Being terminated for violating a company rule can feel devastating, especially when you're facing the possibility of being denied unemployment benefits. However, if your employer didn't consistently enforce that rule with all employees, you may still be eligible for benefits even though you technically broke a workplace policy.

Understanding "Just Cause" in Ohio Unemployment Law

In Ohio, you can be denied unemployment benefits if you're fired for "just cause" in connection with your work. But "just cause" isn't simply about whether you violated a rule - it's much more nuanced than that.

Ohio law defines just cause for termination as a reason that "to an ordinarily intelligent person, is a justifiable reason for doing or not doing a particular act." The determination is made on a case-by-case basis, looking at the unique facts of your situation. Importantly, just cause requires demonstrating "fault" on your part, specifically showing an "unreasonable disregard" for your employer's best interests.

The key point is that "just cause" for unemployment purposes is often a stricter standard than what an employer might consider sufficient cause for internal termination decisions.

When Rule Violations Don't Equal Just Cause

Simply violating a company rule doesn't automatically mean you were fired for "just cause" for unemployment purposes. The way your employer enforced that rule matters significantly. Under Ohio unemployment law, if an employer has a rule but enforces it inconsistently or laxly, they may not have just cause to fire an employee for violating that rule.

For a policy violation to provide "just cause," the policy must be both "fair" and "fairly applied." "Fairly applied" means the employer applied the rule equally to all employees. An employer who doesn't consistently enforce their rules, perhaps making an example of one employee while letting others slide, lacks "just cause" to discharge that employee for violating the loosely enforced rule.

The Logic Behind Inconsistent Enforcement

The reasoning connects back to the requirement of demonstrating "unreasonable disregard" for the employer's interests. If the employer's own actions demonstrate they don't take the rule seriously by not enforcing it uniformly, it becomes difficult to argue that your violation shows an unreasonable disregard for the employer's interests. The employer's lax enforcement sends mixed signals about the importance of the rule.

Real-World Examples

Consider a company policy prohibiting personal cell phone use on the floor. If supervisors regularly see and ignore employees using their phones, firing you specifically for using your phone might not be considered "just cause" if you weren't given prior warnings or if the policy wasn't enforced consistently with everyone else.

Similarly, if an attendance policy exists on paper but isn't enforced uniformly - with some employees facing no consequences for tardiness while others are terminated - firing someone under that policy might not constitute just cause.

Even written progressive discipline policies must generally be followed to establish just cause for termination. Skipping steps in the policy because the employer deems an infraction serious, when the policy outlines specific steps, could lead to a finding that there was no just cause. This represents another form of inconsistent application.

Knowledge of the Rule Matters Too

For a policy violation to constitute just cause, you generally must have known or should have known about the rule. If a rule wasn't clearly communicated, violating it might not be considered demonstrating fault sufficient for just cause.

What This Means for Your Unemployment Claim

If you were terminated for violating a company rule, carefully consider how strictly and consistently that rule was enforced before your termination. Ask yourself: Were other employees allowed to break the same rule without consequence? Had the employer ignored previous violations? Was there a written policy that wasn't followed in your case?

When you file your unemployment claim, if your separation is initially deemed disqualifying, you have the right to appeal. At the hearing, you'll have the opportunity to present your case. Be prepared to explain to the hearing officer that the rule you were accused of violating was not enforced consistently for all employees, or that the employer did not follow its own stated procedures.

This can be a crucial argument that your termination was without "just cause" for unemployment benefit purposes, even if the employer felt they had grounds to fire you from their internal perspective.

Building Your Case

Document everything you can remember about how the rule was enforced. Were you aware of other employees who violated the same rule without consequences? Can you identify specific instances where the policy wasn't enforced? Did you receive proper training on the policy? Were there written procedures that weren't followed?

Ohio Unemployment Attorneys