HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES, APPELLANT,
v.
UNEMPLOYMENT APPEALS COMMISSION AND ROBERT J. JACKSON, APPELLEES
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Hillsborough County Department of Emergency Medical Services appealed an Unemployment Appeals Commission order awarding unemployment benefits to Robert J. Jackson, an ambulance washer who was terminated after failing to report to work due to his incarceration for contempt of court (child support non-payment). The court reversed, holding that Jackson's continued absenteeism constituted misconduct connected with work under Florida law.
The court held that Jackson's continued absence from work caused by his incarceration constituted misconduct connected with work under Florida law, disqualifying him from unemployment benefits. Continued absenteeism caused by personal problems for which an employee bears culpability amounts to misconduct per se under § 443.101(1)(a).
[1] Continued absenteeism caused by personal problems for which an employee bears culpability constitutes misconduct per se for purposes of unemployment benefits disqualifica…
[2] Failure to pay court-ordered child support, leading to incarceration and subsequent absence from work, is a foreseeable consequence attributable to the employee.
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Continued absenteeism caused by personal problems for which an employee bears culpability amounts to misconduct per se for purposes of section 443.101(1)(a).”
Establishes the key legal principle that misconduct includes continued absenteeism caused by personal problems attributable to the employee
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJackson was hired in October 1980 to wash ambulances for the County. On July 24, 1981, while on scheduled vacation, he was arrested and incarcerated f…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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DANAHY, Judge.
The employer, County of Hillsborough, Department of Emergency Medical Services, appeals an order of the Unemployment Appeals Commission which found that appellee, Robert J. Jackson, was eligible for unemployment compensation benefits. We reverse.
The employer is required by law to have its ambulances kept in good sanitary condition by having them washed and cleaned daily. Mr. Jackson was employed to wash ambulances for appellant starting in October of 1980. He was last at work on July 16, 1981. He was on a scheduled vacation thereafter and was to return to work July 26,1981. On July 24,1981, Mr. Jackson was arrested and incarcerated after being found in contempt of court, and he was sentenced to serve ninety days in jail for failure to make child support payments. On that same date, from the jail, he phoned a dispatcher at the employer’s office and informed him of his incarceration, but no leave of absence was arranged. Mr. Jackson failed to report to work on July 26 through 29. On July 29, the employer terminated Mr. Jackson’s position based on abandonment of that position.
The appeals referee held that Mr. Jackson qualified for receipt of benefits, reasoning that he left his employment, but his leaving was not voluntary. The Unemployment Appeals Commission affirmed the decision that Mr. Jackson was qualified for benefits but modified the legal conclusion of the referee by basing the qualification on lack of misconduct connected with work.
Section 443.101(l)(a), Florida Statutes (1981), disqualifies an individual for unemployment benefits (1) when he voluntarily leaves his employment without good cause attributable to his employer, or (2) if he has been discharged by his employer for misconduct connected with his work.
In this case, Mr. Jackson’s continued absence from work was the operative factor in his termination by the employer. Continued absenteeism caused by personal problems for which an employee bears culpability amounts to misconduct per se for purposes of section 443.101(1)(a). Castillo v. Florida Department of Commerce, 253 So. 2d 162 (Fla. 2d DCA 1971).
Mr. Jackson’s unavailability for work not only hampered the operation of the employer’s business but also was a foreseeable consequence of his failure to pay court-ordered child support.
Accordingly, the order of the Unemployment Appeals Commission awarding unemployment benefits to Mr. Jackson is reversed.
REVERSED.
BOARDMAN, A.C.J., and GRIMES, J., concur.
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Citator
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Livingston v. Tucker Constr. & Eng'g, Inc., 656 So. 2d 499 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)…h work.” On the employer’s administrative appeal, the UAC determined that the referee’s decision was unsupported by the record. Specifically, the UAC determined that, pursuant to Hillsborough County Department of Emergency Medical Services v. UAC, 433 So. 2d 24 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983), Livingston’s “inability to report for work due to incarceration [was] a foreseeable consequence of his actions when [he] ... pled ... no contest [to the charges against him] in a court of law.” The UAC concluded that “[u]nder suc…
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Rycraft v. United Techs. & Unemployment Appeals Comm'n, 449 So. 2d 382 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984)…e facts and disqualified the employee from receiving benefits. Misconduct has additionally been found in cases of repeated absences and tardiness, see Hillsborough County, Department of Emergency Medical Services v. Unemployment Appeals Commission, 433 So. 2d 24 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); Sanchez v. Department of Labor & Employment Security, State of Florida, Unemployment Appeals Commission, 411 So. 2d 313 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982). This court has reversed a finding of no misconduct in Co-Tran, Florida Transit Management…
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Prison Rehab. Indus. & Diversified Enters. v. State, 476 So. 2d 1309 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)…e an employee’s pre-trial incarceration may reach the point where he ought to be considered as having abandoned his employment. 440 So. 2d at 439. Cf. Hillsborough County, Department of Emergency Medical Services v. Unemployment Appeals Commission, 433 So. 2d 24 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983) (employee’s absence from work due to ninety-day jail sentence constituted misconduct per se for purposes of section 443.101(l)(a), Florida Statutes (1981)). Reversed. SCHEB and HALL, JJ., concur.…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Castillo v. Fla. Dep't OF Commerce, 253 So. 2d 162 (Fla. 2d DCA 1971)