Can you get unemployment if you get fired for attendance

Were you laid off or fired?

There is a difference between being laid off and fired. Generally, we will treat you as:

  • Laid off if your employer is not replacing you. You will qualify for unemployment benefits if you meet all of the eligibility criteria.
  • Fired if your employment was ended because of performance, behavior or other “just cause” reason. You may qualify for unemployment benefits if you were fired through no fault of your own, such as not having the skills to do the job. Youmay not qualify if you were fired for misconduct or gross misconduct.

Layoff examples

  • Your employer has no work available
  • Your assignment ended
  • Your employer went out of business
  • Your position was eliminated
  • You're required to participate in temporary classroom apprenticeship training
  • You're a seasonal employee and the season ended
  • Your employer temporarily shut down for reasons such as weather, materials delay, natural disaster or temporary maintenance closure
  • Your employer gave your separation reason as standby
  • Your employer said that you were on furlough

Fired for misconduct examples

  • Deliberate or wanton disregard for your employer or a fellow employee, such as:
    • Insubordination
    • Repeated inexcusable tardiness after warnings
    • Dishonesty related to your employment
    • Repeated and inexcusable absences
    • Violating the law or deliberate acts that provoke violence or illegal actions, or violating a collective bargaining agreement
    • Violating a company rule
  • Deliberately violating or disregarding standards of behavior that your employer has a right to expect.
  • Carelessness or negligence that causes, or will likely cause, serious bodily harm to your employer or fellow employees.
  • Carelessness or negligence that is so bad or happens so often that it shows an intentional or substantial disregard for your employer.

Gross misconduct examples

  • A criminal act in connection with your work for which you have been convicted in a criminal court or have admitted committing. Examples include:
    • Embezzlement or theft of property.
    • Purposeful destruction of the employer’s property.
  • Conduct connected with your work that demonstrates a flagrant and wanton disregard for your employer or a fellow employee. Examples include:
    • Installing a secret camera in fitting rooms.
    • Stealing a patient’s identification.

Misconduct and gross misconduct penalties

If we determine that you were fired or suspended for misconduct or gross misconduct connected with your work, we will deny your benefits for at least 10 weeks after the week you were fired and until you earn at least 10 times your weekly benefit amount in a job that is covered by unemployment insurance. If we deny your benefits based on gross misconduct, we will also remove wages and hours from your unemployment insurance records. Once the wages and hours are removed, they are no longer available for your use and may cause you to be ineligible for future unemployment benefits.

Can you get unemployment if you get fired for attendance

March 16, 2017 – Even if an employer has a zero tolerance policy on missing work without notice, an employee who is fired may still qualify for unemployment benefits, a state appeals court has ruled, because state law sets a floor on eligibility.

In Wisconsin DWD v. Wisconsin LIRC, 2016AP1365 (March 8, 2017), a three-judge panel for the District II Court of Appeals ruled (2-1) that a nurse fired for one absence without notice can still receive unemployment benefits under state law.

The case began when a registered nurse, Valarie Beres, did not report for work in 2015. Her employer, Mequon Jewish Campus, maintained an attendance policy that required workers to call two hours in advance of any expected absence from work.

Beres did not call two hours in advance to report flu-like symptoms, and she was still on her 90-day probation period for new workers, allowing for her immediate termination under the attendance policy. Mequon Jewish Campus fired Beres three days later.

She filed for unemployment benefits but the DWD denied her application on the grounds that she violated the employer’s attendance policy and thus committed misconduct. The Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC) reversed the DWD’s decision to deny.

The Absenteeism Statute

In Wisconsin, workers are ineligible for unemployment benefits if fired for “misconduct,” including “absenteeism.” Under Wis. Stat. section 108.04(5)(e), absenteeism means excessive tardiness or absence from work, without notice and a valid reason, “on more than 2 occasions within the 120-day period” before the employee is fired, “unless otherwise specified by his or her employer in an employment manual.”

DWD said the statute allows employer attendance policies to be more restrictive than state law if specified in employer manuals. Thus, an employee who violates a more restrictive policy commits “misconduct” and is ineligible for unemployment benefits.

Can you get unemployment if you get fired for attendance
Joe Forward, Saint Louis Univ. School of Law 2010, is a legal writer for the State Bar of Wisconsin, Madison. He can be reached by email or by phone at (608) 250-6161.

But LIRC disagreed and reversed DWD’s decision on Beres. LIRC concluded that state law is a “default provision,” but also sets a floor on eligibility for unemployment benefits.

Thus, in Beres’ cases, LIRC argued that a denial violated the statute, because Beres was fired after just one absence without notice, and the statute requires more than two absences within four months. The circuit court rejected LIRC’s interpretation.

But an appeals court majority reversed, adopting LIRC’s interpretation of the statute. The 2-1 majority noted that the law changed in 2013. Previously, ineligibility for absenteeism without notice did not trigger without 5 or more absences within a year.

The majority ruled that LIRC’s decision was entitled to due weight deference regardless of recent legislative changes that tightened standards related to absenteeism because LIRC had previously decided many cases of absenteeism under the old statute.

The majority noted that employers can adopt attendance policies that are more restrictive than state law, but those policies won’t control eligibility for unemployment benefits in those cases where other misconduct or substantial fault is not present.

“Employers are free to adopt a ‘zero tolerance’ attendance policy and discharge employees for that reason, but not every discharge qualifies as misconduct for unemployment insurance purposes,” wrote Judge Reilly for the 2-1 majority. 

Dissent

Judge Mark Gundrum dissented, concluding LIRC was not entitled to due weight deference and de novo review applies because the statute is new and thus the case is one of first impression. In addition, Gundrum concluded LIRC’s interpretation is wrong.

“The language plainly states that the default standard applies ‘unless otherwise specified … in an employment manual' of which the employee has acknowledged receipt with his or her signature,” wrote Judge Gundrum, a former state legislator.

Gundrum said nothing in the plain language of section 108.04(5)(e) prohibits employers from establishing attendance policies that are more restrictive than the default provision.

“LIRC does not like the new policy the legislature and governor enacted, so it has decided to effectively rewrite it,” he wrote. “And the majority is going along with it.”

How do you explain being fired for attendance?

If you were terminated because you had an attendance problem, for example, don't go on and on about your sick grandma, your chiropractor appointments or any other life situation that caused you to miss work. Instead, say something like, “I let personal circumstances interfere with my attendance at work.

What disqualifies you from unemployment in Michigan?

You won't be eligible for unemployment benefits if you quit your job voluntarily, without good cause. In general, good cause means that you had a compelling work-related reason that left you no other choice than to leave.

Is it better to quit or be fired for attendance?

It's theoretically better for your reputation if you resign because it makes it look like the decision was yours and not your company's. However, if you leave voluntarily, you may not be entitled to the type of unemployment compensation you might be able to receive if you were fired.

Can you collect unemployment if you get fired for attendance in PA?

Absenteeism alone may justify a discharge, but without a showing of wanton and willful disregard of the employer's interests, benefits cannot be denied.