Attendance cases can be a challenge. You may have experienced situations in which no matter how much documentation and/or details you have provided, your UI appeal still did not result in a favorable decision. The key to understanding attendance cases and how the state will possibly rule surrounds the final incident.
The Final Incident
The final incident is important in all discharge cases, but it is especially critical when handling attendance cases. For any discharge case, the employer has to show misconduct occurred during the final incident. A general definition of misconduct is unacceptable or improper behavior, especially by an employee or professional. Each state has their own definition and laws on what constitutes misconduct for unemployment purposes. With attendance cases the final incident needs to show that the reason for that absence was within the claimant’s control.
Reasons Outside of the Claimant’s Control
If a claimant is able to prove to the state that the final absence was outside of his/her control, most states will find the claimant eligible to receive unemployment benefits. What reasons are considered outside of the claimant’s control? In general there are three main reasons a claimant could provide that are considered outside of his/her control.
- Illness
- Childcare Issues
- Transportation Problems
Documentation
A key piece of documentation for building a strong attendance case is providing prior warnings for similar behaviors. Attendance cases are based on progressive disciplinary actions per your company’s attendance policy. Your policy should outline what actions need to be taken by management after a certain number of occurrences have taken place. These actions are usually in the form of verbal, written, and final warnings. Providing copies of these warnings or proof of conversations will help in strengthening your case.
You will also have to show the state that you have a uniformly enforced policy and that the claimant was aware of that policy. To show that the claimant was made aware, simply provide a signed copy of the company policy.
The above information was provided in part by EWS.
