DIAN L. KELLEY, APPELLANT,
v.
PUEBLO WHOLESALE COMPANY, INC. AND THE FLORIDA UNEMPLOYMENT APPEALS COMMISSION, APPELLEES
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Ms. Kelley appeals the denial of unemployment benefits after her termination for delaying a cash shortage report. The court reverses, holding that her good-faith investigation of the discrepancy before reporting it did not constitute "misconduct" under Florida law.
Kelley's conduct did not constitute misconduct. Her good-faith investigation of the cash discrepancy was undertaken to preserve the employer's interests and rectify the problem, and therefore did not rise to the level of willful or wanton disregard required by statute. At worst, it was an exercise of poor judgment, which does not amount to misconduct.
[1] An employee's good faith investigation into a cash shortage before reporting it does not constitute "misconduct" under Florida Statutes Section 443.036(26) when there is…
[2] An employee's exercise of poor judgment, without a willful or wanton disregard for an employer's interests, does not rise to the level of "misconduct" disqualifying them…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Ms. Kelley's conduct was clearly not a "willful or wanton disregard" of X-tra's interests, and therefore did not rise to the level of "misconduct" under the statute.”
Establishes the legal standard for misconduct under the statute
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceKelley worked for over seven years as a cash office manager at an X-tra supermarket. On November 5, 1992, after being notified of a $400 cash shortage…
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LEVY; Judge.
Ms. Kelley appeals the denial of unemployment benefits. We reverse the denial of benefits because Ms. Kelley’s actions did not constitute “misconduct” as defined by Florida Statutes, Section 443.036(26) (1991).
Dian Kelley was employed for over seven years as the cash office manager at an X-tra supermarket owned by Pueblo Wholesale Company. One of Ms. Kelley’s job responsibilities was to monitor cash drawer balances and report any discrepancies to the store director. On Wednesday evening, November 4, 1992, Ms. Kelley received a phone call at home from one of the store’s cashiers. The cashier informed Ms. Kelley that the cashier’s cash drawer was short approximately $400. Upon arriving at work the next morning, Ms. Kelley undertook an investigation in order to find the cause of the discrepancy. After being unable to locate the cause of the discrepancy, Ms. Kelley reported the shortage to the store director at the close of business that day. Ms. Kelley was later terminated for delaying the report of the shortage to the store director. Ms. Kelley filed for unemployment benefits, which were initially awarded, but then denied by the appeals referee on the grounds that Ms. Kelley was terminated due to “misconduct.” See § 443.036(26), Fla.Stat. (1991). This conclusion was affirmed by the commission, and Ms. Kelley now appeals.
At the hearing on this matter, the store director, who had only worked at this store for about two weeks, testified that X-tra had no written policy regarding the timeliness of cash shortage reporting. Moreover, Ms. Kelley, who worked at this store for more than seven years, testified that it had long been her practice to investigate apparent shortages before reporting them, because discrepancies were often due to simple mathematical errors. The delay in reporting the shortage to the store director was entirely due to Ms. Kelley’s investigation, which was undertaken in a good faith effort to preserve X-tra’s interests and rectify the problem. As such, Ms. Kelley’s conduct was clearly not a “willful or wanton disregard” of X-tra’s interests, and therefore did not rise to the level of “misconduct” under the statute. § 443.-036(26)(a), Fla.Stat. (1991). At worst, her conduct was an exercise of poor judgment, which we have consistently held does not amount to “misconduct.” See Rubido v. Brinks, Inc., 601 So. 2d 1298 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992); Davis v. Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission, 472 So. 2d 800 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985); Woskoff v. Desta Enters., Inc., 187 So. 2d 101 (Fla. 3d DCA 1966); Spaulding v. Florida Indus. Commission, 154 So. 2d 334 (Fla. 3d DCA 1963).
Reversed.
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Citator
Cited By (16 total)
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Pascarelli v. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n, 664 So. 2d 1089 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)…. Aetna Life Insurance Co., 658 So. 2d 1218 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995) (Green, J., dissenting). Generally, courts require more than a single instance of poor judgment to disqualify a claimant from unemployment compensation: Kelley v. Pueblo Wholesale Co., 627 So. 2d 534 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993) (manager’s delay in reporting a shortage at her cash register until she completed a personal investigation to determine the source of the discrepancy was not a “willful or wanton” disregard of store’s interest, but at worst, poor…
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Bulkan v. Fla. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n & Terry Ford Co., 648 So. 2d 846 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)…er the statute. See Spaulding v. Florida Industrial Commission, 154 So. 2d 384 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1963) (inadvertence, ordinary negligence, poor judgment and inattention do not constitute misconduct under the statute); Kelley v. Pueblo Wholesale Company, 627 So. 2d 534 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993) (where court recognizes that it has consistently held that an exercise of poor judgment does not amount to misconduct). The referee concluded that this was not just an instance of poor judgment as Bulkan was notified of the corre…
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Webb v. Rice, 693 So. 2d 1109 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)…ces of errors in judgment or “mere ... unsatisfactory conduct.” Id.; see, e.g., Velasquez v. Argus Int’l, 689 So. 2d 1303 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997); Calvo v. Florida Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 672 So. 2d 847 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996); Kelley v. Pueblo Wholesale Co., 627 So. 2d 534 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993); Nelson v. Burdines, Inc., 611 So. 2d 1329 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993); Whitaker v. Pizza Hut, 502 So. 2d 84 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987); Woskoff v. Desta Enter., Inc., 187 So. 2d 101 (Fla. 3d DCA 1966); Bulkan, 648 So. 2d at 846. The record, how…
Previewing 3 of 16 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Spaulding v. Fla. Indus. Comm'n & Onny Amon, Inc., 154 So. 2d 334 (Fla. 3d DCA 1963)
- Woskoff v. Desta Enters., Inc., 187 So. 2d 101 (Fla. 3d DCA 1966)
- Davis v. Fla. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n & Winn Dixie Stores, Inc., 472 So. 2d 800 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)
- Rubido v. Brinks, 601 So. 2d 1298 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)