How do Unemployment extensions work?

Can I collect unemployment if I was fired?

• I worked for a temp agency for a client. The temp agency contracted me for several assignments with their client. My assignments were in customer service. I had a bad phone call, the caller complained about me to a supervisor, and my assignment with the client ended abruptly. Within a couple of weeks, the same employment agency that contracted me for assignments with the client that kicked me out, contracted me for another assignment with a different client. It is a difficult set up for me to understand. When I work for these clients, I am not employed by the client, I am employed by my employment agency. The client doesn't hire me, so consequently doesn't fire me or lay me off. As far as my relationship with the client goes, my assignments with them begin and end. The employment agency hires me and is the organization that either keeps me employed by them, or terminates that employment. I was contracted through an employment agency for numerous projects with a client over the course of a year. During the last assignment, working customer service, the client ended my assignment abruptly due to a complaint from a customer for a bad phone call. When I was let go, I started collecting unemployment. I asked the rep who worked at the unemployment office, "if I was fired, can I still collect unemployment?" He said that he would put my claim in. If I start receiving checks, that means that I can collect. Two weeks later, the checks started coming in and I was collecting on that claim, through extensions for about two years. In April, my payments stopped. For four months, I did not get any information. I was merely told that an adjuster was handling my claim and they would be in contact with me. Last weekend, I received a letter in the mail. The employment agency claims that I was "discharged due to misconduct." I do not understand why the employment agency is claiming that they discharged me when they contracted me for another assignment with another client less than a month after I was let go by the previous client. And as far as the "misconduct" goes, I wasn't repeatedly absent, late, nor did I do anything obscene like threaten an employee or come to work drunk. No, the "misconduct" was this. My customer service assignment was to read scripted answers in a call center. Because I strayed from the script in an attempt to help the customer, I was taken off the assignment. So it was more of a misunderstanding than misconduct.

• Answer:

  Unemployment law differs depending on what state you work in. But the generic answer is this: If your paycheck comes from the agency, you are their employee working on site at their client. That means that your supervisor is the agency, and your on site supervisor is whoever oversees the actual work you do. If you were taken off assignment because you strayed from a script, you may have compromised something at the client site. This is especially true in financial, legal, and medical call centers. If you were explicitly told not to stray from the script, but to escalate calls that required more information, it could be construed as misconduct. If you believe that you are not at fault, gather your evidence and contest the decision. UI will set up hearing and you will have the chance to state your case. Of particular interest will be that the agency offered you another assignment after you were taken off assignment, and that you were ready, willing and able to do the assignment, but that they never followed through on it. On the surface, that could be considered "not working through no fault of your own", making you eligible for benefits. If there are other details that caused them to retract the offer for work, that may change the outcome.