Summary of Issue: Suspension *

Decision A0319.14 Full Text of Decision A0319.14

The claimant had been dismissed because he had illegally connected the cable to a tenant’s apartment on two occasions. The Commission excluded the claimant from receiving benefits because he lost his employment by reason of his misconduct. In the appeal, the BOR upheld the Commission’s decision. The claimant then requested another hearing before the BOR pursuant to section 120 of the EI Act so that it could take into consideration an agreement he had made with his employer. In the agreement, the employer substituted the dismissal with a suspension without pay for three weeks and the applicant waived his reinstatement in the workplace following the suspension. In light of this new evidence, the BOR determined that the applicant qualified for benefits. The appeal of that decision by the Commission was allowed by the SST which ruled that the applicant was no longer employed because of his misconduct. The FCA concluded that the agreement did not result in changing the sanction and therefore did not allow the BOR to amend its original decision. The claimant having waived the reinstatement clause of the agreement, whatever it is, whether he has lost his employment due to his misconduct or left his employment voluntarily without just cause, he should be excluded from benefits. The application for judicial review was dismissed.

Decision 77130 Full Text of Decision 77130

The claimant was suspended for excessive use of his employer’s computer network and for using the network for personal and inappropriate purposes, which was against the employer’s code of ethics. The claimant failed to mention that the tolerance policy makes a point of clarifying that the employer’s intranet and Internet networks must be used reasonably and appropriately, and that circulation of messages or photos of a sexual nature is prohibited. The claimant does not dispute the usage but that certain co-workers had acted as he had and had not been penalized for doing so. The appeal by the claimant is dismissed by the Umpire.

Decision 75086 Full Text of Decision 75086

The dismissal by the employer was that the claimant used the company’s computer system inappropriately and sent many emails with sexual content to other employees. He accessed a number of Internet sites with sexual and pornographic content. Such use of the computer system was against the company Code of Conduct. Disciplinary measures were imposed on some fifteen other employees for the same conduct. The claimant acknowledged that he accessed sexual sites somewhat accidentally and not seriously. He also acknowledged that in October 2008, he sent a joke e-mail of an erotic nature to his supervisor. The employer added that the claimant signed an agreement for a one-year suspension. The claimant indicated that he accepted the alleged facts and the decision for a one-year suspension because otherwise he would have been dismissed. The appeal by the Umpire.