My former employer lied about me quitting after I called him out, just to block unemployment benefits.

This goes kind of long but at the end of it, basically my former employer has blocked me from trying to collect unemployment by claiming I quit and walked out from a shift which they marked me called out of on the schedule.

I was working for this company roughly 3 years. The first year was fine and so on. More or less the place was a dump, a dog daycare and boarding place that somehow is well-liked by the community in spite of how short-fused and ill-suitef to the job most of the staff is with dogs.

Around the second year, I was sexually harassed by a coworker off the clock who I had made the mistake prior of being roommates with, and eventually reported it to the higher ups. Basically he tried to grab me sexually from behind one time, kept making comments about wanting to see me naked and talking about wanting to rub me down while we watch porn.

I know this guy is well liked at the job so I was hesitant to ever say anything but eventually with encouragement from my partner and one supervisor who knew me prior, I sent an email detailing what had been months in the making and stressing that I couldn't handle it on my own.

The manager was on vacation and couldn't see me immediately. Whatever, no problem. He says we'll talk when he's back. Problem is, he doesn't talk to me when he comes back and the whole week passes until I just can't take the stress of feeling completely alone in the issue. By the time we've set another time, I have a panic attack the night prior and can't bring myself to go in. I know I'll lose my composure. I know I'll freak.

I let them know and I'm met with "well, a no show is a serious thing" and how I inconvenienced everyone and wasted his time.

I ask if he even bothered to talk to the guy to which he says he was waiting on me... for some reason?

Eventually I relocate because nothing is done and the manager has now treated it as me being a problem to the store. We agree (I shouldn't have) that I can work at the other location instead since at this point I'm fed up with the people I did tell prior having done nothing with the info.

One of the first things they tell me when I start at the other location is "don't make friends" as if that's the fault of what happened prior, but also a weird thing to say in a social job like that. So the other location is also as much a slum and the management (no HR) continues to be shit but at least my new lodging manager is good as she is relatively new to the company and not loyal to the bullshit.

Eventually, my lodging manager can't take the extra work the other managers are throwing on her and she quits. The head manager makes an email stating as much and claims it's personal reasons, a detail I felt was wholly unnecessary and only served to save face.

This doesn't sit right with me because I spoke to her and got her side and interpret what he said as throwing her under the bus and saving face for the rest of the company, so one morning I find myself replying to the email (company wide) and basically calling him out for being full of shit because I've spoken to her and know why she really left (not personal reasons).

Not long after I find I'm blocked from the schedule and work email and he texts me directly asking if that means I quit and am not coming in for my shift.

I state that I don't quit and will be in. He doesn't say we have to talk, only that I can when I come in. So, naturally, assuming I have a shift and having discussed it with my partner, I decide I'm going to stay calm and just do what I always did: go in and take care of the dogs. (I love dogs and I think for a time wanted to be sure someone was properly handling them. )

I get in and a coworker is there surprised to see me. He shows me the schedule I couldn't see which states I'm called out, so like anyone who doesn't have a shift, I go home.

I later receive an email informing me of being fired for walking out of a shift.

I text the manager and call out the bullshit to which he now claims they don't need a reason to fire me as MA is an at-will-employment state.

This is months after they made a prior claim that there was nothing they could do about the coworker sexually harassing me because it was off the clock.

Thing is... so was my email response.

Am I the asshole, where did I go wrong, etc.

I know my first mistake was not logging evidence against the coworker but even then, I get the sense that overall I was either presumed to be a liar or they didn't care if I was telling the truth.

Location: Northampton Massachusetts