In re Douglas

• Citation: 2023 NY Slip Op 03532
• Docket Number: CV-22-2397
• Decision Date: 29 June 2023
• Parties: In the Matter of the Claim of Jenna Douglas, Appellant. Commissioner of Labor, Respondent.
• Court: New York Supreme Court Appellate Division

2023 NY Slip Op 03532

In the Matter of the Claim of Jenna Douglas, Appellant. Commissioner of Labor, Respondent.

No. CV-22-2397

Supreme Court of New York, Third Department

June 29, 2023

Calendar Date: May 26, 2023

Jenna Douglas, Ballston Lake, appellant pro se.

Letitia James, Attorney General, New York City (Dennis A. Rambaud of counsel), for respondent.

Before: Garry, P.J., Lynch, Clark, Aarons and Pritzker, JJ.

Appeal from a decision of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, filed May 17, 2022, which, among other things, ruled that claimant was ineligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits because she voluntarily left her employment without good cause.

Claimant was employed part time as a veterinarian assistant by the employer from August 10, 2020 until September 24, 2020. On that day, claimant was reprimanded by the employer for failing to perform one of her duties and claimant raised concerns about her long and unstructured work hours. The employer advised claimant that the day-to-day business was unpredictable and that she was unable to provide a set schedule. Claimant worked the rest of the day and never returned. Having filed an application for unemployment insurance benefits in March 2020 in connection with a prior employer, claimant certified for benefits for the weeks ending September 27, 2020 and October 5, 2020, indicating that her employment had ended for lack of work. Based upon her certifications, claimant received unemployment insurance benefits, as well as federal pandemic unemployment compensation (hereinafter FPUC) and pandemic emergency unemployment compensation (hereinafter PEUC) pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act of 2020 (the CARES Act) (see 15 USC § 9021, as added by Pub L 116-136, 134 U.S. stat 281, 313).Claimant filed another application for unemployment insurance benefits in March 2021 and certified for benefits for the weeks ending March 28, 2021 through September 5, 2021, again indicating that her employment had ended due to lack of work. Based upon her certifications under this claim, claimant received unemployment insurance benefits and FPUC. Thereafter, the Department of Labor found that claimant was ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits under both claims because she had voluntarily left her employment without good cause, charged her with recoverable overpayments of FPUC and PEUC and imposed a monetary penalty based upon a finding that she made willful...