Jones v. Director, Department of Workforce Services, 470 S.W.3d 277

Chelsea Jones worked as a dental hygienist for William St. John for 18 months and was discharged on May 22, 2014.
St. John submitted a written statement (did not testify) saying Jones was discharged after a May 21 phone call in which she was allegedly argumentative and complained about his treatment of patients and staff; he said she had been repeatedly told to inform him personally about scheduling/health issues.
Jones testified she routinely informed the office manager about scheduling and had told the manager on May 16 about outpatient surgery scheduled for May 30 (office was closed that day); she called St. John the evening of May 21 as requested and the call became heated.
The Board found Jones was discharged for misconduct for the “rude and offensive manner” in which she argued with St. John and denied unemployment benefits.
The Appeal Tribunal decision was deemed the Board’s decision; Jones appealed to the Arkansas Court of Appeals.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Jones was discharged for misconduct barring unemployment benefits	Jones: isolated rudeness on one evening call does not meet misconduct standard; she routinely notified manager about schedule	St. John: Jones was argumentative, defensive, and had been told to inform him personally; her attitude justified discharge	Reversed — isolated, single instance of rudeness without policy violation or intent does not constitute disqualifying misconduct

Hubbard v. Dir., 460 S.W.3d 294 (Ark. Ct. App. 2015) (defines substantial-evidence review and explains misconduct requires intentional or willful disregard)