69 Pa. Commw. 511 | Pa. Commw. Ct. | 1982
Opinion by
Jane M. Langensiepen (claimant) appeals here from a decision of the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review (Board) which reversed a referee’s decision and held that due to her willful misconduct, she was not entitled to benefits under Section 402(e) of the Unemployment Compensation Law.
The claimant had been employed as a salesperson by Queen’s Nutritional, a health food store, for approximately six months. She was discharged for taking a bag of dried soup
The burden of proof in willful misconduct cases rests on the employer. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review v. Bacon, 25 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 583, 361 A.2d 505 (1976). And where, as here, the party with the burden of proof prevailed below, our scope of review is limited to a determination of whether or not the record, taken as a whole, contains
As we have previously held, an employee owes his employer loyalty, diligence, fidelity, obedience, and, above all, honesty. Palmer v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 50 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 300, 302, 412 A.2d 917, 919 (1980). In the instant case, there are three instances disclosed in the record in which the claimant’s behavior was clearly disobedient and/or dishonest,
Accordingly, we must affirm the Board’s decision.
Order
And Now, this 1st day of November, 1982, the decision of the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review in the above-captioned matter is hereby affirmed.
Act of December 5, 1936, Second Ex. Sess., P.L. (1937) 2897, as amended, 43 P.S. §802(e).
The value of the soup was approximately 89 cents.
The first incident involves a discrepancy over numerous bottles of vitamins worth $70. The employer testified that the claimant had originally claimed that the vitamins were hers, but she later contended that only one bottle was hers, and that she had thrown away all of the others because they were outdated. The second incident involves a $4 bag of cashew nuts which were also found under the counter where they never should have been. The claimant contended that she was holding them for a customer, but she did not follow the regular layaway procedure which requires that such items be placed at the checkout counter with the customer’s name on the bag. The third incident involved the soup.
The applicable test to the instant case is set out in Gladkowski as “an intentional and substantial disregard of the employer’s interest or the employee’s duties and obligations to the employer.” Here, although the financial harm to the employer may not have been substantial, nevertheless, the claimant breached her duties and obligations to the employer, and thus failed the second part of the Gladkowski test.