LaKesia Phillips v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review

Summary

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review's denial of benefits to LaKesia Phillips under Section 402(b) of the Unemployment Compensation Law. The court held that Phillips waived her argument that incarceration provided a necessitous and compelling reason for voluntarily leaving employment because she did not raise it before the referee or Board. The court further concluded that, even if preserved, incarceration and her failure to attend or reschedule a meeting with the employer did not establish a necessitous and compelling reason or reasonable efforts to preserve employment.

Holdings

1. Phillips waived review of whether she had a necessitous and compelling reason for quitting because she did not raise that issue before the referee or the Board, where factual findings could have been made.
2. Even if preserved, a claimant's need to abandon employment to serve a criminal-incarceration sentence does not constitute a necessitous and compelling reason for voluntarily quitting under Section 402(b).
3. Phillips did not establish a necessitous and compelling reason for quitting because she failed to make a reasonable effort to preserve her employment after missing the employer's scheduled return-to-work meeting.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Phillips preserved for appellate review the issue of whether she had a necessitous and compelling reason for voluntarily leaving employment.
2. Whether incarceration resulting from criminal conduct constitutes a necessitous and compelling reason for voluntarily quitting employment under Section 402(b) of the Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Law.
3. Whether Phillips made reasonable efforts to preserve her employment after contacting the employer about returning to work.

Disposition

affirmed