If you are put on leave pending investigation can you receive unemployment

Unfortunately, no. If you are put on leave, pending an investigation, the company has a choice to pay you while you are on leave or not. However, if they bring you back to work after the investigation, they have to back pay you for the period of time you were forced on leave.

I am not sure, the best answer to this is call your local unemployment office and find out from them and don't take any word. That is the best answer.

No, it is not the best answer. A person can TRY to call your local unemployment office but based on the current economic situation, you will never get through to someone. And once you do, they will say NO. Why? Because unemployment is for people that have lost their jobs. In this situation, hatmaker has not yet lost their job, just on leave, pending an investigation.

So again, to answer HatMaker's question, No. You can not get unemployment while on leave pending an investigation...since you are not unemployed!...just on leave. If you are later fired, then you are unemployed and can collect.

You can file for unemployment, whether you are on "leave" ( which has no legal defintion) or "laid off" "teminated" or whateer euphemism the employer wishes to call it, The circumstances of being UNPAID matters when it comes to theunemployment commissions determination of fault and how many weeks if any , will be deducted. If you are not earning money, you are unemployed. There is NO LAW that states they will have to pay this person should they reinstate him/her. Unemployment , from the time of filing, until any beefits are determiend will take weeks. If this person returns to work, they they may notify the state at that time. You should go ahaed an d file , and protect yourself in case you are not returned. Unpaid forced leave is being unemployed as far as the state is concerned. Many companys like ot use words such as "leave" of "lay off" because they think it will prevent the employee from filing for unemployment. Many people have waited weeks to file thinking they would be re-hired shortly ( or "called back to work" and then regret not filing right away, they may getr back benefits but who can go weeks without pay.