Did you know that in California, even if an employee is fired, they can potentially still receive unemployment compensation from the employer that fired them!? Can you imagine having to pay someone AFTER your fired them! They key to overcoming this is proper documentation and understanding the LEGAL definition of misconduct. Under California Unemployment Insurance Code §1256, an individual is disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits if they were discharged for misconduct connected with their most recent work. "Misconduct" is an intangible concept which has never been defined by the legislature forcing us to rely on case law for guidance. For a claimant's act to be misconduct, the following four elements must be present, according to Title 22, Section 1256-30(b). - The claimant owes a material duty to the employer under the contract of employment. - There is a substantial breach of that duty. - The breach is a willful or wanton disregard of that duty. - The breach disregards the employer's interests and injures or tends to injure the employer's interests. I just learned this information this week so thought I would share it with you all! Cheers