Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission --
Summary of Wisconsin Court Decision relating to Unemployment Insurance


Subject: Duke Jawara v. LIRC and Certegy Card Service Inc., Case 02 CV 1900 (Wis. Cir. Ct., Dane Co., December 23, 2002)

Digest Codes: MC 660.01  General; MC 664 

The employee worked for the employer for about 15 months, first as a scan print operator and then a mail clerk. After his employment ended and he sought benefits, the department's Initial Determination found that he had been discharged but that his discharge was not for misconduct. The employer appealed, and after a hearing at which the employee failed to appear, the Appeal Tribunal reversed that determination, concluding that the employee had been capable of better performance but had not worked to the best of his ability and had been belligerent and hostile to the attempts made by his employer to counsel and warn him about his performance and his reluctance to accept training and correction. LIRC affirmed the Appeal Tribunal's decision, and the employee appealed to court. On appeal, the employee made a number of arguments that were inconsistent with the findings of fact made by the Appeal Tribunal, including an argument that he had actually quit his job a month before the point at which the Appeal Tribunal found he had been discharged. He also disputed the findings about his unsatisfactory performance.

Held: LIRC's decision is affirmed. There is nothing in the record to support the factual arguments made by the employee, including his argument that he quit. Conversely, the findings relied on by LIRC are supported in the record. The record establishes that the employer provided the employee with on-the-job training and counseling and that the employee demonstrated that he had the ability to perform the job satisfactorily but that his work nevertheless failed to meet performance expectations and he responded belligerently to the employer's attempts to further train and counsel him. The conclusion that his discharge was for misconduct was reasonable.


Please note that this is a summary prepared by staff of the commission, not a verbatim reproduction of the court decision.

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