An Administrator's Guide to California Private School Law

Chapter 4 - Employment Contracts And Separation Of Employees

superior court affirmed EDD’s findings and denied benefits. The California Court of Appeal, however, reversed the judgment, explaining that good faith errors in judgment or discretion do not disqualify individuals from receipt of unemployment insurance benefits. The key factors are the individual’s intent and whether the misconduct was volitional. Here, Robles did not intend to conceal his intent to purchase the shoes for his friend. The Court found that he simply wanted to help his friend without jeopardizing the Company’s interests because Robles already owned a pair of safety shoes. When he was informed that the Company did not approve, he immediately expressed regret. The Court concluded that Robles was at most guilty of a good faith error in judgment, which did not disqualify him for benefits. Paratransit, Inc. v. Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (2014) 59 Cal.4th 551 Craig Medeiros worked as a vehicle operator for Paratransit and received a disciplinary notice for harassing a passenger. Pursuant to the applicable collective bargaining agreement between Medeiros’ union and Paratransit, vehicle operators were required to sign all disciplinary notices for the sole purpose of acknowledging receipt of the notice. Medeiros refused to sign his disciplinary notice because he believed it would be an admission of guilt. Paratransit terminated Medeiros’ employment for insubordination, and the EDD ALJ subsequently denied his application for unemployment benefits. Meideros appealed and the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board reversed the ALJ’s decision finding that Meideros did not commit misconduct. Paratransit appealed the case and the superior court ruled that Meideros was disqualified from receiving benefits and the Court of Appeal agreed. The case reached the California Supreme Court, which held that Meideros’ refusal to sign the disciplinary notice was not misconduct under the Unemployment Insurance Code. Since his behavior was a good faith error in judgment, he was not disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits.

2. P ROCESS Even if a school has terminated an employee’s employment, the former employee may still file a claim. Claims for unemployment insurance benefits are handled by the Employment Development Department (EDD). There is a five step process, as follows:  The employee files a claim;  Potential benefits are computed;  The first continued claim statement is filed (and bi-weekly filings continue  thereafter);  Eligibility is determined; and  Eligibility is reviewed periodically. 472

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