Summary
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review's denial of benefits to Timothy P. O'Donnell under Section 402(e) of the Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Law. The court held that taking unauthorized vacation time after being directed to work constituted willful misconduct and that substantial evidence supported the Board's findings. The court also upheld exclusion of a doctor's note that was not disclosed in compliance with the Board's telephone-hearing regulations.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether substantial evidence supported the Board's determination that O'Donnell's unauthorized absences and use of vacation time constituted willful misconduct under Section 402(e) of the Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Law.
- Whether the referee and Board committed prejudicial error by excluding and refusing to consider O'Donnell's May 26 doctor's note under the telephone-hearing document regulations.
Holdings
- An employee's use of unauthorized vacation time after being specifically directed not to take the time off constitutes willful misconduct connected with employment and disqualifies the employee from unemployment compensation under Section 402(e), when the Board's supporting findings are supported by substantial evidence.
- A document used in a telephone unemployment-compensation hearing that was not provided in advance as required by the Board's regulations may not be admitted, and testimony may not be given or taken from it, without the consent of all parties. The referee therefore properly excluded O'Donnell's doctor's note after the employer objected.
Key quotations
“While absenteeism may not always support a finding of willful misconduct, an employee’s use of unauthorized vacation time, when specifically directed not to by an employer, amounts to willful misconduct under the Law.” (7)
“a document “may not be admitted nor testimony given or taken from it unless consent has been requested from and given by all parties.”” (9)
Factual background
Timothy P. O'Donnell worked as a full-time yard jockey for J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. He was absent for seven or eight weeks because of foot surgery and was released for full-time duty on May 18, 2015. After the employer denied his request for vacation on May 23 and May 25 because he had not provided the required two weeks' notice, O'Donnell did not report to work or call off and was terminated on May 26. The Board credited the employer's witnesses and rejected O'Donnell's claim that the absences were medically necessary.
Procedural history
O'Donnell's local service center initially granted unemployment compensation benefits. His employer appealed, and following a referee hearing, the referee denied benefits after finding that O'Donnell was discharged for excessive absenteeism and unauthorized vacation. The Board affirmed and adopted the critical findings, after which O'Donnell petitioned the Commonwealth Court for review. The Commonwealth Court affirmed the Board's order.