Individual declared ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits after failing to obtain a required license
2014 NY Slip Op 01802, Appellate Division, Third Department
A former school teacher [Claimant] was found ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits. The Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board determined that Claimant voluntarily left his employment without good cause.
Claimant had been informed by his employer that he was required to obtain a Master's degree in education in order to be properly certified and be continued in his employment.
Although Claimant had been given three extensions of the deadline to meet this requirement, he failed to complete the degree at an accredited school before the expiration of the time allotted. Accordingly, Claimant’s employer terminated the employment due to lack of a valid teaching certificate.
Claimant challenged the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board’s determination that he had voluntarily left his employment without good cause and he was charged with a “recoverable overpayment” based on the unemployment insurance benefits he had earlier been given.
The Appellate Division sustained the Board’s ruling, finding that the record established that Claimant had sufficient time to obtain the Master's degree from an accredited school prior to the deadline set by the employer. Finding that Claimant failed to take reasonable steps to protect his continuation in employment, the court ruled that substantial evidence supported the decision of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board that Claimant had voluntarily separated from his employment without good cause.
The decision is posted on the Internet at:
http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2014/2014_01802.htm.