Vegas
06-20-2007, 02:17 PM
http://www.startribune.com/467/story/1256551.html
The worker was profane and the boss fired him, but the Minnesota Court of Appeals said on Tuesday that he still is entitled to unemployment insurance benefits.
Douglas G. Williams, 56, was washing cars at Brooklyn Center Motors in March 2006 when the lot manager told him the sales manager wanted him to clean up litter on the premises.
Williams said that he was busy and that the sales manager could go "[expletive] himself," according to court documents. The lot manager passed along the comment and the sales manager fired Williams for insubordination.
After a hearing, Williams' unemployment claim was rejected, so he took it to the state Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel ruled that he was "not disqualified from receiving unemployment insurance benefits because his conduct was a single incident that did not have a significant adverse impact on the employer."
Judge Natalie E. Hudson wrote the decision for the panel.
Williams was shocked when told by a reporter Tuesday that he'd won. "I realized it was an uphill fight," he said. "I am kind of speechless. This is great."
Williams said he had gone to work that day even though he had the flu. He said the other car washer was on vacation and there was a sale, which meant he had extra cars to wash, when he got word he was supposed to pick up cigarette butts in the parking lot.
Company representatives could not be reached for comment.
Lee Nelson, director of legal affairs for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, which had denied the claim, said Williams filed the appeal without a lawyer, which is common. What is rare is that he won. The appeals court overturns about 10 of 150 unemployment insurance cases annually, he said.
Williams could receive a little less than $7,000 in unemployment insurance, Nelson said, depending on how long he was off work and whether he meets other legal requirements, such as applying for jobs.
Williams is now a part-time courier.
The worker was profane and the boss fired him, but the Minnesota Court of Appeals said on Tuesday that he still is entitled to unemployment insurance benefits.
Douglas G. Williams, 56, was washing cars at Brooklyn Center Motors in March 2006 when the lot manager told him the sales manager wanted him to clean up litter on the premises.
Williams said that he was busy and that the sales manager could go "[expletive] himself," according to court documents. The lot manager passed along the comment and the sales manager fired Williams for insubordination.
After a hearing, Williams' unemployment claim was rejected, so he took it to the state Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel ruled that he was "not disqualified from receiving unemployment insurance benefits because his conduct was a single incident that did not have a significant adverse impact on the employer."
Judge Natalie E. Hudson wrote the decision for the panel.
Williams was shocked when told by a reporter Tuesday that he'd won. "I realized it was an uphill fight," he said. "I am kind of speechless. This is great."
Williams said he had gone to work that day even though he had the flu. He said the other car washer was on vacation and there was a sale, which meant he had extra cars to wash, when he got word he was supposed to pick up cigarette butts in the parking lot.
Company representatives could not be reached for comment.
Lee Nelson, director of legal affairs for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, which had denied the claim, said Williams filed the appeal without a lawyer, which is common. What is rare is that he won. The appeals court overturns about 10 of 150 unemployment insurance cases annually, he said.
Williams could receive a little less than $7,000 in unemployment insurance, Nelson said, depending on how long he was off work and whether he meets other legal requirements, such as applying for jobs.
Williams is now a part-time courier.