I haven’t posted with any updates for quite some time & that’s mostly because there wasn’t much worth writing about. Now there is. I filed for unemployment insurance & received notification from the state of Kentucky that I qualified & would be receiving benefits as long as there was no appeal filed by Best Buy / Geek Squad.
“Findings: In accordance with the statute, benefits may be payable when a worker is discharged for reasons other than misconduct connected with the work. The claimant was discharged due to absenteeism from work. The evidence of record establishes that the claimant’s most recent absence was for a compelling reason & that the claimant made reasonable effort under the circumstances to notify the employer. The employer has failed to show that the claimant’s actions were in willful or wanton disregard of its business interests. Therefore, the discharge was for reasons other than work related misconduct.
Rulings: The claimant is allowed benefits based on this determination.”
Guess who file an appeal? You guessed it! Best Buy (Geek Squad)!
“We wish to appeal the determination based on the following. The claimant was discharged for unacceptable attendance. The claimant requested a FMLA leave of absence. The claimant’s leave was to start on 09/02/09 & end on 09/08/09. The claimant’s leave was approved contingent on him providing a completed Physician’s Certificate. The claimant was notified of the requirement for submitting the completed Physician’s Certificate via email on 09/09/09, via letter on 09/22/09, & via voicemail on 09/16/09. The claimant did not return a completed Physician’s Certificate within the 15 days. The employer established attendance guidelines to ensure a favorable & an efficient working environment. The store submitted the claimants attendance history to HR for termination approval & following their investigation the decision was made to terminate the claimant’s employment. - Amanda Rivera”
There are several problems with their statement. They make the claim that I was discharged for “unacceptable attendance” but per their own guidelines as stated in their attendance policy, 10 attendance points are needed to terminate. I’ve already proven that I only had 8. They also make the claim that I “didn’t return a completed Physician’s Certificate within the 15 days”. I suppose that this is a matter of semantics or how one defines “completed”. I actually did submit a Physician’s Certificate within the 15 day period. However, as I’ve previously stated, the nurse practitioner refused to sign for all of the days that I was out sick because I only saw her for one of those days. I believe that their statement is simply an attempt on their part to insinuate that I didn’t follow their guidelines so that they can claim “willful misconduct”.
This all seemed ridiculous to me & I was looking forward to the debate between myself & the representatives of Best Buy / Geek Squad. The administrative hearing took place yesterday & consisted of Regina Phillips (Best Buy / Geek Squad Human Resources), Ms./Mrs. Young (a Best Buy / Geek Squad representative of some sort), a referee from the state of Kentucky & myself.
Regina Phillips, the Human Resources representative from Best Buy/ Geek Squad made 3 false statements during the hearing. First, she stated that I was fired because I had accrued 10 attendance points. I have evidence that proves that I only had 8. She provided no evidence of this claim. Second, she stated that I was tardy on 09/15/2009 by over 2 hours which resulted in an additional attendance point. I have evidence that proves that I was only 55 minutes late, resulting in only 1/2 of a point & further evidence that shows that this was later removed because of a mistake in scheduling. Finally, she stated that I failed to send in a completed Physician’s Certification. I have evidence that proves that I sent in a Physician’s Certification, a fax receipt that proves that Best Buy / Geek Squad received it & I have documentation that shows that they requested “additional information”. As I’ve previously stated, if by “completed” they mean that my doctor (nurse practitioner) signed off on all of the dates that I was out, then I suppose that I can agree but if they’re trying to state that I failed to send in the required documentation, then they’re being dishonest &/or disingenuous.
There was a comical moment in the hearing where Ms./Mrs. Young, a Best Buy / Geek Squad representative, stated that I was being dishonest about the sum of my attendance points & that I had failed to provide any evidence proving that I had less than the 10 attendance points that they were claiming I had. I rebutted by stating that the burden of proof was in the hands of the party making the claim (Best Buy / Geek Squad) & that the failure was on their part by failing to prove that I did have 10 attendance points. I think that this statement would’ve made any lawyer or scientist proud & if the Commonwealth of Kentucky is truly impartial, they’ll rule on my behalf.
