Johnson v. STATE, DEPT. OF INDUS. RELATIONS
Johnson v. STATE, DEPT. OF INDUS. RELATIONS
Opinion
This is an unemployment compensation case.
Appellant James R. Johnson (claimant) was a debarker for appellee S. and R. Lumber Company (employer) for approximately a year and one-half before being terminated. Claimant was arrested on DUI charges the night of August 31, 1981, and incarcerated as a result of his inability to post bond. He remained in jail from August 31, 1981, until September 6, 1981.
The parties disagree as to whether and when employer received notification of claimant's incarceration. Though the parties also disagree as to the exact time claimant reported to work, the hearing officer concluded it to be approximately two weeks from the time of incarceration. Claimant was told upon returning to work that he had been replaced and would not be allowed to return to work.
Claimant filed a claim for unemployment compensation benefits. Appellee, Department of Industrial Relations (department) denied the claim both initially and subsequent to a hearing by an appeals referee. The department appeal board affirmed the disqualification. Claimant filed notice of appeal in the Circuit Court of Talladega County. Department filed a motion for summary judgment which the court granted, finding that claimant had voluntarily left his employment without good cause related to his work and that he was not entitled to compensation benefits. Claimant appeals.
Claimant argues two issues on appeal: (1) that his arrest, incarceration and financial inability to post bond does not constitute a voluntary act disqualifying him from compensation, and (2) that summary judgment was not proper in this case because factual evidence was in dispute.
Section
In Landrum v. James,
Regarding claimant's second contention, a motion for summary judgment may be granted only when there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The moving party is required to establish the absence of genuine issue as to any material fact, and all reasonable inferences from the facts are to be viewed most favorably to the non-moving party. Allen By and ThroughAllen v. Whitehead,
Thus, under Landrum we find no material fact in dispute and that as a matter of law claimant's own voluntary action of driving under the influence resulted in a voluntary absence from work, disqualifying him from benefits under §
AFFIRMED.
BRADLEY and HOLMES, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- James R. Johnson v. State of Alabama, Department of Industrial Relations and S. R. Lumber Company.
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published