In re Tennis

No. 2001-0003 (N.H. Sup. Ct. Jan. 27, 2003) ; Clearinghouse Number: 55033

Description

Applicant Need Not Perform Services in Same Quarter as When Receiving Income to Meet Earnings Requirement for Benefits

Abstract

The New Hampshire Supreme Court held that the decision of the state department of employment security to require applicant to have performed services in the same quarter when he received income in order to meet the earnings requirement for unemployment benefits was inconsistent with the state unemployment statutes. The court reversed department’s decision that applicant was ineligible for unemployment benefits. Although plaintiff applicant did not perform services for employer after March 31, 2000, he received his regular paychecks and benefits until June 2, 2000, and an additional severance package. Department denied applicant’s initial application for unemployment benefits after prorating his severance pay over the forty-two weeks following March 31, 2000, and determining that he was not “totally unemployed” because he had received “wages” from his employer. Applicant received unemployment benefits from January 20 to March 31, 2001, but department denied his reapplication for benefits past that date. Department found that the severance payments that applicant received in the second quarter of 2000 were not “earned” within the meaning of the statute because applicant did not perform services during that quarter and thus did not meet the two-quarter earnings requirement. Applicant argued to the state supreme court that department’s ruling had no basis in the law, involved improper fact-finding, constituted an unwritten rule in contravention of the state Administrative Procedures Act, and violated due process. Agreeing that department lacked statutory authority to impose this condition on the earnings requirement, the court found that the state statutes did not limit earnings to income that employee received in the same quarter when the employee performed services; nor could such a requirement be inferred. Date of receipt of income, not date of services performed, was the proper method for determining earnings.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Appellant represented by: Jonathan P. Baird, New Hampshire Legal Assistance, 206 Moody Building, Claremont, NH 03473 (603.542.8795); Alan Linder, New Hampshire Legal Assistance, 154 High St., PO Box 778, Portsmouth, NH 03302 (603.431.7411)
Docket Date
2003-01-27 00:00:00+00:00