Wheaton Unemployment Compensation Defense Lawyer

Employment Law Attorney Defending Small Businesses Against Wrongful Unemployment Claims in Wheaton, IL

Unemployment compensation is designed to help workers who have lost their jobs through no real fault of their own. Unfortunately, employees you have dismissed or had quit do not always fully understand the requirements for collecting unemployment compensation. Disputes can happen when an employee who is not completely qualified for unemployment benefits files for them anyway, forcing you to defend your company. Unemployment compensation disputes can be arduous to deal with, but allowing undeserved benefits to be paid out can have an adverse effect on your small business. You should be represented by an experienced Wheaton, IL unemployment compensation defense lawyer while involved in a dispute.

JSL Law, LLC is skilled in helping small business owners defend themselves against unwarranted unemployment claims. We can work closely with you to find the best solution possible, whether that means fighting back and proving that your former employee's claim is wrongful, or reaching an out-of-court agreement with the former employee. Attorney Jolianne Alexander has extensive experience representing both employees and employers and can often identify out-of-the-box solutions to disputes between workers and small companies.

Reasons for Denying an Unemployment Claim

There is a lot of misinformation about what unemployment is for and who qualifies to receive it. Many people in the workforce, including well-educated professionals, believe that anyone who loses a job is qualified to receive unemployment benefits. This is not the case. Common and legally valid reasons for denying an unemployment claim include:

• The worker quit - Only workers who leave a job involuntarily can collect unemployment benefits. If your worker quit voluntarily, he or she is not entitled to claim unemployment insurance payments. Otherwise, there would be no incentive for workers to stay at their jobs in the long term. Employees will sometimes argue that they were forced to quit because of things like personal scheduling conflicts or workplace harassment. These arguments do not often succeed, but you should be prepared to defend against additional legal action if your employee alleges that he or she left due to misconduct on your part.
• You fired the worker for misconduct - Employees who are fired because they are not performing well at their job even though they are trying in good faith can usually receive unemployment. However, if you fired an employee for outright misconduct, such as stealing from you or coming to work intoxicated, the employee should be disqualified from collecting unemployment. This discourages workers from intentionally getting fired so they can collect unemployment instead of working.
• The employee did not work for you long enough or earn enough - People who work only sporadically, such as retirees who take on seasonal work or young adults who have summer jobs while in college, normally cannot collect unemployment. Earning requirements are meant to reserve unemployment benefits for people who work year-round to support themselves.
• Your employee will not accept a reasonable new job - People can only collect unemployment if their lack of work is an involuntary situation. If you can show that your employee had the opportunity to begin a similar job elsewhere and has failed to do so, you can likely block his or her claim. Employees who are unavailable to work because they are a full-time student, dealing with a health situation, or fulfilling family responsibilities, cannot collect unemployment benefits as they would not be earning a salary even if they had not been dismissed from their jobs.

Defending Against Related Claims

It is fairly common for a former employee who is pursuing unemployment compensation to bring additional claims against the employer. This is especially likely if your employee quit and claimed he or she left due to unlawful retaliation on your part, a hostile work environment, or because you would not provide reasonable accommodations. If this is the case, you will need to work closely with an experienced employment law for employers attorney as you prepare to defend your company on multiple fronts.

Contact a Wheaton, IL Unemployment Compensation Defense Lawyer

JSL Law, LLC is committed to helping small companies defend against unjust unemployment compensation claims. Experienced unemployment compensation defense attorney Jolianne Alexander will do all she can to help you stand up against claims that should be blocked. Contact us at 630-730-8135 for a complimentary consultation.