Opinion
2013-04-18
In the Matter of the Claim of Robert F. RUBSCHA, Appellant. v. COMMISSIONER OF LABOR, Respondent.
Robert F. Rubscha, The Villages, Florida, appellant pro se. Eric T. Schneiderman, Attorney General, New York City (Mary Hughes of counsel), for respondent.
Robert F. Rubscha, The Villages, Florida, appellant pro se. Eric T. Schneiderman, Attorney General, New York City (Mary Hughes of counsel), for respondent.
Before: MERCURE, J.P., LAHTINEN, STEIN and GARRY, JJ.
Appeal from a decision of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, filed December 20, 2010, which ruled that claimant was disqualified from receiving unemployment insurance benefits because he voluntarily left his employment without good cause.
Claimant had worked as a mechanical design engineer for 29 years when his employer instituted a voluntary reduction in force program in an effort to avoid eventual layoffs. He had no information that his job would be eliminated, but nevertheless accepted the severance package out of concern that he or his coworkers would be laid off. Inasmuch as leaving a job in order to take advantage of a severance or early retirement package when continuing work is available does not constitute good cause for leaving one's employment, substantial evidence supports the determination of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board that claimant voluntarily left his employment without good cause ( see Matter of Keane [Commissioner of Labor], 93 A.D.3d 1002, 1003, 940 N.Y.S.2d 352 [2012],lv. denied20 N.Y.3d 854, 958 N.Y.S.2d 698, 982 N.E.2d 618 [2013];Matter of Powell [Commissioner of Labor], 79 A.D.3d 1507, 1507, 915 N.Y.S.2d 183 [2010],lv. denied17 N.Y.3d 701, 2011 WL 2150135 [2011] ). Substantial evidence further supports the Board's finding that claimant received retirement incentives identical to those that he would have been provided had he been laid off and that, as a result, he lacked “a compelling financial incentive to leave his job” ( Matter of Biedka [Hudacs], 196 A.D.2d 944, 944, 602 N.Y.S.2d 240 [1993];see Matter of Fisher [Levine], 36 N.Y.2d 146, 153, 365 N.Y.S.2d 828, 325 N.E.2d 151 [1975] ).
ORDERED that the decision is affirmed, without costs.