Opinion
September 13, 1984
Appeal from the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board.
On January 11, 1983, claimant filed an application for unemployment benefits, stating that his last employment terminated on January 1, 1983. Actually, for a considerable period of time prior to the application and during the time that he received unemployment benefits, he was working in Mark's Grill in the Town of Macedon, Wayne County, on a part-time, irregular basis. There was no formal arrangement for pay but he received in his words, from $2 to $5 to spend at the bar after finishing his work. At no time prior to the receipt of a notice of ineligibility did claimant acknowledge that he was employed in any capacity.
It appears to be well-settled law that financial gain from employment is not a prerequisite in. determining whether an applicant is entitled to unemployment benefits ( Matter of Giordano [ Ross], 85 A.D.2d 824; Matter of Smith [ Ross], 78 A.D.2d 961, 962; Matter of Black [ Ross], 64 A.D.2d 995, 996, mot for lv. to app den. 46 N.Y.2d 707). The board found that claimant was employed throughout the period of time he received benefits and that he willfully and falsely made statements to the contrary. Whether a claimant is totally unemployed is a factual question for the board's determination ( Matter of Smith [ Ross], supra), as is the question of whether there has been a willful misrepresentation ( Matter of Murphy [ Ross], 83 A.D.2d 734, 735). The board's decision is supported by substantial evidence.
Decision affirmed, without costs. Mahoney, P.J., Casey, Weiss, Levine and Harvey, JJ., concur.