45 Pa. Commw. 291 | Pa. Commw. Ct. | 1979
Opinion by
The appellant was denied unemployment compensation benefits by the Bureau of Employment Security on the basis that he had voluntarily terminated his employment without cause of a necessitous and compelling nature and so was barred from receiving benefits under the provisions of Section 402(b) (1) of the Unemployment Compensation Law
The record indicates that the appellant had been employed by Seven Springs Farms (Seven Springs) for four years as a sld mechanic. When originally employed, he had lived in West Connellsville, Pa. which required a 64-mile round-trip to Seven Springs. At that time both he and his wife were employed at the same place and made the trip together. Because
The law is clear that, while transportation inconveniences may provide a necessitous and compelling cause of leaving employment, they must be so serious and unreasonable as to present a virtually insurmountable problem. Simpson v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 39 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 246, 395 A.2d 309 (1978). It is also required that a claimant must demonstrate that he or she took reasonable steps to remedy or overcome the transportation problems prior to severing the employment relationship. Lee v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 42 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 461, 401 A.2d 12 (1979). It is noteworthy here that the appellant continued working for only two weeks following his move back to Connellsville, and there is nothing in the record to indicate that he investigated the possibilities of a car-pooling arrangement or public transportation which probably could have reduced the cost of com
The appellant argues for the first time here that he was forced to leave his employment due to domestic obligations and so would still be eligible for benefits pursuant to Section 402(b) (2) of the Act. 43 P.S. §802(b)(2). The Bureau, the referee and the Board, however, found the appellant to be ineligible under Section 402(b)(1), and we will not therefore consider this newly advanced argument here on appeal.
We will affirm the conclusion of the Board that the appellant failed to establish that he had a cause of necessitous and compelling nature for voluntarily leaving his work and that he is therefore barred from benefits by the provisions of Section 402(b) (1) of the Act. 43 P.S. §802(b) (1).
And Now, this 30th day of August, 1979, the order 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(b) (1).