SomeDeliCook

I've not noticed him using the word "too often" so he must be using it properly.

Retail sucks. I eer on the side of empathizing with everyone in this situation though. So sure, from what you're saying those people sound like assholes, but you never know what their home like is life or what there current situation is. To use an example, in 8th grade I missed about 40 days of school and teachers took it as me being a slack off/lazy, but in reality I was battling with pretty crippling anxiety and depression and had no idea how to deal with it other than to lock myself away and pretend to be sick. So unless you know them personally, you can never really know what caused them to do this. People aren't usually evil bastards who do shit to just hurt people, but rather there is an underlying issue causing the problem.

Of course that may not be the case, but I choose empathy over blind hatred (I've seen people who live their lives filled with hate and contempt for everyone and everything, and I don't think I could go on like that). The world isn't black and white. Sometimes it isn't as simple as good vs bad. Actually, most of the time it isn't. That's my take on this.

Not really trying to say anything bad, just giving an example of how it works elsewhere and yup, your situation is nasty as shit. Could they hire a PI to prove they arent looking for work?

I'm sure the owners will lose in court.

My soon to be retired father is an executive at his company and he doesn't bother fighting unemployment claims anymore, he just pays up. The courts in New York are so heavily biased against companies it's shocking. No joke, he has documented employees coming to work heavily intoxicated MULTIPLE TIMES and they win unemployment. The unions fight for every worker, even those that show up late 20+ days in a 2 month period. It's disgusting. Running your own business in America is not all it's cracked up to be, and some wonder why "mom and pop" shops are going under in favor of mega corporations like Wal-Mart.

You don't get your previous wages. You get a calculated amount which caps at $450 a week. It's all based on how much you made and how long you have been with the company (length doesn't factor price, but term of unemployment I believe).

http://www.edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de1275a.pdf

Page 7 has the start of the table.

Wait, in the US do your previous employers have to pay unemployment benefits or are these all "Unjustified Dismissal" and works comp law suits?

Maybe it differs by state, but I could have sworn the labor board or unemployment service called the previous employer to find out why they were let go. The reason the employer gives determines if the former employee is actually eligible for unemployment. In California, if you are fired you don't get it. If you are laid off, you do. You also don't get it if you are still employed which of course seems to go against one of the employees in your story.

I am shocked that those weren't turned down. May I ask what state this is? In California, employers pay for unemployment for the employee while they are working there and not something that is paid after the fact like worker's comp which would really screw over hard working mom and pops; not sure if other states work differently.

Fact is not many people really want to work or even know what work is, im going to sound like a dork, but i fear for our generation. No one wants to help themselves anymore and everyone runs away at the slightest bit of criticism. Fucking country is in a bad place if things don't shape up. Its just a shame that good people are taken advantage of like this, unemployment is a joke anymore because they have more claims then they can handle and its easier and quicker to accept most of the claims then wade through all the damn paperwork to sort it out. Hope things get better for your friends, though its hard to find good people in the retail sector.