Keough v. Director of the Division of Employment Security
Keough v. Director of the Division of Employment Security
Opinion of the Court
Ellen E. Keough worked as a spinner for a firm in Hudson, Massachusetts, from August, 1971, to March 1, 1974, when she became separated from employment. She filed a claim for unemployment compensation on March 4, 1974. She was disqualified pursuant to a decision of the Director of the Division of Employment Security, which decision was affirmed by a review examiner. The decision was predicated on the fact that she had placed “a restriction on her employability, namely, that her acceptance of any work not within walking distance of her home, depended on whether transportation arrangements could be made,” and he found her not to meet the eligibility requirements of G. L. c. 151A, §24 (b).
It appears that the claimant and her husband have one car which the husband uses to commute to work. Public transportation in the area where they reside is “meager,”
There was no error. Review in the District Court of decisions of the Division of Employment Security board of review is governed by G. L. c. 151A, § 42, as appearing in St. 1973, c. 1114, § 18, which provides in part that the “findings and decisions of the board shall be reviewed in accordance with the standards for review provided in paragraph (7) of section fourteen of chapter thirty A.” Under G. L. c. 30A, § 14 (7), as appearing in St. 1973, c. 1114, § 3, the decision of the board may be set aside or modified if the court determines that substantial rights of any party have been prejudiced because, among other reasons, the decision violated constitutional provisions, was based on an error of law, or was unsupported by substantial evidence. Substantial evidence is defined in c. 30A, § 1 (6), inserted by St. 1954, c. 681, § 1, as “such evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” We have had occasion in a series of cases to make it clear that findings of the review examiner, adopted by the board of review, supported by substantial evidence with conclusions not based on any error of law, should be affirmed by the District Court. Bogdanowicz v. Director of the Div. of Employment Security, 341 Mass. 331, 335 (1960). See Martin v. Director of the Div. of Employment Security, 347 Mass. 264, 268 (1964), and cases cited. We have further stated that where the board is the sole judge of credibility and the weight of evidence, and where its findings are supported by evidence, it is not open to a District Court judge or to this court to substitute other views as to what should be the determination of the facts. Wagstaff v. Director of the Div. of Employment Security, 322 Mass. 664, 667 (1948). See Olechnicky v. Director of the Div. of Employment Security, 325 Mass. 660, 662 (1950).
The question then arises whether in the circumstances of this particular case the claimant, by making her acceptance of work dependent on whether transportation can be arranged, has so restricted her employability as to remove herself from the labor force and render herself not “available for work” within the meaning of G. L. c. 151A, § 24 (6). This is primarily a question of fact that has been entrusted to the informed judgment of the board. See Farrar v. Director of the Div. of Employment Security, 324 Mass. 45, 50 (1949). In reviewing decisions of the board the courts of this Commonwealth are directed to “give due weight to the experience, technical competence, and specialized knowledge of the... [board], as well as to the discretionary authority conferred upon it.” G. L. c. 30A, § 14 (7). Based on the record in this case it could be found that the claimant had effectively made herself
Raytheon Co. v. Director of the Div. of Employment Security, 364 Mass. 593 (1974), a case the claimant relies on heavily, is not to the contrary. In the Raytheon case, the claimant left a job on the night shift when a co-worker who had been providing her with transportation was laid off. The claimant sought but was unable to obtain work on other shifts. The issue presented was whether she left work “voluntarily” so as to subject her to temporary disqualification under G. L. c. 151A, § 25 (e), as amended through St. 1973, c. 899, § 2. A review examiner decided that under the facts of that case her leaving was involuntary and that she was not disqualified; the board of review agreed. The Raytheon case does not compel a conclusion favorable to the present claimant. First, in Raytheon the court affirmed a decision of the board of review, applying the same standard of review as we do in the present case. Furthermore, Raytheon was concerned with a different section of c. 151A, and was construing a different statutory requirement. Whether a person has left work “voluntarily” (§25 [e] [1]), and whether she is . “available for work” once unemployed (§24 [6]), are not identical questions. It is possible a person could leave a job for involuntary reasons and yet not be “available for work,” e.g., on account of illness. In Raytheon, the question of the claimant’s availability for work under § 24 (b) was not at issue and was not addressed by the court.
Finally, we see nothing in the argument of the claimant that she has been denied equal protection. In the area of economics and social welfare, State classifications need not be perfect so long as they have some rational basis reasonably related to the purposes of the statutory program. Dandridge v. Williams, 397 U.S. 471, 485 (1970). See
So ordered.
The availability requirements of § 24, as amended through St. 1951, c. 763, § 8, are set out as follows: “An individual, in order to be eligible for benefits under this chapter, shall ...(b) Be capable of and available for work and unable to obtain work in his usual occupation or any other occupation for which he is reasonably fitted....’’
See Freeman, Able to Work and Available for Work, 55 Yale L.J. 123, 131 (1945). “Even conditions beyond claimant’s control may affect his availability. Thus, where there is no suitable work for claimant in the locality in which he lives, and he cannot reach his usual labor market area because of his inability to obtain transportation, he may properly be considered to be unavailable for work.”
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). I respectfully dissent from the decision of this court upholding the denial of unemployment compensation benefits to the plaintiff. The sole issue in this case is whether, during the period for which the plaintiff seeks benefits, she was “available for work and unable to obtain work” within the meaning of G. L. c. 151A, § 24 (b). She was in all other respects eligible for benefits.
The question whether the plaintiff was “available for work” must be answered on the basis of the following subsidiary facts found and reported by the review examiner in his decision sustaining the director’s denial of the plaintiff’s claim: “The claimant and her husband have one car, which the husband uses for transportation to and from his work. The claimant depends on her sister-in-law to take her looking for work unless the employer is located closer to her home. If the claimant were hired, she would have
The plaintiff does not question the review examiner’s subsidiary findings quoted above. However, she does take issue with the conclusions reached by the review examiner on the basis of those findings. His conclusions were the following: “To be eligible for benefits an individual must be capable of and available for full time employment without restrictions____Here, although the claimant did begin to make a satisfactory search for work beginning with the week ending July 20, 1974, during the entire period under review she has placed a restriction on her employability, namely, that her acceptance of any work not within walking distance of her home, depended on whether transportation arrangements could be made, and it is found, therefore, that she does not meet the eligibility requirements of ... [G. L. c. 151A, § 24 (6)].”
The review examiner’s decision was upheld by the three-man board of review, with the chairman dissenting, and by virtue of the applicable statutes the decision was “final on all questions of fact and law,” subject, however, to judicial review under G. L. c. 30A, § 14 (7), as appearing in St. 1973, c. 1114, § 3, G. L. c. 23, § 9N (6), and G. L. c. 151A, §§ 40-42. The plaintiff sought judicial review in the District Court of Marlborough. The judge of that court concluded that “the decision of the Board of Review is supported by the evidence and... should be and hereby is affirmed, and the Petition is dismissed.” He then reported the case to
One of our most recent statements on the nature and scope of judicial review under G. L. c. 30A, § 14 (7), of this type of administrative agency decision is to be found in Raytheon Co. v. Director of the Div. of Employment Security, 364 Mass. 593 (1974), cited above in the court’s opinion in this case. In that opinion we said at 595: “To the extent that an agency finding is one of fact, it must stand unless ‘unsupported by substantial evidence.’ Id---- [§ 14 (7) (e) ]____On the other hand, to the extent that an agency determination involves a question of law, it is subject to de nova judicial review. Id____[§ 14 (7) (c) ].” Since the plaintiff does not contend that the agency’s subsidiary findings are “unsupported by substantial evidence,” we are not here concerned with the first part of the prescribed test.
My basic disagreement with the opinion in the present case is that the court seems to apply this same “substantial evidence” test to the administrative agency’s conclusion that on the basis of the subsidiary findings the plaintiff was not “available for work” within the language of G. L. c. 151A, § 24. The court states at 4, that “[t]he question... whether in the circumstances of this particular case the claimant, by making her acceptance of work dependent on whether transportation can be arranged, has so restricted her employability as to remove herself from the labor force and render herself not ‘available for work’ within the meaning of G. L. c. 151 A, § 24 (b) ... is primarily a question of fact that has been entrusted to the informed judgment of the board.” It is my opinion that once the administrative agency has made and reported its subsidiary findings, as it has done in this case, the determination of the legal effect of those facts “involves a question of law, [and] it is subject to de nova judicial review” in accordance with the second part of the test quoted above from the Raytheon decision. That would be in accord with our statement in Lamont v. Director of the
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Ellen E. Keough vs. Director of the Division of Employment Security
- Cited By
- 35 cases
- Status
- Published