49 A.2d 847 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1946
Argued October 28, 1946.
This appeal seeks the reversal of the decision of the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review affirming the referee who dismissed claimant's petition on the ground that claimant's appeal from the decision of the Department of Labor and Industry was not filed within ten calendar days after notification of such decision had been mailed to claimant, as required by section 501 of the Unemployment Compensation Law, December 5, 1936, 2d Ex. Sess. P.L. (1937) 2897, art. 5, as last amended by the Act of May 29, 1945, P.L. 1145, § 11,
Claimant concedes that she received the notice of disallowance of her claim on October 5, 1945, from the Department of Labor and Industry (Bureau of Employment and Unemployment Compensation); and that she did not file an appeal within the statutory period.
Claimant contends, however, that she was misinformed and misled by the bureau's representatives as to the filing of an appeal.
It is the general rule that where an act of assembly fixes the time within which an appeal may be taken, courts have no power to extend it, or to allow the act to be done at a later day, as a matter of indulgence. Something more than mere hardship is necessary to justify an extension of time, or its equivalent, an allowance of the act nunc pro tunc. Wise v. Cambridge SpringsBorough,
The board determined from all the evidence in the case that claimant knew she would have to take further steps to complete an appeal, beyond indicating an intention to file an appeal; and that she was not misinformed as to her right to appeal, nor was she prevented from taking a proper appeal by any action of the bureau's representatives.
It is not only conceded, but the record shows, that the appeal was not filed within the statutory period. The burden of proof was on claimant to establish that she was actually misled. Her allegation was rejected by the board. The board was obliged to recognize that there could be no extension of time for taking the appeal in the present case as a matter of indulgence, and that the law fixing the period within which such an appeal shall be taken cannot be arbitrarily overridden. See Adelman v. JohnMcShain, Inc.,
Claimant had been employed as a welder in a defense plant from which position she was laid off on August 18, 1945, due to lack of work. On September 19, 1945, she registered for work and filed an application for benefits. At this time claimant was offered referrals to work vacancies in two department stores, since her registration revealed that prior to her work in a defense plant she had had retail selling experience. She refused to apply for the work to which she was referred, assigning several reasons for considering the work unsuitable. On September 28, 1945, claimant filed a waiting week claim for the week ending September 27, 1945. At that time or on October 4, 1945, she was verbally *49 informed that she was considered ineligible for benefits by reason of her refusal to accept the referrals. At the same time, according to her testimony, she was advised by an interviewer that it would not be necessary to report any longer in view of her ineligibility. She also testified that she told the interviewer that she did not agree with the decision, and that she wished to appeal.
On October 4, 1945, the bureau mailed to claimant a formal written notice of its decision disallowing her claim on the ground that the unemployment was due to her refusal to apply for suitable work within the meaning of section 402 (a) of the Unemployment Compensation Law, as amended,
Claimant relies principally upon Layton v. UnemploymentCompensation Board of Review,
In the present case claimant received an official notice of decision which gave instructions as to the method and time for filing an appeal, together with ample warning as to the finality of the decision unless an appeal was filed before the expiration of the appeal period, the date of which appeared upon the face of the notice. As found by the board, she was not misled.
The decision of the board is affirmed, and the appeal is dismissed. *51