The first thing you should do is file a claim at the unemployment office.  Even if you were fired for good cause, you still should file to preserve your rights to unemployment benefits on future claims.  Normally, you should be able to receive your unemployment benefits unless one of the following is true:

• You are not able to, or available for work;
• You were fired for "misconduct connected with the work;"
• You are unemployed due to your participation in a labor-management dispute;
• You have failed to apply for or accept "available, suitable work;"
• You voluntarily quit and it wasn't because your employer significantly changed your working conditions;
• You didn't work long enough to be covered;
• Your job wasn't covered by unemployment insurance.

There Are Three Steps To Appeal.

Step One

When you appeal, the Administrative Law Judge hears your case.  You must appeal within 15 days from the date you were turned down.  You have the right to have a lawyer or other advocate with you at the hearing.  You also have the right to have the Administrative Law Judge subpoena witnesses to testify for you, whether you have a lawyer or not.

Step Two

When you appeal, the Board of Review looks over your case.  It may grant a new hearing if you have new witnesses or new evidence.  You must appeal within 15 days of the date of the notice turning you down in step one was mailed.

Step Three

File a suit in District Court if you lose at step two.  You must file within 15 days of the date the notice turning you down in step two was mailed.  You will need a lawyer to make this appeal and to represent you in court.

WARNING!

Don't let your 15 day deadline go by.  Once this deadline is passed, you may not be able to make your appeal, no matter how good your case is.

Helpful Hints To Get You Ready.

• You have a right to look at your file and see what your boss has said about you.
• You have a right to ask the judge to subpoena witnesses and documents that you may want to use at the hearing.
• Before the hearing you should have a strategy mapped out.  You will only be given a few minutes to show that you were not fired for "misconduct" or that you did not voluntarily quit.
• At the hearing you can object if your boss tries to tell things that he or she did not see or hear themselves.  Your boss cannot testify about what other people may have seen or heard.

IMPORTANT.  If you start getting unemployment benefits, you can be cut off if:

• You don't contact at least two employers each week;
• You don't go to a job interview the unemployment office sets up for you;
• You turn down a job offer without a good reason;
• You don't go to the unemployment office when requested to go.

If you do get cut off unemployment, you can appeal the same way you could if you had been turned down when you first applied.  For more information or help, call the office of the free legal services program that serves the parish where you live.