Winters v. State
Winters v. State
Opinion of the Court
Ellen Winters appeals a decision of the Unemployment Appeals Commission (“UAC”), finding her “totally employed” during a particular three-week period for which she had already received unemployment benefits. We reverse and remand.
Ellen Winters lost her job after the company she was working for filed for bankruptcy. She applied for unemployment benefits near the end of October 2001. Winters’s benefit amount was established at $275 per week. In late December 2001,
The Agency for Workforce Innovation determined that Winters was ineligible for benefits during the three-week period that she was training at First Warranty. The UAC referee affirmed the agency’s determination, finding that during the first three weeks in January, Winters was performing a full-time job and was “totally employed.” The referee also affirmed the agency’s determination that the $825 in unemployment benefits that Winters received during this period was an overpayment on her unemployment claim. Winters appealed this decision and the UAC affirmed. She now appeals the UAC decision.
To be entitled to unemployment benefits, a person must be unemployed. See § 443.091(1), Fla. Stat. (2002). Under section 443.036(39)(a) of the Florida Statutes, “an individual shall be deemed ‘totally unemployed’ in any week during which he or she performs no services and with respect to which no earned income is payable to him or her.”
We reject the UAC’s argument that by training, Winters provided services to First Warranty by learning her duties at the company, enabling her to be a more competent employee. Moreover, it is un-rebutted that during the first three weeks of January, Winters did not earn any income or commissions from First Warranty. While she was eligible for company benefits, nothing in the record shows whether or not Winters was actually participating in the company’s benefit program. Therefore, the evidence does not support a finding that Winters was providing services to First Warranty or earning income payable to her from First Warranty during the first three weeks of January.
Thus, pursuant to sections 443.036(39)(a) and 443.091(1) of the Florida Statutes, Winters was totally unemployed and entitled to receive unemployment benefits. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings.
. There is no record evidence regarding the nature of the benefits available, their value, or whether Winters received any of these benefits.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.