MICHAEL L BOWDEN, Employee

INTEGRATED COMMUNITY RESOURCES OF WISCONSIN INC, Employer

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.

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

Dated and mailed May 2, 2003
bowdemi . usd : 178 : 1   MC 605.01 MC 605.05   MC 675 

/s/ David B. Falstad, Chairman

/s/ James A. Rutkowski, Commissioner

/s/ James T. Flynn, Commissioner

In its petition for commission review, the employer argues that the employee was notified that he was expected to work on July 14, 2002, and that he agreed to do so. He then failed to appear for work or give notice of his absence which caused the employer's business significant disruption. It asserts that such conduct amounts to misconduct and should render the employee ineligible for unemployment benefits.

The commission disagrees. A single instance of absence without notice, where there is no history of poor attendance and warnings about the consequences of continued poor attendance, will not support a finding of misconduct. As the ALJ said, this was an isolated instance of poor judgment. The employee had not been schedule on July 14 and was unwilling to change his plans. The employer relied on his working his scheduled hours and may certainly discharge him for such conduct, however it falls short of misconduct. The commission affirms the appeal tribunal decision and find that the employee was discharged but not for misconduct connected with his employment.

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uploaded 2003/05/09