Matela v. Commonwealth
Matela v. Commonwealth
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
John Matela (petitioner) appeals here from an order of the Department of Public Welfare (DPW) which affirmed the termination of his general assistance grant by the Philadelphia County Board of Assistance (CBA).
The petitioner was required as a condition of his continued eligibility for general assistance to register with the Bureau (now Office) of Employment Security (Bureau) and to accept any employment referrals therefrom. 55 Pa. Code §165.23(a). On April 19, 1979, a Thursday, he received an employment referral from the Bureau. He thereupon called the prospec
'The petitioner now argues that he had good cause for not accepting the referral and that the DPW’s contrary finding is not supported by substantial evidence. We disagree.
The testimony of the petitioner, at best, establishes that he had another job prospect and that he did not have the proper equipment for the job offered. We do not believe, however, that the prospect of another job is good cause for refusing a bona fide job offer. Furthermore, there is no evidence that
It was the petitioner’s burden here to produce substantial evidence of good cause for refusing the job offer. See Beard v. Department of Public Welfare, 42 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 393, 400 A.2d 1342 (1979). Moreover, the hearing examiner, as fact-finder, was entitled to weigh the evidence and determine its credibility. See Palmer v. Department of Public Welfare, 5 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 407, 291 A.2d 313 (1972). We cannot conclude, in light of these considerations, that the DPW erred in its adjudication.
The order of the DPW will therefore be affirmed.
Order
And Now, this 12th day of June, 1980, the order of the Department of Public Welfare in the above-captioned matter is hereby affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.