Unemployment initially approved and now employer is being contested...Please help!

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Unemployment initially approved and now employer is being contested...Please help!
Jurisdiction/Place: USA - Texas

I was granted unemployment benefits, I filed my claim 9/5/2011 and in Texas I was told that the employer had 14 (or maybe 15 days not sure) to contest my claim from the mail date and it seems employer responded 10/15/2011, clearly they missed that deadline so why were they granted a hearing anyway? I actually found out today that although they missed the original deadline to file they have another opportunity to file and receive a tribunal hearing, argh LOL

I was initially approved for my benefits on Oct 5, and was receiving checks so now does this mean my checks will stop until the hearing? I actually read they won't stop so can anyone confirm this for me.

Also there was no misconduct on my part, I was doing my job to the best of my ability. I lived 5 minutes from my job and I came to work every day and worked diligently without missing days, no write ups etc but it appeared they did everything within the last 6 or 7 months to sabotage my work and I didn't fight them on this and just continued to do what I was asked to do until inevitably I was let go.

I received one write up were my employer advised and warned me about not reaching quota and that was corrected but then she came back and said I made too many mistakes on Q/A and and thus was letting me go. I honestly need to get copies of everything from my employee file but somewhat apprehensive about reaching out to my former employer b/c honest at my age I'm a bit confused about what the exact complaint about my work is all about considering I was there for 9 years and never had a problem.

I figured my age (I'm in my 60's)was a contributing factor, the amount of money I was making per hour and my employer actually made a comment that I'm making too much money and so I figured that statement meant the company or the manager just didn't want me there anymore, I've read everywhere that they have to prove misconduct and can't for the life of me figure out how they are going to prove I deliberately conducted myself in such a way that I wasn't doing my job b/c I only have one write up in my file well I should unless they attempt lie or falsify statements b/c I had a great employment record, met my quota's and earned monthly bonuses and mind you if I was making mistakes and not reaching my quota I would not get a bonus which I did before I was let go...

I've been doing my research, getting prepared for my hearing and I came across another website that stated: to avoid a misconduct disqualification in such a case by arguing that what your former employer perceived as misconduct was not intentional but, rather, a result of incompetence. What's your thoughts about that statement? Could I use the incompetence defense?

Do you think they will deny my claim anyway? Or is this something all companies do just to discourage ex employees from pursuing claims. Should I be worried?

I guess I'm thinking about how and in what ways can I can defend myself against charges of misconduct which is something I'm researching and would like to here feedback. I found something interesting online about incompetence defense:

Incompetence Defense
Although an employer may have the right to fire a worker for poor work performance, inefficiency in performing work or failure to meet the employer's standards is not considered misconduct because it is generally not considered to be intentional. Therefore, you may avoid a misconduct disqualification in such a case by arguing that what your former employer perceived as misconduct was not intentional but, rather, a result of incompetence. The incompetence defense, however, will not prevent a misconduct disqualification if you were terminated because you were regularly sloppy and negligent or admittedly stopped caring about the quality of your work. Of course Texas is an at will state and they have the burden of proving misconduct.

Thanks in advance for your help
 
You'll see what your employer has to say at a hearing. It's not as if the same routine does not go on at companies where they want to rid themselves of older employees, hire cheaper employees and then try to build a case to prove some type of incompetence. They have to make their case. And it would be highly relevant to any trier of fact who hears the case that all the evidence after many years of service occurs recently and what you claim is sabotage. You may want to compile a list of times when you believed they were trying to find fault with your work by setting you up.

No, I would not plead "incompetence" at work. You might want to claim that they didn't train you or provide you with the required amount of guidance necessary to perform your work successfully. You might want to show how others receive some type of training but you weren't being given the attention.
 
You'll see what your employer has to say at a hearing. It's not as if the same routine does not go on at companies where they want to rid themselves of older employees, hire cheaper employees and then try to build a case to prove some type of incompetence. They have to make their case. And it would be highly relevant to any trier of fact who hears the case that all the evidence after many years of service occurs recently and what you claim is sabotage. You may want to compile a list of times when you believed they were trying to find fault with your work by setting you up.

No, I would not plead "incompetence" at work. You might want to claim that they didn't train you or provide you with the required amount of guidance necessary to perform your work successfully. You might want to show how others receive some type of training but you weren't being given the attention.
 
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