If you were terminated from your job because you accidentally damaged your employer’s property or equipment due to an accident, you may face difficulty obtaining Pennsylvania unemployment compensation (UC) benefits. Accidents are typically caused by what is considered negligent conduct. While a casual act of negligence would not lead to a denial of unemployment benefits, certain acts of negligence could lead to a denial of unemployment benefits.
In order for negligence causing property damage to lead a denial of UC benefits, the conduct must rise to the level of willful carelessness. The UC referee deciding the case will typically look for some conduct which would indicate some level of culpability or fault on the part of the employee.
In some cases, it’s easy to differentiate between negligent conduct which should lead to a denial of benefits and conduct which should not. However, it’s not always clear cut. Employers will typically try to argue the frequency of events to show that the conduct resulted in willful carelessness. For example, if an employee breaches safety protocol and is issued a warning and the employee violates the same type of protocol which results in the same type of property damage, that may be construed as willful carelessness since the employee was put on notice on what specific procedures are required to be followed.
But what if the accident is the first incident resulting in property damage? If that’s the case, the referee deciding the case will simply have to examine all of the facts and circumstances to reach a determination. The most common type of situation where I’ve seen property damage eligibility issues come up is in the context of fork lift operators. Conduct which would lead to a denial of benefits would be speeding on the forklift or a blatant disregard of safety protocols.
Keep in mind that in most contexts, negligence which results in damage to property or equipment will not result in a denial of unemployment benefit unless the employer is able to establish that the negligence was the result of willful carelessness. The employer bears the burden of proof on this issue which is important to note.
If your UC benefits have been denied by the UC Service Center or your employer is filing an appeal, feel free to contact me for a consultation by calling (484) 362-9286. I am a UC attorney that represent claimants located in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania and surrounding areas.
