Actually, it was paid in by you, but in the name of the company. You, as an employee, represent a cost to the company. Any money paid in your name, as an employee, exactly like the other half of the Medicare tax, is your money. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.
It’s your money and you should get some of it back without reservation on your behalf.
No, if an employee paid into an unemployment pool voluntarily out of his own funds, that would be completely different.
This is simply a tax.