EDWARD J. MANGOLD v. BOARD OF REVIEW, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, et al.

 

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE

APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY

APPELLATE DIVISION

DOCKET NO. A-2971-05T22971-05T2

EDWARD J. MANGOLD,

Appellant,

vs.

BOARD OF REVIEW, DEPARTMENT OF

LABOR and LOORI BUS COMPANY, INC.

Respondents.

__________________________________

 

Submitted: October 18, 2006 - Decided November 1, 2006

Before Judges Cuff and Fuentes.

On appeal from the Board of Review, Department of Labor, 91,923.

Edward J. Mangold, appellant, pro se.

Stuart Rabner, Attorney General, attorney for respondent Board of Review, Department of Labor (Michael J. Haas, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel; Donald Palombi, Deputy Attorney General, on the brief).

PER CURIAM

Claimant Edward J. Mangold appeals from a final decision of the Board of Review that affirmed the decision of the Appeal Tribunal that disqualified claimant for unemployment benefits because he left his work as a school bus driver voluntarily without good cause attributable to his work. We remand for reconsideration of the length of the disqualification in light of the loss of claimant's driver's license due to concerns about his health.

Claimant's contentions that the voluntary quit rule is contrary to public policy and that the good cause for leaving employment need not be attributable to the work are utterly without merit and do not warrant discussion in a written opinion. R. 2:11-3(e)(1)(E); Domenico v. Bd. of Review, 192 N.J. Super. 284, 287 (App. Div. 1983). Claimant's final contention that the loss of a prerequisite for employment, such as a driver's license, justifies cessation of work and does not render him ineligible for benefits has merit.

Claimant was a school bus driver. He testified that he quit his job because he was concerned about his health and the anticipated loss of his "passenger endorsement" that allowed him to transport passengers. Claimant testified that he had a heart condition, and introduced in evidence a notice from the Motor Vehicle Commission that informed claimant that his passenger endorsement would be suspended effective on October 27, 2005. Claimant left his employment before he received the notice of suspension.

The Legislature has declared that a person who leaves the ranks of the unemployed voluntarily without good cause attributable to the work is disqualified for unemployment benefits. N.J.S.A. 43:21-5(a) provides that a claimant is disqualified for benefits

[f]or the week in which the individual has left work voluntarily without good cause attributable to such work, and for each week thereafter until the individual becomes reemployed and works four weeks in employment, . . . and has earned in employment at least six times the individual's weekly benefit rate. . . .

In Domenico, this court stated that "[w]hile the statute does not define 'good cause,' our courts have construed the statute to mean 'cause sufficient to justify an employee's voluntarily leaving the ranks of the employed and joining the ranks of the unemployed.'" Domenico, supra, 192 N.J. Super. at 287 (citations omitted). We also stated that

[i]n scrutinizing an employee's reason for leaving, the test is one of ordinary common sense and prudence. . . . [I]t is the employee's responsibility to do what is necessary and reasonable in order to remain employed.

[Id. at 288.]

The public policy of this State, as outlined by the Legislature, envisions that unemployment compensation benefits be paid only to those individuals who have become unemployed through no fault of their own. Medwick v. Bd. of Review, 69 N.J. Super. 338, 340 (App. Div. 1961).

Claimant asserted that he left his employment due to health concerns, but there is nothing in the record that claimant's cardiac condition was caused by his work. Thus, he is not eligible for benefits on the basis that his work aggravated his pre-exisitng medical condition. Wojcik v. Bd. of Review, 58 N.J. 341, 344 (1971). On the other hand, the record establishes that claimant would have lost his job once the Motor Vehicle Commission suspended the passenger endorsement of his license.

In Means v. Board of Review, 172 N.J. Super. 465 (App. Div.), certif. denied, 84 N.J. 451 (1980), this court held that a nurse who failed to pass the licensure examination for her position and who was terminated from her employment due to her inability to obtain the requisite license was entitled to unemployment benefits. Id. at 466. Admittedly, claimant may have acted precipitously by leaving his job before his license was suspended. Under those circumstances, it is appropriate for claimant not to receive benefits between the time he left his employment and the effective date of the license suspension. The Board of Review does not appear to have considered the undisputed fact that claimant would have been terminated from his employment as soon as his driver's license was suspended. We, therefore, remand this matter to the Board of Review to consider whether claimant is eligible for benefits as of the date his license was suspended and his employment would have been involuntarily terminated by his employer.

Remanded for further proceedings in accordance with the terms of this opinion. We do not retain jurisdiction.

 

(continued)

(continued)

5

A-2971-05T2

November 1, 2006