Unemployment Compensation, Unfair treatment

Circumstances under which Unemployment Compensation is available and what constitutes unfair treatment.

If i was terminated by my employer with no warning and chain of disciplinary action was not followed, Am i entitled to unemployment compensations? Would this be considered unfair treatment considering all information gathered by manager was secondhand information and i was not allowed to give a statement? If my charge nurse and managers constantly harass me and i consult human resources for help to no avail, would this be considered unfair treatment. I am mocked about my accent, isn’t this discrimination based on race and national origin?


An employee is entitled to Unemployment compensation if she did not voluntarily resign and did not commit gross misconduct. Gross misconduct is defined as severe reprehensible conduct which the employer has the burden of proving. Generally, unless the conduct is aggregious, an employee is entitled to unemployment if she was not given an opportunity to rectify the situation.

Unfair treatment, while may be unfair, is not illegal. Discrimination is. If your termination waqs motivated due to your ethnic origin or race, you may have a claim under Title VII and Florida Statute Chapter 760. Usually employers have an employee handbook which requires an employee to report the discriminatory harassment to human resources. In order for an employee to have a hostile work environment claim based on race (prior to termination), she usually must give an opportunity to the employer to correct the harassment.

Employment law cases are extremely fact intensive and the particulars of your case may give rise to claims not considered above, or change the analysis above altogether. A consultation with an experienced employment law attorney is generally advisable.

- Maurice Arcadier
Labor and Employment Law Attorney

Our Melbourne office is centrally located in Brevard County, enabling our lawyers to serve clients throughout "the Space Coast", including Cocoa Beach, Palm Bay and Vero Beach.