You will need this for your husband's unemployment claim. He needs to file immediately stating that he was fired. Next, the employer is trying to cover himself and doing it badly. When I terminate an employee, I most certainly do not send a certified letter. Now, if the letter stated that he was a no call no show and he was being terminated after say three days, then I could see that.

Even if you are fired, you can get unemployment IF you can prove that you were fired for unjust cause or through no fault of your own. I'm thinking just off the top of my head, your husband will be eligible for unemployment. However, I will say that I'm not an HR professional in Illinois. I'm in Texas. PM if you have any questions.

My mother was offered the opportunity to resign once...because they did not want to give her unemployment benefits for being fired. She fought it and explained her case to the unemployment office. It's been a while so I forget the details, but I would be suspicious of this if it blocks your DH's ability to claim unemployment. He needs to find someone who can explain it to him and tell him what his rights are.

First of all, who in the heck texts an employee to tell them they are fired? What a loser and a nightmare! I hope you have that text and any other little goodies that will back up the fact that your husband's boss is a real piece of work. I'm sorry that there is no HR help here but what I can tell you is that you need to have hubby apply for unemployment right away and make sure he also files a grievance when it comes to the part where he explains the reason for the unemployment. If your husband has never been disciplined for anything, written up, documented doing anything wrong or against policy, it will be hard for this former boss to get out of paying him the unemployment wages. Also have him start looking for another job ASAP. Don't use this boss as a reference if at all possible. If he has other work experience to draw off of, use that or list the job but maybe have a client or customer be the "work reference" if another employer were to call and check on his performance or work history. I'm sorry that this is happening to you guys. Things will get better. If this is what your husbands boss was like, he's better off without this guy and the job!

the certified letter itself will be a red flag to the unemployment office (if you can find anyone who actually cares, that is.) no employer sends out a certified letter saying 'hey, you resigned suddenly.'
but make sure you keep the text too.
khairete
S.

Does your husband have an explanation? If this is also upsetting to him, does he have the backbone to stand up to his clearly unhinged former boss?

All I can say is that your husband is lucky to be free from such a toxic person.

Why does it matter? If he was fired for cause or quit, he cannot claim unemployment. Maybe he did it to be nice to your husband so he doesn't have to admit he was fired. I assume the letter is so that he can show potential employers that he left of his own free will and wasn't fired. With unemployment as it is he won't get hired if they call for references and they say he was fired.

Perhaps his boss read your post last week.

Why do people think they pay unemployment to people that are fired? Lay offs you get unemployment, not fired. Think this through, you are a bad employee, you get fired, you get paid to do nothing. No system is that messed up.

I really do hope I am wrong but there is no point in sending that letter other than for your husband's benefit. Your husband didn't sign it, it isn't proof of anything and your husband's ex boss has to know that. So he knows it isn't getting him anything. Now if he had said sign this and send it back, then I would say it is something shady.

They will deny his unemployment claim, then he can appeal it and see where that goes.

Ummm, I'm pretty sure you don't get unemployment if you get fired. If you are laid off, yes, but fired, no. Otherwise everyone would go get fired so they could stay home and get money.

You can get unemployment if you get fired. You cannot get it if you quit, otherwise everyone would be quitting and have their hand out. But, they will determine if it falls under their rules. If he was fired for cause, he cannot collect. But he may have a case if it was something unemployment finds unacceptable on the part of his boss. And today it's all online, so get hubby to get online to your local unemployment office and file a claim and get things started. All they can say is no, but you won't get a penny if you don't file a claim. Good luck!

Maybe they think he'll have an easier time explaining past employment in interviews if he can say it was a resignation, not a firing?
It's actually pretty standard stuff.
They probably won't deny unemployment if that's what your thinking.

Have your husband move on and find another job. Most states allow employers to terminate at will for any reason. However, if he lied on the paperwork, I would notify the unemployment office and see if there is any recourse.