IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FIFTH DISTRICT JANUARY TERM 2004
DENISE SCHOLZ,
Appellant,
v. CASE NO. 5D03-1997
UNEMPLOYMENT APPEALS COMMISSION,
Appellee.
/
Opinion filed April 8, 2004.
Administrative Appeal from the
Unemployment Appeals Commission.
Adrienne E. Trent and Wayne L. Allen
of Wayne L. Allen & Associates, P.A.,
Melbourne, for Appellant.
Therese Pine, Senior Attorney, Unemployment Appeals
Commission, Tallahassee, for Appellee.
THOMPSON, J.
Denise Scholz appeals an order by the Unemployment Appeals Commission ("UAC") affirming
the denial of unemployment benefits by preventing Scholz from backdating her unemployment benefits
claim. We affirm.
After an administrative hearing, the appeals referee found:
The claimant filed her initial claim for unemployment
compensation benefits effective September 23, 2001.
The claimant's benefits expired on September 22, 2002.
The claimant went into the "one stop" career center on
September 24, 2002, and spoke with an employee. The
employee did not tell the claimant she could not file her
claim, and the claimant did not ask the employee if she
could file her claim at that time. The claimant was told
that she needed to earn three times the weekly benefit
amount to qualify for receiving benefits. The claimant did
not file her claim at that time because she believed she
needed to earn three times the benefit amount to file her
claim. The claimant filed her claim on October 19, 2002,
when she earned three times her weekly benefit amount.
The referee concluded:
The record reflects that the claimant filed her claim for
benefits on October 19, 2002. There is not evidence in
the record to support a finding that the claimant filed a
claim before October 13, 2002, or was stopped by the
Agency from filing her claim. The claimant was not given
misinformation from the Agency pertaining to filing her
claim. Accordingly, the claimant is ineligible for
backdating from September 22, 2002, through October
12, 2002.
Scholz contends that she did not file her claim in a timely manner because of conflicting information
provided by agency employees, warranting a reversal of the referee's decision. An administrative agency's
findings should not be disturbed on appeal if those findings are supported by competent, substantial
evidence, Gfrorer v. Unemployment Appeals Commission, 864 So. 2d 1290 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004), and
we conclude that the referee's findings are supported by competent, substantial evidence. Scholz cites
Curtis v. Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission, 784 So. 2d 1186 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001) and Dines
v. Florida Unemployment Appeals Commission, 730 So. 2d 378 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999), and argues that
she should not be denied benefits due to the wrongful actions of the agency's employees, but these cases
are distinguishable. The claimants in the cited cases were excused from the agency requirements because
they were told erroneously that they no longer qualified for benefits. However, in the instant case, Scholz
was not given inaccurate information. She was told that she needed to make three times her benefit amount
to qualify, but she neglected to ask if she was still eligible to re-file her claim.
AFFIRMED.
PETERSON and MONACO, JJ., concur.