36 Mass. App. Ct. 215 | Mass. App. Ct. | 1994
This is an appeal from a judgment entered in the District Court affirming the denial of unemployment benefits to the plaintiff, Jerome E. Ruzicka. On July 2, 1991, the Department of Employment and Training (DET) found Ru-
The plaintiff worked for Barry Wright Corporation until February 9, 1990, when he was separated from his employment. Upon termination, he received a single, lump sum payment equivalent to six months’ wages, pursuant to an agreement with his employer. In addition, his medical and life insurance coverage was continued for the six-month period. When Ruzicka applied for unemployment benefits in March of 1990, DET determined that he was ineligible because the lump sum payment was continuation pay and thus remuneration under the provisions of G. L. c. 151 A, § l(r)(3).
Ruzicka became a self-employed consultant from May, 1990 until May, 1991. Because he was self-employed, he did not reapply for benefits in August, 1990. After he lost his consulting work in May, 1991, however, he reapplied for unemployment benefits on June 15, 1991. The base period for his new claim was determined to be June 10, 1990, through June 8, 1991.
This case turns on the interpretation of several sections of the Massachusetts Employment Security Law, G. L. c. 151 A, particularly, §§ 1(f)(3), (1 )(■$), 24, and 31.
Until 1992, DET distinguished between “severance pay,” which was not considered remuneration, and “continuation pay,” which was.
DET concedes, in the instant case, that continuation pay is included within the term “wages” under § l(s)
We adopt an interpretation of the statute that harmonizes the statutory provisions and leads to a more just and equitable result.
We conclude that DET committed an error of law in its interpretation and application of G. L. c. 151 A, § 24(a). See G. L. c. 30A, § 14(7). Moreover, “we [are] led to the interpretation which we have given to the statute by considering the harsh and counterproductive result which would
We reverse the judgment affirming the denial of unemployment benefits to the plaintiff and remand the matter to the District Court for entry of a new judgment consistent with this opinion.
So ordered.
General Laws c. 151A, § 24, as amended through St. 1977, c. 720, § 26, provides in pertinent part, “An individual, in order to be eligible for benefits under this chapter, shall —
“(a) Have been paid wages in the base period amounting to at least thirty times the weekly benefit rate, but not less than twelve hundred dollars . . . .”
General Laws c. 151 A, § 1(f)(3), as appearing in St. 1957, c. 632, provides in pertinent part as follows: “Remuneration shall be deemed to have been received in such week or weeks in which it was earned or for such week or weeks, including any fractions thereof, to which it can reasonably be considered to apply. If the length of the period to which the remuneration applies is not clearly identified, such period shall be determined by dividing such remuneration by the amount of the individual’s average weekly wage.” See also note 5, infra, in regard to the “continuation pay” distinction.
“Base period” is defined as “the period of fifty-two consecutive calendar weeks ending with the day immediately preceding the first day of a claimant’s benefit year . . . .” G. L. c. 151 A, § 1(a), as appearing in St. 1970, c. 703, § 1.
“[T]o the extent that an agency determination involves a question of law, it is subject to de novo judicial review” (citation omitted). Raytheon Co. v. Director of Div. of Employment Sec., 364 Mass. 593, 595 (1974). See Merisme v. Board of Appeals on Motor Vehicle Liab. Policies & Bonds, 27 Mass. App. Ct. 470, 473 (1989).
Statute 1992, c. 118, § 4, applicable to claims filed on or after September 6, 1992, added “severance pay” to the definition of disqualifying remuneration under G. L. c. 151 A, § 1(f)(3), thus eliminating the distinction between “severance pay” and “continuation pay” made by the Supreme Judicial Court in Bolta Prod. Div. v. Director of Div. of Employment Sec., 356 Mass. 684 (1970), and Itek Corp. v. Director of Div. of Employment Sec., 398 Mass. 682 (1986).
“Wages” is defined as “every form of remuneration of an employee subject to this chapter for employment by an employer, whether paid directly or indirectly, including salaries, commissions and bonuses . . . .” G. L. c. 151A, § 10), as amended by St. 1954, c. 279, § 1.
DET also argues that G. L. c. 151 A, § 31, the “performed service” requirement, bars Ruzicka’s claim. Section 31, as amended through St. 1971, c. 940, § 18, states in relevant part that “[n]o individual may receive benefits . . . unless ... he performed service and has been paid wages for such service . . . .” Consistency and logic support an interpretation of §31 that would deem service performed during whatever period of time the continuation pay is applied to. See Itek Corp. v. Director of Div. of
It may be said, along the same lines, that DET’s effort to have it both ways brings to mind the old saying — “Heads I win, tails you lose.” Fortunately, the law is otherwise, i.e., based on concepts of mutuality, fairness, and consistency.
Amici curiae present a series of hypothetical examples that demonstrate clearly the arbitrary and unfair results of DET’s interpretation of the statute, all of which hinge on the fact that the entitlement of a claimant to benefits depends entirely on when the claimant files a claim.