STATE OF WISCONSIN
LABOR AND INDUSTRY REVIEW COMMISSION
P O BOX 8126, MADISON, WI 53708-8126 (608/266-9850)

BARBARA M VIEL, Employee

PACKAGING CORP OF AMERICA, Employer

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DECISION
Hearing No. 01605927MW


An administrative law judge (ALJ) for the Division of Unemployment Insurance of the Department of Workforce Development issued a decision in this matter. A timely petition for review was filed.

The commission has considered the petition and the positions of the parties, and it has reviewed the evidence submitted to the ALJ. Based on its review, the commission agrees with the decision of the ALJ, and it adopts the findings and conclusion in that decision as its own.

DECISION

The decision of the administrative law judge is affirmed. Accordingly, the employee is eligible for benefits, if otherwise qualified.

Dated and mailed November 27, 2001
vielba . usd : 145 : 1  MC 600  MC 630.20 MC 665.01 

/s/ David B. Falstad, Chairman

/s/ James A. Rutkowski, Commissioner

MEMORANDUM OPINION

In its petition for commission review the employer asserts that the employee was discharged for falsification of her application. The employer testified that the employer met with the employee and she was given notice that her job was in jeopardy. However, the ALJ, who had the opportunity to observe the demeanor of the witnesses when they testified, did not believe that the employee was discharged because she falsified her application. The commission considered this case carefully because it considers a worker's dishonesty to the employer to be a very serious matter. The commission therefore discussed witness credibility and demeanor with the ALJ who held the hearing. The ALJ did not find the employer's General Manager credible with regard to the reasons for the discharge. For one thing, he indicated that the employer was aware of the problems with the resume since February but did not discharge her until May. Further, the ALJ was troubled by the fact that the employer offered the employee a significant amount of severance pay in exchange for her relinquishing certain rights against the employer. This is not consistent with an assertion that the employer discharged the employee for misconduct. After reviewing the record, the commission defers to the ALJ's credibility determination in this regard.

The employer further asserts that the employee's own testimony was less than credible with regard to the reason she filled out her application/resume as she did. The commission agrees. However, the commission is not convinced that the reason that the employer discharged her was because what she had reported on her application.

cc: 
Shindell Law Firm, LLC
Packaging Corp. (Manistee, Michigan)
Packaging Corp. (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)


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uploaded 2001/11/30