Hood v. Employment Dept.

In order to receive unemployment benefits, an employee fired for misconduct must fall either under a good faith error exception, or a refusal to follow an unreasonable employer policy exception.

Hood worked as a telephone customer service representative. Company policy was that an employee should take calls within five minutes after logging onto the system, and complete other tasks in between phone calls. Hood believed tasks could not be completed and he would have to work off the clock to complete them, so he failed to answer phone calls within five minutes of logging onto the system. He was fired for not following a reasonable policy according to the Employment Appeals Board (EAB) and therefore was fired for misconduct and could not collect unemployment. The Court of Appeals found that Hood was not mistaken as to a fact, and instead conscientiously objected to the policy which is not an error in good faith. Also, Hood did not even try to comply with the policy, and others could comply without working off the clock. The Court held that in order to receive unemployment benefits, an employee fired for misconduct must fall either under a good faith error exception or refusal to follow an unreasonable employer policy exception. Affirmed.