Koman v. Commonwealth

435 A.2d 277, 61 Pa. Commw. 604, 1981 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 1782
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 17, 1981
DocketAppeal, No. 606 C.D. 1980
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 435 A.2d 277 (Koman v. Commonwealth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Koman v. Commonwealth, 435 A.2d 277, 61 Pa. Commw. 604, 1981 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 1782 (Pa. Ct. App. 1981).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge Palladino,

Claimant appeals an order of the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review (Board) which without taking additional evidence, affirmed a referee’s denial of benefits pursuant to Section 402(b)(1) of the Unemployment Compensation Law (Law).1 We affirm.

[606]*606Claimant voluntarily terminated her employment after receiving a paycheck from which money had been deducted because Claimant allegedly exceeded her allotted vacation time. In this appeal Claimant challenges the Board’s determination that she is ineligible for benefits because she quit her job without cause of a necessitous and compelling nature.

“In voluntary termination cases, the burden is upon the employee to prove [a] necessitous and compelling reason for leaving. ...” Ruckstuhl v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 57 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 302, 305, 426 A.2d 719, 721 (1981). Where, as here, the party with the burden of proof did not prevail before the Board, this Court’s scope of review consists of determining whether the findings of fact can be sustained without a capricious disregard of competent evidence and are consistent with each other and with the conclusions of law. Helsel v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 54 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 320, 421 A.2d 496 (1980).

Citing Emgee Engineering Co. v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 30 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 290, 373 A.2d 779 (1977), Claimant contends that her termination was necessitated by her employer’s failure to pay her wages promptly. In Emgee Engineering Co. there were “several instances within the space of a few months where the employees arrived at work on payday to suddenly discover that their paychecks would not be received for some indeterminate number of days.” Id. at 295, 373 A.2d at 782 (emphasis in original). However, in the present case [607]*607Claimant received late wage payments on only two occasions: (1) after her employer’s entire office was closed for a vacation week and (2) after an apparent error by the employer’s bookkeeper required a corresponding adjustment of Claimant’s wages. While in Emgee Engineering Co. late payments were a constant recurrence caused by the employer’s admitted cash-flow problems, in the case at bar Claimant did not produce any evidence to suggest that the two late payments she received were other than isolated incidences.

Moreover, in Emgee Engineering Co. the employees requested, but were refused, their employer’s guarantee of timely wage payments. Unable to achieve income security, the employees were forced to relinquish their jobs. Here, Claimant did not testify that she asked her employer to assure a rigid payment schedule or that she made other reasonable efforts to maintain the employment relationship. Kovarik v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 36 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 165, 387 A.2d 521 (1978). To the contrary, Claimant did not contest her employer’s statement that after Claimant received the second late paycheck, Claimant departed without explanation and did not subsequently return to her job.

Relying upon Frey v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 34 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 581, 383 A.2d 1326 (1978), Claimant also asserts that her voluntary termination was justified by her receipt of two paychecks in amounts smaller than those to which she was entitled. In Frey an employee was “repeatedly and consistently refused . . . the amount of wages to which he was entitled ... as a participant in [a federally funded] program.” Id. at 583, 383 A.2d at 1327. While there was a continuous denial of proper wages in Frey, in the present case there were merely two disputed paychecks resulting from isolated, unrelated [608]*608causes. With respect to the first disputed paycheck, the employer stated that according to Claimant’s instructions, twenty-five percent of Claimant’s wages was withheld for federal income tax purposes. Claimant averred that upon questioning the size of the check, she was immediately paid the excess withheld sum. The second disputed paycheck contained a deduction for Claimant’s absence from the office, which the employer characterized as excess vacation time and which Claimant excused as sick leave. Again Claimant was reimbursed.

Additionally, Claimant argues that she was forced to abandon her employment because the pressures of her position jeopardized her health. To establish compelling health reasons,

a claimant must: ‘(1) offer competent testimony that at the time of her termination adequate health reasons existed to justify termination; (2) inform the employer of the health problem; and (3) specifically request the employer to transfer her to a more suitable position.’ (Emphasis added.) McQuiston v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 37 Pa. Commonmonwealth Ct. 250, 253, 390 A.2d 317, 318 (1978). The Claimant’s failure to meet any one of those three conditions will bar her claim for unemployment compensation benefits.

Ruckstuhl, 57 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. at 305, 426 A.2d at 721.

Claimant did not present any competent medical evidence to prove that her work adversely affected her health. Id.; Pastorius v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 50 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 50, 411 A.2d 1301 (1980). “The only evidence to this effect was [Claimant’s] own [testimony] and we have previously held that such evidence is insufficient to establish the existence of adequate health reasons for [609]*609termination.” Steffy v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 51 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 16, 18, 413 A.2d 483, 484 (1980). Furthermore, Claimant’s testimony was itself contradictory. Although Claimant initially alleged that she was being treated by a physician for “nerves” and pains in her chest and arms, caused by job pressures, Claimant later declared that she could withstand the demands of her position as demonstrated by her performing the work for a year.

The employer’s statement that Claimant could not adjust to the exigencies of her work, though competent to establish the employer’s awareness of Claimant’s averred difficulty, “could not support the crucial determination of whether [Cjlaimant’s health justified [her] termination.” Pastorius, 50 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. at 53-54, 411 A.2d at 1304. Moreover, Claimant testified that although her physician advised her to seek other employment, she never reported this advice to her employer or requested any alteration or diminution of her duties. Kovarik.

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Bluebook (online)
435 A.2d 277, 61 Pa. Commw. 604, 1981 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 1782, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/koman-v-commonwealth-pacommwct-1981.