Q: Can I sue my previous employer for lying about me to the EDD so that they didn’t have to pay me?
I just found out that my previous employer lied to the EDD about me and told them that I no longer worked for them due to a violation of Code Section 1256.5(a)(2). It provides in part that a claimant is disqualified from receiving unemployment compensation if: He or she otherwise left his or her most recent employment for reasons caused by an irresistible compulsion to use or consume intoxicants, including alcoholic beverages. This is completely untrue. I no longer work for them because they let me go for being late. I never had a single write up and have witnesses willing to testify on my behalf (including the owner of the company who I worked for for a year before he sold it to them a month prior).
A:
No you cannot sue your prior employer for things they told the EDD. Your remedy is to prove the statements to be false in the unemployment insurance process. There are legal privileges that prevent you from suing for things said in the EDD proceedings.
By the way, something many people do not understand is that the employer does not pay your unemployment benefits if you receive them. Those are paid by the government based on the contributions you and your employer previously made into the system.
Good luck to you.
Maurice Mandel II agrees with this answer
1 user found this answer helpful
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