A Missouri resident contacted the Gusdorf Law Firm to represent him at an unemployment hearing after he had been falsely accused of misconduct. The employer had terminated him without even hearing his side of the story. The Missouri Department of Employment Security made an initial determination that our client was entitled to benefits, but the employer appealed.
Three separate witnesses testified for the employer before our client gave his testimony. The Gusdorf Law Firm was able to show that our client’s supervisor had not bothered to investigate the accusations. As a result, the employer could not prove that the behavior our client had been accused of had actually taken placed. The individual who made the accusations did offer testimony, but the Gusdorf Law Firm showed how her memory of the event was suspect. Our client testified credibly that, in fact, he had never committed any misconduct.
In Missouri, like many states, the employer has the burden of trying to prove misconduct by “competent and substantial evidence.” This standard means that the evidence, if believed, tends to prove the assertion, such that any reasonable judge would reach a similar conclusion. In this case, the Judge agreed with the Gusdorf Law Firm that the employer had, at most, proven only that an accusation of misconduct had been made, not that any actual misconduct had occurred. As a result, our client was awarded his unemployment benefits. Both the Gusdorf Law Firm and our client were very pleased with the result.
