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unemployment: can they deny you if you dont accept a demotion?

I live in the state of Oregon. I have recently been able to see the papers that my former employer sent to the employment department. They had me sign what I was told was a termination paper and all it said was "performance", after I left they apparently circled "no" where it said "is this a termination?" and where it said "have any warnings been given?" and she put "yes, verbal and written", which is a lie and was not marked when I signed their cheezy home made paper. The other thing is she is now claiming I refused 2 positions which is also a lie! She said I could go commission only (which is not possible financially due to their low production overall as a company the last 2 months and i do have proof of this) and she also offered to demote me to a position that has a schedule I can not adhere to due to childcare reasons. Now she is claiming I turned them down when in fact I had asked her if she expected an answer now because I feel I should have a day to think about it and sort things out before I accept a position, and I told her honestly that I didn't know I would want to come back, and her response was "just sign the paper then", I don't see that as turning down work, I see that as she didn't like my honesty so decided to just term me. Can they deny me unemployment in this situation? I feel even if I had declined the positions I had good cause not to accept. Also, I have emails of my asking for dental insurance and the owner responding "I will have decide what to do with her soon with her, she isn't making us money at this point", 2 weeks before I was terminated. I viewed these on a shared computer, and the emails were wide open. Can I use this as proof? or would I risk getting in trouble? Is it technically considered my former employers property?

Public Comments

1. No. If you were making say 45K at your previous job, the Dept of Labor cannot demand you take a job paying 30K -- not unless Labor law has changed a lot!
2. Okay, just to be clear: use proper sentence structure and paragraphs, it makes something MUCH easier to read. Anyway, from what I can see, you clearly were terminated for performance. They offered you lower level jobs that were more in line with your capabilities perhaps, and you turned them down. Unemployment doesn't really care WHY you turned them down, just that you did. The emails you saw actually confirms this scenario, they obviously thought you were not up to the job, and have now acted on it. So you were fired for cause. That being the case, you will probably be denied unemployment.
3. Go apply for benefits if they turn you down,Then you can appeal and bring your side of the argument to them, It all depends what your employer tells them,Companies dont like paying unemployment,I dont believe anything thats shared can be considered private,
4. Yes they can offer you a job that pays way less as long as they offer you a job clears them of any criminal lawsuits. been there. With me no job was offered which made it wide open for a lawsuit.You should talk to an Attorney that specializes in this. it is very hard anymore to convict Businesses as it has gotten so very common,juries have become hardened.
5. You have so many things going on that it is hard to decide what the action will be. I can guarantee that the job you turned down due to childcare will be brought up in the Unemployment appeal the employer will file. If the job paid the same or close to it, it can cause a problem. While on Unemployment, you are required to be able and available for employment, and this doesn't exclude childcare reasons.
6. Call unemployment and find out the particular rules for your state. In most, you are not obligated to accept "any" position simply because it is offered. A CEO is not going to be denied unemployment if a janitor's position is available. Lots of times there are also rules regarding childcare situations as well as if the new position substantially differs from the current position as far as responsibilities and where it is located. If you are working in Oregon and the exact position is available in New York, you cannot be denied because you didn't want to relocate. Any written documentation you have regarding emails is helpful. Although they can say it's company owned, they would have to produce the emails if they were subpoenaed in court. Big lesson here too.......NEVER sign anything without getting a copy of what you signed!
7. If the economy wasn't in the pooper I would say screw unemployment... ain't worth the trouble..... I worked for company that was sold and boss TOLD me to apply for unemployment and handed me check for 500 bucks (it was small one person operation....custom brass lighting fixtures) good boss when I applied I had to talk to vets rep he didn't ask what branch I was in He didn't ask what work I did He didn't ask what kind of work I preferred he didn't ask nothin just handed me a piece of paper and said...."go here....it's Nintendo in Redmond." and the requirements to attend stupid little workshops and filling out forms with questions like... "where would you like to see yourself in 5 years?" I wrote...ALIVE and knew I was done with that BS but... I would suggest sticking to your guns if the e mails were accesible by all.. you didn't HACK anything
8. Well did u print of the paper work from your job stating this info you were talking about? And how long have you been at this employment job?? I filed unemployment on a job that I'd only worked there less then 3 months I believe, and I got accepted but now the way the unemployments set up now you have to apply at least at 5 different businesses every week.. SO I'm not really sure...... Sorry not much help but good luck just the same