Home > Research Legal Advice > Employee Benefits > My former employer is appealing my unemployment benefits on the claim th...
Asked over 2 years ago - San Francisco, CA
FlagI did sign a contract that says I was working for her as an Independent Contractor, however, the whole time I was there I was treated as an employee. Not as an Independent Contractor. I have emails and text messages to prove that I was treated as an employee. In addition, she is claiming that I was let go due to the client no willing to pay for my 'non-productive work' when she told me the reason she was laying me off was because my contract was up and the client did have any more money for the next quarter's contract. Do I have a case to win?
You do. The fact the contract says you were an independent contractor does not make you one. If you could not work for anyone else, used her offices, was told what to do by her, did not have an independent license, had set hours to do your work and was treated like an employee, you are an employee. EDD generally favors finding that you were employee.
Reason for termination does not amount to misconduct so you will win that claim.
The response given is not intended to create, nor does it create an ongoing duty to respond to questions. The response does not form an attorney-client relationship, nor is it intended to be anything other than the educated opinion of the author. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. The response given is based upon the limited facts provided by the person asking the question. To the extent additional or different facts exist, the response might possibly change. Attorney is licensed to practice law only in the State of California. Responses are based solely on California law unless stated otherwise.
Yes, you have a winning case on appeal. I agree with Mr. Fink's response. So long as there is no allegation of misconduct, it appears you were involuntarily terminated. Therefore, you ought to be entitled to unemployment benefits.
To prepare for the appeal, you can obtain a lot of useful information at EDD's website:
In order to assist you, you may want to review my legal guide concerning independent contractors vs. employees at http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/are-you-re.... Good luck to you.
The response given is not intended to create, nor does it create an ongoing duty to respond to questions. The response does not form an attorney-client relationship, nor is it intended to be anything other than the educated opinion of the author. It should not be relied upon as legal advice. The response given is based upon the limited facts provided by the person asking the question. To the extent additional or different facts exist, the response might possibly change. Attorney is licensed to practice law only in the State of California. Responses are based solely on California law unless stated otherwise.
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