Showing up can be more than half the battle in opposing jobless claims

Employers must be careful to preserve their rights and not cavalierly ignore the need to present their point of view. A recent case before the Arkansas Court of Appeals illustrates what can happen when an employer doesn’t bother to appear and present evidence opposing a claim for unemployment compensation.

Facts

Biotest employed Charles Schock as its company physician for approximately four years until he was discharged on October 14, 2020. He applied for unemployment-compensation benefits. The employer didn’t respond or participate in any of the proceedings.

On the unemployment claim form, Schock indicated he had been discharged because he was late in renewing his medical license. He checked the “yes” box indicating he had violated the employer's policy regarding late renewals of medical licenses. He claimed, however, he wasn’t aware of the policy until he was verbally informed about it on the date he was discharged.

Based only on Schock’s form, the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services (DWS) determined he was disqualified from receiving jobless benefits because he was let go for work-related misconduct. It found he "was discharged from [his] job on 10-14-20 for the loss of [his] license, which was one of the requirements of the job. [His] willful actions resulted in this loss and were against the employer's best interest."