Unemployment Compensation : Eligibility For Benefits – ‘Available For Work’ – Surgery Recovery

Stephanie Maniscalco//March 26, 2018

Where a seasonal employee had a definite recall date, the employee was excused from the work search requirement and the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission misapplied the law by deciding that he was not available for work unless he was seeking a 40-hour-per-week job, the employee’s receipt of federal SSDI benefits also did not automatically mean that he was unavailable for work, and the employer’s facility was closed during the recall period, which is when the employee underwent surgery, so his surgery recovery did not prevent him from performing work for the employer, so the employee was willing to accept suitable work, and the determination that he was ineligible for benefits is reversed and remanded.

Judgment is reversed and remanded.

Brunk v. State (MLW No. 71485/Case No. SD34643 – 17 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, Bates, J.) Appealed from the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission.

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