EDDIE M. GRAY v. BOARD OF REVIEW, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR and HOME DEPOT USA, INC

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE

APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY

APPELLATE DIVISION

DOCKET NO. A-2545-08T12545-08T1

EDDIE M. GRAY,

Appellant,

v.

BOARD OF REVIEW, DEPARTMENT OF

LABOR and HOME DEPOT USA, INC.,

Respondents.

______________________________________

 

Submitted March 22, 2010 - Decided

Before Judges Yannotti and Chambers.

On Appeal from Board of Review, Department of Labor, Docket No. 192,502.

Eddie M. Gray, appellant pro se.

Paula T. Dow, Attorney General, attorney for respondent Board of Review (Lewis A. Scheindlin, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel; Alan C. Stephens, Deputy Attorney General, on the brief).

Respondent Home Depot USA, Inc. has not filed a brief.

PER CURIAM

Appellant Eddie M. Gray appeals from the decision of the Board of Review dated December 12, 2008, denying his application for unemployment benefits. The Board of Review found Gray ineligible to receive unemployment benefits because he voluntarily left his employment without good cause attributable to his work. N.J.S.A. 43:21-5(a). We affirm, concluding that the record contains substantial credible evidence to support the decision of the Board of Review.

Gray worked for Home Depot USA, Inc. as a sales associate for a period of two years, and then retired from the position on May 25, 2008. His application for unemployment benefits was denied by the Director of the Division of Unemployment Insurance in the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, on the grounds that Gray left his position voluntarily. The notice of that denial was mailed on July 1, 2008. Gray appealed.

A telephonic hearing was conducted by the Appeal Tribunal on October 8, 2008. Gray was the only witness to testify. In the decision of the Appeal Tribunal mailed on October 8, 2008, the Appeals Examiner made the following findings of fact:

The claimant worked for the above-named employer, as a sales associate, for two years through 5-25-08, when the claimant retired. He left the job because he was told he could not make anymore money and collect social security, he did not agree with a review he received and he was denied a transfer because of the review. The claimant wanted to transfer to a different location. He could not because the employer gave him a poor review. A few days after he retired, the employer offered to give him a more favorable review if he would return to work as they felt he made improvements since the initial review. The claimant refused. He did not file a complaint with the Department of Labor because he thought it would take too long.

The Appeal Tribunal concluded that Gray was ineligible for unemployment benefits because he had "left work voluntarily without good cause attributable to the work and is disqualified for benefits as of [May 25, 2008] in accordance with N.J.S.A. 43:21-5(a)." By decision mailed on December 12, 2008, the Board of Review affirmed this ruling.

The scope of our review of the Board of Review's decision is limited. Brady v. Bd. of Review, 152 N.J. 197, 210 (1997). "[I]n reviewing the factual findings made in an unemployment compensation proceeding, the test is not whether an appellate court would come to the same conclusion if the original determination was its to make, but rather whether the factfinder could reasonably so conclude upon the proofs." Ibid. (quoting Charatan v. Bd. of Review, 200 N.J. Super. 74, 79 (App. Div. 1985)). We will uphold the agency's decision where it is supported by "substantial credible evidence." Ibid. (quoting Greenwood v. State Police Training Ctr., 127 N.J. 500, 513 (1992)).

A review of the record contains substantial evidence in support of the agency's factual finding that Gray left his job "voluntarily without good cause attributable to such work," and as a result, he is not eligible for unemployment benefits in New Jersey. N.J.S.A. 43:21-5(a); N.J.A.C. 12:17-9.1(a).

 
Affirmed.

(continued)

(continued)

2

A-2545-08T1

April 8, 2010