Fernandez v. Board of Review

• Decision Date: 23 October 1997
• Citation: 304 N.J.Super. 603,701 A.2d 747
• Parties: Paul FERNANDEZ, Appellant, v. BOARD OF REVIEW, Respondent.
• Court: New Jersey Superior Court — Appellate Division

Page 603

304 N.J.Super. 603

701 A.2d 747

Paul FERNANDEZ, Appellant, v. BOARD OF REVIEW, Respondent.

Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division.

Submitted Oct. 8, 1997.

Decided Oct. 23, 1997.

Paul Fernandez, Appellant submitted a pro se brief.

Peter Verniero, Attorney General, for Respondent (Joseph L. Yannotti, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel; Ellen A. Reichart, Deputy Attorney General, on the letter-brief).

Before Judges BAIME, BROCHIN and BRAITHWAITE.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

BAIME, J.A.D.

This is an appeal from a decision of the Board of Review upholding the determination of the Appeal Tribunal disqualifying appellant from receiving unemployment benefits. At issue is whether an employee's acceptance of an early retirement incentive package bars him from obtaining unemployment benefits. Appellant was found to have resigned from his position voluntarily without good cause attributable to his employment. N.J.S.A. 43:21-5(a). We find substantial credible evidence in the record supporting the Board's conclusion. R. 2:11-3(e)(1)(D).

Appellant was employed by AT & T for twelve years. While AT & T was in the process of restructuring, appellant received a letter indicating that there were "many more people in [his division] than there [would] be following" the reorganization. Appellant was advised that employees could choose to "volunteer to terminate" their employment under the "AT & T Force Management Program." According to appellant, he elected to take that course, thus receiving severance pay of $24,594.51 and medical benefits for a period of six months. Prior to receiving the memorandum, appellant allegedly read an article in the Wall Street Journal which he relied upon as indicia that AT & T was in dire financial straits. Appellant added that he did not enjoy a good working relationship with his immediate supervisors. He further noted that after his separation his responsibilities were not transferred to another employee. It is undisputed, however, that other than the general letter to which we have referred, which apparently was sent to all employees in the consumer products division, appellant was never told that his job was at risk.

We dealt with this issue in Trupo v. Board of Review, 268 N.J.Super. 54, 632 A.2d 852 (App.Div.1993). There, we said in dictum that an employee who accepts a voluntary severance package because of a subjective fear of impending job termination was eligible for unemployment benefits if the employee's fear was based upon compelling "definitive objective facts." Id. at 61, 632 A.2d 852. Because Trupo presented no facts to buttress her belief that her job would actually be eliminated in the impending work reduction, ibid., we had no occasion to apply that principle or resolve the question.

Against this backdrop, we cannot fairly say that either the Board of Review or the Appeal Tribunal erred in concluding that appellant failed to sustain his burden of proof. An employee's reason for leaving his employment "must meet the test of ordinary common sense and prudence." Zielenski v. Board of Review, 85 N.J.Super. 46, 52, 203 A.2d 635 (App.Div.1964). "The decision to leave employment must be compelled by real, substantial and reasonable circumstances ... attributable to the work." Domenico v. Labor & Indus. Dep't of Review, 192 N.J.Super. 284, 288, 469 A.2d 961 (App.Div.1983). Perhaps, appellant's decision to voluntarily resign and accept the early retirement package was prudent in light of the employment market and other personal circumstances. But we cannot conclude on the record before us that appellant's expressed subjective fear was based upon definitive objective facts. Nor can we conclude that the Board's factual determination to that effect was so wide of the mark that a mistake must have been made. See Stein & Kurland, P.C. v. Board of Review, 181 N.J.Super. 269, 273, 437 A.2d 332 (App.Div.1981); Ferry v. Board of Review, 131 N.J.Super. 99, 99, 328 A.2d 639 (App.Div.1974).

Mere speculation about job stability is insufficient to establish good cause. Rather, the surrounding circumstances at the time of voluntarily resigning must demonstrate a lack of suitable continuing work either concurrently or at a discernible and proximate point in time, together with statements or actions of the employer showing a very strong likelihood of imminent layoff. The circumstances must be so compelling as to indicate a strong probability that fears about the employee's job security will in fact materialize, that serious impending threats to his job will be realized, and that the employee's belief that his job is imminently threatened is well founded. Compare Spatola v. Board of Review, 72 N.J.Super. 483, 178 A.2d 635 (App.Div.1962) with Philadelphia Parking Auth. v. Unemployment Comp. Bd. of Review, 654 A.2d 280 (Pa.Commw.Ct.1995).

We thus hold that an employee's acceptance of a "severance package" or "early retirement incentive package" bars him from receiving unemployment benefits unless he shows he accepted the package because of a real, imminent, and substantial risk of losing his job. Our conclusion comports with that of other jurisdictions. See York v. Review Bd. of Indiana Employment Sec. Div., 425 N.E.2d 707 (Ind.Ct.App.1981); McGraw v. Director of Postal Data Center, 319 So.2d 797 (La.Ct.App.1975); Saint Joseph Health Center v. Missouri Labor and Indus. Relations Comm'n, 768 S.W.2d 123 (Mo.Ct.App.1988); Fisher v. Levine, 36 N.Y.2d 146, 365 N.Y.S.2d 828, 325 N.E.2d 151 (1975); Appleman, as Commissioner of Labor, 211 A.D.2d 933, 621 N.Y.S.2d 232 (N.Y.App.Div.1995); In re Fontaine, 657 N.Y.S.2d 216 (N.Y.App.Div.1997); In re Raphael, 656 N.Y.S.2d 576 (N.Y.App.Div.1997); In re Russo, 652 N.Y.S.2d 1021 (N.Y.App.Div.1997); Employment Dep't v. Piercy, 142 Or.App. 232, 920 P.2d 1129 (1996); Philadelphia Parking Auth. v. Unemployment Comp. Bd. of Review, 654 A.2d 280 (Pa.Commw.Ct.1995); Staub v. Unemployment Comp. Bd. of Review, 673 A.2d 434 (Pa.Commw.Ct.1996); Unangst v. Unemployment Comp. Bd. of Review, 690 A.2d 1305 (Pa.Commw.Ct.1997); Robinson v. Department of Employment Sec. 827 P.2d 250 (Utah.Ct.App.1992); Read v. Employment Sec. Dep't, 62 Wash.App. 227, 813 P.2d 1262 (1991).

For example, the New York Court of Appeals has held that an employee who voluntarily leaves his employment in exchange for enhanced retirement benefits has no right to receive unemployment compensation. In Fisher v. Levine, 36 N.Y.2d 146, 365 N.Y.S.2d 828, 325 N.E.2d 151, a federal postal worker retired early in response to his employer's request for a voluntary reduction in force. Id. 365 N.Y.S.2d at 831, 325 N.E.2d at 152-53. In exchange, the plaintiff received a substantial increase in...