GREENVILLE, SC (WIS) -
Gov. Nikki Haley signed a bill in Greenville that says if you're fired for misconduct and your former boss can prove it, you will not get an unemployment check for 5 months.
Haley signed that bill at a package plant, calling it a win for small business. The reason? Haley says it won't allow people who don't deserve an unemployment check from getting one.
The lines inside the Greenville employment office were long Monday. Some would walk out with an unemployment check. Others -- fired for misconduct -- won't see one for five to 20 weeks.
It wasn't Andrea Thompson's fault she lost her job. She got laid off, and it's people like her the governor says deserves to draw unemployment.
"The benefits are meant for those people who truly have been let go for a reason they could not help and will be taken care of until they find the next job," Haley said. "It was not meant for people that want to abuse the system and hurt out small businesses in a way that they can't defend themselves."
Exactly one year ago, the Department of Employment and Workforce handed out $12 million a month in unemployment benefits. Over the next year, those numbers fell by half after the state passed unemployment reforms. That's good news for Bill Laffler, who owns a packaging business.
"I can tell you, from a business standpoint, this will do nothing but help the business community and give us peace of mind that if we follow the rules in hiring and firing individuals we are not going to be penalized for it," Laffler said.
Still, for people like Thompson, she fears some employers could abuse the new law to hurt a former employee.
"It's a tough position to defend yourself by yourself, and you don't have anyone to back you up. Usually your job helps back you up. It would be a lot of help, but they're not going to do it because they're not going to want to pay the money," Thompson said.
That's not quite the case, according to Haley.
"The employer has to prove this," Haley said. "This is not something that can be hearsay; they have to have documentation that they have to show that you missed work for no reason, they have to show that they caught you stealing, they have to show that you were not following the employee handbook, and documenting it."
The DEW is the one who decides whether the employee has committed misconduct, then the agency will impose the penalty. The fired employee can appeal, so there is a process in place to ensure the employee is heard.
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