not offered family leave and fired for missing too many days.

There really aren't enough facts here for me to give you a clear answer. In order for you to be eligible for leave under the FMLA, your company must employ at least 50 employees within a 75 mile radius, and you must have worked there for at least one year and have met a minimum hour requirement. If so, you were entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for your own serious health condition, or to care for your husband who was suffering a serious health condition. You question doesn't mention whether you ever requested FMLA leave either for your own hospitalization, or to care for your husband. With respect to unemployment compensation benefits, if you were terminated due to absenteeism for illness, then you would qualify for benefits. If you were terminated for performance issues you would generally qualify as well, unless the work performance issue rose to the level of misconduct as defined by the unemployment compensation statute.

My advice to you is that you consult with an employment law attorney to review the facts of your case. In the meantime, however, you need to file a timely appeal of any denial of unemployment compensation benefits. You can do that easily online. I strongly recommend you have an attorney represent you at the unemployment telephone appeal hearing, since your case involves some complicated issues and your employer is accusing you of poor performance.

posted by Phyllis Towzey  |  Apr 11, 2011 4:45 PM [EST]