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New Jersey Unemployment Case Law

These cases are from the very excellent Rutgers University Law Library Server

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AC & C Dogs: They rent hot dog carts. The state wants them to pay unemployment tax on the people who rent the carts from them.
Alelov: She had trouble filing appeal in time because she does not speak nor read English. That's no excuse.
Bannan: The state paid him benefits for weeks when he was working full time at an interim job. Now the state wants the money back. He relied on the state to know what they were doing. It was their goof, not his. So now he doesn't want to pay it back. The court says he has to.
Begun: The Board mis-handled the hearing.
Bodnarchuk: Unemployment wants to screw him out of his benefits on the pretext of a technicality. The court says come on.
Bonilla: A claimant may collect unemployment benefits where he quit for good cause, but he may not collect extended benefits under Workforce Developement if he quit for good cause.
Borowinski: A lawyer was told he either had to attend evening court or he would be fired. So he packed up and left. He does not collect.
Bose: She is a chemist with a college degree who was laid off. Now she wants to go to community college for a word processing computer course, while on extended unemployment. The state does not want to pay her, because she already has an education and a profession. The court says pay.
Brady et al: The company said they were closing the plant. Employees were offered early retirement. They took it. Then the plant was not closed. Because the plant did not close, they cannot collect unemployment.
Brown: When the company moved a hundred miles away, he worked from home. When they required him to come in once a week, he refused.
Callegher: She appeals the facts to this court. But the court does not decide the facts; the Board does. The court dicides the law.
Cao: He had two part time jobs. One laid him off. A few days later, he stopped showing up at the other.
Casciano: When he found out his company was cheating customers, he looked for work elsewhere. But his new employer laid him off ten days later. Now the state doesn't want to pay him Unemployment because he didn't work long enough at the second place to be qualified, and he quit from the first place voluntarily. The court says he had good reason to quit, so pay the man.
Chanoux: She received two criticisms: one for not returning a call, the other for going over budget. So she quit.
Ciminera: He gets his benefits extended another 26 weeks because he enrolled for vocational training.
Coco: A professor asserts that because he is not assured of a job next year unless enough students sign up for his class, therefore he should collect unemployment during the summer.
Costello: The Department goofed. They paid her two claims in a row. She was honest throughout. Yet now they want her to pay back what they gave her in error.
Cucci: She moved with her ailing mother to South Carolina, assuming she could resume work from there.
Daniels: She quit to relocate with her husband in North Carolina because she thought her job was joing to be abolished.
DeBartolomeis: He says he quit because of a bad back. But the hearings examiner would not let him show his doctors' notes.
DiPaquale: A mechanic injured his right arm, and was on disability for over a year. He had three surgeries, but finally the doctor told him go back to work, we can't fix it, don't lift over 15 pounds. The shop didn't want him for light duty. The state denied him Unemployment on a technicality. The court says pay him.
Donato: Quit because a bright window gave him headaches.
Donlin: Hurt her back. Couldn't do the job. Conflicts with others at work. Quit.
Emery: The manager, who ordinarily worked six days, took a day off, arranging in advance for someone to replace her. This is not misconduct.
Fennell: A man was stuck in jail awaiting trial for NINE MONTHS, and couldn't afford to raise bail. Of course, he lost his job. Then the charges were dropped. Now the state won't pay him Unemployment because they say he voluntarily quit by getting himself jailed and not posting bail. The court agrees!
Fernandez: His company sent a letter around saying they were downsizing. Employees could choose a severance package and bail out. He did. Now the state says that he can't collect Unemployment because by choosing the bail out plan he quit voluntarily. The court agrees.
Floyd: Quit because ever since her sister died, driving made her anxious.
Ford: This lawyer collected Unemployment for six months while he opened his own office, incorporated, hired help, bought equipment, opened 150 files, and earned nearly forty grand in fees. The state says he should pay the benefits back. The court agrees.
Garzon: She missed the deadline for appeal. The question is whether she had good cause.
Gerber: Her supervisor stressed her out, so she found a job with a competitor. Three days before starting her new job, the competitor said they could not hire her because her present company threatened to sue them if they did. She cannot collect because she didn't get along with her supervisor. But she can collect because her employer prevented her from getting another job.
Geisler: At age 56, his plant shut down. He was eligible for retirement, but preferred to work. He rolled his pension into an IRA and got another job. That place laid him off. Now he doesn't collect unemployment because he could have retired but would rather work.
Gilliland: He hurt his back on the job and was off in disability. At last, the doctor sent him back to work, but told him not to lift more than 30 pounds. The employer fiddled around month after month, but never came up with the light duty work. Now, when he went to apply for Unemployment, his base period had run out. The state didn't want to pay. The court says it's not his fault, so pay.
Gonzalez: Lost his job. Applied for unemployment. Thrown in prison. Continued to collect. Now they want him to pay back all he collected in the clink plus a fine.
Guzman: Not making enough in Jersey; quit to move to Georgia.
Habrial: Long after his hearing was held, the Board claimed his appeal was filed late.
Hancharik: A truck driver failed two drug tests.
Hewlitt: He quit his new state job because he didn't want to drive a state car, he wanted to start early and end early, and he wanted overtime, not comp time. The claims officer denied benefits. He appealed, and he was given benefits, after a short disqualification. He appealed the disqualification to the Board, and the Board agreed with the claims officer. Now he takes it to court. The court agrees with the Board.
Holster: She says the employer told her to take the week off for jury duty. They say she was AWOL.
Huron: He says he went home because of a bad tooth. They say he got mad and quit.
Hutchins: She took leave to care for her ailing parents. The question is whether she applied for her leave in good form.
Johansen: The Board already decided the employer was more credible. The court does not decide credibility.
Johns: Unable to renew her professional license. Can't work without it.
Johnson: Appealed too late. Missed the deadline.
Kassay: He was 62. He had heart surgery. Then they cut his hours, so that he would not qualify for health insurance.
Kelly: He worked with two salesmen who were friends. One of these men took umbrage at a remark he made. After that, the two salemen began making life miserable for him, until he quit.
Koza: A band manager had to go to court twice to establish that the band members were independent contractors, not his employees.
Logan: Compare this with President Clinton's attempt to extend Unemployment nationally to anyone starting a business.
Masterson: A waitress did not report her tips to her employer, though she did pay taxes on them to the IRS. That's why the restaurant never paid Unemployment taxes on her tips. Therefore, her Unemployment benefits will not be based upon all her wages and tips, but only on her wages.
Matyskiel: They told her she had to work the weekend. She already had other plans.
Mazzacoli: They say she quit. She says her offer to quit was not accepted.
McCoy: She decided to better her education. Her new school hours reduced the hours she was available for assignments. Therefore, she applied for partial unemployment.
McKenzie: The job stressed her out.
Mecca: Conflicts with colleagues.
Micelli: A teacher's assistant did not get along with the teacher. They transferred her to another room. She didn't like it there either. She resigned.
Melfi: He wanted partial unemployment for the day he took off to attend his brother-in-law's funeral. He does not collect.
Moll: Quit when she couldn't get a raise.
Mullarney: A depressed hospital worker stole drugs out of the trash can, boiled them down, and injected them, trying to kill himself. He wound up in a mental ward and had his hospital license suspended. Now, they want him to repay ten grand he collected in unemployment.
Murray: She was routinely late; not just every morning, but after lunch as well.
Murray: Says she quit because of the employer's unethical practices. But the employer and a colleague both refute this.
Nelson: A school social worker quit because he did not like the program.
Nunez: He quit because a friend told him he needed a CDL to drive the company truck. He does not.
Orzel: He thought he could work part-time and not report his earnings while collecting unemployment. He misunderstood. He will have to pay back the benefits, but will not have to pay a fine.
Paone: The president of a corporation was convicted of not paying a hundred seven grand in Unemployment taxes. They'll let him off easy if he pays the money. He says he shouldn't have to pay, because it was a corporation. The court says work out a payment plan.
Pagan: She got a restraining order and all the rest, but her abusive husband kept bugging her. Finally, she quit her job and moved away. Now the state won't pay her Unemployment because she quit voluntarily. The court agrees.
Palmblad: He missed the deadline for appeal.
Patel: After 9/11, Congress voted extended unemployment benefits to airline employees who lost their jobs as a result. But the Feds also nationalized airport security; and those displaced workers are not covered.
Poch: She received two claim notices: One said she was qualified to collect, the other said she was disqualified.
Poline: He applied for extended benefits two days after the program came to an end.
Powell: Quit to be a minister in Japan. When he returned, his job had been filled.
Powers: She complained to the employer that colleagues were harassing her. They transferred her to another department. Then she quit.
Prosinski: Took an early retirement plan.
Quintieri: Resigned. Took two months off. Applied to get his job back. Was not rehired.
Rafferty: Had to quit because of health. Cannot collect disability and unemployment at the same time.
Rocco: Did not appeal before the deadline because she did not read the notice.
Rohback: A truck driver believed he would be unable to pass the required DOT examination due to his vision, hearing, diabetes and heart problems. So he quit.
Rolka: Her company moved two hours away, so she quit. But because she complained about a whole lot of personal problems when she quit, unemployment does not want to pay her.
Rudbart: A salesman owned 25% stock in the company. The company failed. The state agency does not want to pay him unemployment because they say he is an officer of the corporation.
Sandor: A one-armed janitor cannot use the shampooing machine, so he quit. The Board says he never showed medical evidence that he can't use the machine. He says that's obvious.
Santiago: Says he quit because he did not receive an annual review.
Schomberg: He call work the night before to say he'd be late because he had to take his children to a school placement test. They fired him.
Simonelli: Laid off on the fifth. Did not apply for benefits until the 16th. Therefore cannot collect for the period after he was laid off but before he applied.
Smith: Falsified a time sheet.
Smith: Trucking company policy is to fire drivers who get in an accident within their first ninety days.
Stewart: Extended benefits are not available to those who have been permanently terminated from their position, but only to those whose positions have been permanently terminated.
Straube: She quit because the boss chewed her out in front of others.
Tobias: Quit because the job stressed her out.
Tricario: The employer missed the deadline for appeal. They say they had good reasons, but don't give any.
Van Sickle: Jersey privatized some of its Motor Vehicle Agencies. Van Sickle ran such an agency. Then the state pulled his contract. He and his employees are independent contractors, and so cannot collect.
Walker: The law firm for which she works has two offices an hour apart. They want to transfer her from one to the other, then back. She refuses.
Weber: Ordinarily, teachers cannot collect unemployment during the Summer break. But she had always taught summer school before. So, now that there is no summer session, she collects.
Wilcox: The court needs facts to work with.
Wilson: She quit because the job stressed her out.