New Findings of "Good Cause" in Unemployment Compensation Claims: Brown vs. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review

Authors

Danielle M. HollidayFollow

Abstract

The payment of unemployment compensation benefits seeks to provide partial and temporary wages to employees who have become involuntarily unemployed “through no fault of their own.” However, this is not without limitation. In Pennsylvania, a former employee may be barred from receiving unemployment compensation if the unemployment is “due to his [or her] discharge . . . from work for willful misconduct connected with his [or her] work.” Although the legislature has provided the over-arching rule for when unemployment compensation benefits may not be provided, the determination of whether an act constitutes willful misconduct is a question of law to be determined by the court. To help the courts conclude their findings, “[a]n employer seeking to prove willful misconduct by a policy violation must demonstrate the existence of the policy, its reasonableness, and its violation.” The essential factor of this analysis is whether the policy was reasonable, and this will be determined “ ‘in light of all the circumstances and . . . whether [a claimant] had good cause to violate the rule or policy.’ ”

Recommended Citation

Holliday, Danielle M. (2024) "New Findings of "Good Cause" in Unemployment Compensation Claims: Brown vs. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review," Widener Commonwealth Law Review: Vol. 33: Iss. 2, Article 7.
Available at: https://cwldc.widener.edu/wclr/vol33/iss2/7