State court rules that fired Paratransit driver cannot be denied unemployment benefits [View all]
Source: Sacramento Bee
In a victory with broad implications for the state’s army of unemployed, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that unemployment benefits for a Sacramento Paratransit driver cannot be denied because he was fired for refusing to sign a formal notification of discipline.
“Even assuming (Paratransit’s) order to sign the disciplinary notice was reasonable and lawful, and even assuming (Craig Medeiros’) refusal to do so may have justified his termination ... the ... issue here is whether the ... facts, which are undisputed, establish that he committed misconduct within the meaning of” a state statute, the court said. “We conclude the answer is no,” it declared.
The unanimous opinion was authored by Justice Marvin R. Baxter.
After a passenger filed a complaint against Medeiros in 2008 alleging he harassed her and Paratransit decided the claim was well founded, he defied repeated orders to sign a memorandum that he was being disciplined for the incident, including two days on suspension without pay.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/07/03/6533061/state-court-rules-that-fired-paratransit.html
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