Claimant’s Non-Work-Related Felony Deemed to Breach Express or Implied Duty Owed to Employer

The Third Department determined claimant was ineligible for unemployment insurance benefits because of an act constituting a felony which took place at the claimant’s home, not at work, but which generated negative publicity, breaching a duty owed to the employer (a car dealership).  The Third Department wrote:

Substantial evidence supports the decision of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board that claimant lost his “employment as a result of an act constituting a felony in connection with such employment” (Labor Law § 593; see Labor Law§  597). Claimant, a car salesperson, was fired after his arrest on charges stemming from, among other things, his surreptitious videotaping of individuals who used the bathroom of his home. The charges, which generated negative publicity and numerous customer complaints, ultimately were resolved when claimant pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful surveillance in the second degree. Given the public nature of claimant’s position and the detrimental effect his continued employment could have had upon the employer’s business, the Board properly determined that claimant’s actions constituted a breach of  an  express  or implied duty owed to the employer… Matter of Engel [Commissioner of Labor], 515513, 3rd Dept, 5-16-13