holding that the Unemployment Compensation Act sets forth a single governing standard of willful misconduct and rejecting idea that a higher standard may apply based upon the type or nature of the employment involved
How later courts described this case
- holding that the Unemployment Compensation Act sets forth a single governing standard of willful misconduct and rejecting idea that a higher standard may apply based upon the type or nature of the employment involved
- stating whether activity constitutes willful misconduct is a question of law subject to plenary review
- rejecting the application of a higher standard of care for 11 health care workers in a determination of whether a claimant’s conduct amounts to willful misconduct under the Law
- a higher standard of care applies to health care workers and, therefore, where the inadvertent failure of a phlebotomist to label a patient’s blood sample in accordance with hospital procedure constituted willful misconduct
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
*310 NIGRO, Justice,
ConcuiTing.
I agree with the majority that the Commonwealth Court improperly set a higher standard of care for nurses than for other types of employees under § 402 of the Unemployment Compensation Law. However, although not applicable in the instant case, I believe that if an employee commits a series of errors, even if unintentional, those multiple errors may support the conclusion that the employee is guilty of willful misconduct under § 402. See Myers v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, 533 Pa. 373 , 625 A.2d 622, 630 (1993) (Zappala, J., dissenting).
ZAPPALA, Justice, joins in this concurring opinion.