An employee's resigning his or her position to continue his or her education deemed a voluntarily separation "without good cause"
Matter of Delgado-Agudio (Commissioner of Labor), 2017 NY Slip Op 03095, Appellate Division, Third Department
An applicant for unemployment insurance benefits [Claimant] worked full time as a social work assistant for approximately 2½ years. She enrolled in a graduate program while she was working and requested the employer to modify her work schedule to enable her to complete an internship that was part of the program. When the employer denied her request, she resigned from her position.
The Department of Labor issued an initial determination disqualifying Claimant from receiving unemployment insurance benefits on the ground that she voluntarily left her employment without good cause. The determination was sustained by a Department of Labor Administrative Law Judge [ALJ] following a hearing. Claimant appealed the ALJ's ruling and the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board affirmed the ALJ's decision.
Claimant appealed the Board's ruling. The Appellate Division affirmed the administrative determination, explaining that "[r]esigning from a position in order to pursue educational opportunities constitutes a personal and noncompelling reason for leaving employment disqualifying a claimant from receiving unemployment insurance benefits."
As it was undisputed that Claimant resigned from her job because the employer declined to modify her work hours, the Appellate Division held that substantial evidence supported the Board's decision and that it found no reason to disturb it.
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