Can You Draw Unemployment in Colorado If You Were Fired for Attendance?

Basic Qualifications

To qualify for unemployment insurance benefits in Colorado, you must be out of work through no fault of your own, and you must have earned at least $2,500 during your base period, which is the period beginning 15 months before you file and ending three months before you file. You must also be willing and able to accept a job, and you are required to look for one while receiving benefits.

Under Colorado unemployment law, an individual whose employer fires him for gross misconduct is disqualified from receiving unemployment insurance. Colorado defines gross misconduct as negligence, harm or the willful disregard of the employer's interests in such a way that demonstrates the employee's guilt or wrongful intent. Gross misconduct may also occur when an employee assaults or threatens to assault his co-workers or superiors.

The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment may consider repeated absences to be gross misconduct, depending on the frequency of your absences and the circumstances that led to them. If you missed work repeatedly without any valid explanation, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment may deny your claim. However, if you weren't absent often, or if you were absent because of a medical condition affecting you, your spouse or a dependent child, pregnancy or an addiction to a controlled substance, you may qualify for benefits.

If you were absent because of a medical condition that affected you, your spouse or your dependent child and your employer fired you, you can't qualify for unemployment insurance benefits unless you informed your employer of the situation and gave him the opportunity to work around your schedule. However, if you became suddenly ill and weren't able to inform your employer, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment may waive this requirement. If your employer fired you for absences related to an addiction, you can't collect benefits unless you declare your addiction to the Department of Labor and Employment and present a statement from a medical professional that substantiates the addiction or show evidence of enrollment in a treatment program.