! Procedural History ! ! Statement of Facts !

Brenda J. DeBois!v. The Department of Employment Security, 274 Ill. App. 3d 660 (1st Dist. 1995)

Plaintiff DeBois sought unemployment benefits after being discharged from her position for misconduct. A claims adjudicator found her eligible for benefits, but the unemployment review board reversed this decision. A trial court reversed the review boards decision and granted Plaintiff unemployment benefits. The Department of Employment Security et al. appealed this decision.

Brenda J. DeBois was an employee at the Illinois Bell Telephone Company. According to company policy, she was entitled to one half-hour unpaid break and two 15-minute paid breaks. On more than one occasion, her supervisor observed her leaving her shifts one or more hours early and subsequently falsifying her time sheets to indicate that she had worked the full shift. DeBois claimed that she had been leaving early because she was combining her three breaks. Although Illinois Bell had a progressive discipline policy, she was summarily dismissed. DeBois argued she was entitled to unemployment benefits because Illinois Bell failed to apply its progressive discipline policy.

! Issue ! Is an employee discharged for misconduct entitled to collect unemployment benefits? ! Brief Answer/Holding ! ! Reasoning !

No. If an employee engages in misconduct that harms the employer or other employees, that employee is not entitled to unemployment benefits.

At issue was not a wrongful termination action, but whether the employee terminated for misconduct is entitled to unemployment benefits. Therefore, the circuit courts reasoning that DeBois was entitled to unemployment benefits because progressive discipline policies were not followed is irrelevant to the case. Illinois Bell had established a rule that explicitly stated that falsifying time sheets is a serious violation and that perpetrators would be subject to discipline. DeBois was made aware of this policy on several occasions but nevertheless violated it. This caused Illinois Bell harm because they were paying her for more hours than she had actually worked. Therefore, the review board was within its rights to determine that DeBois is not eligible for unemployment benefits.

! Disposition !

The circuit court decision was reversed and the review boards decision affirmed.