Opinion
June 20, 1967
Appeal from a decision of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board which disqualified claimant from receiving benefits on the ground that he voluntarily left his employment without good cause by provoking his discharge and charging him with an overpayment ruled recoverable. Claimant was an assistant steward checking in and distributing goods received at the employer's restaurant where he had worked for four years. On the morning of April 18, 1966, a Monday, claimant's busiest day, he reported to work in what his supervisor described as an intoxicated condition. He had previously been warned about such incidents and he was told to straighten out and take a shower. The supervisor did not see him again, but was informed that claimant was asleep in the storeroom and became sick. This was reported and claimant was discharged that afternoon because he was intoxicated. Claimant denied the charges of intoxication and gave an entirely different version of the incident, including evidence of physical infirmities. At the board hearing both claimant and his supervisor again testified and recounted the same divergent set of circumstances. Although we might reach a different conclusion on the facts before us, the board's determination must be sustained on such an issue if supported by substantial evidence. A review of the record reveals such evidence and we cannot say as a matter of law that the board erred. Decision affirmed, without costs. Gibson, P.J., Reynolds, Aulisi, Staley, Jr., and Gabrielli, JJ., concur in memorandum by Aulisi, J.